ABSTRACT
Since the first direct European elections were held in 1979, right-wing soft Eurosceptic groups have always been formed in the European Parliament (EP). Yet, in contrast to pro-European, pan-European groups such as the long-standing European People's Party (EPP), the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe (ALDE), ‘soft’ Eurosceptic parties have consistently struggled to form a stable and cohesive group with a common vision on the European integration project. 2 Until the early 1990s, Euroscepticism was largely confined to the margins, and political movements opposed to certain aspects of the European integration project mostly lacked influence within the European institutions (Brack and Startin 2015). The European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) pan-European group was founded on 22 June 2009, following the decision of the British Conservative Party to leave the European People's Party – European Democrats (EPP-ED) group. Following the 2014 European election results, this group became the third-largest group in the EP, overtaking the ALDE with 72 members accounting for 9.6 per cent of seats.
