The challenge of Euroscepticism in the accession countries: The good, the bad and the shaky EU

Introduction Public opinion plays an increasingly important role in the process of Europeanization. The debate in the candidate countries (CCs) focuses on the definition of what the EU stands for and what it represents vis-à-vis the nation states. The public tends to support EU membership when the application is submitted, but once relations with the EU become more structured and the country is required to meet specific conditions for membership, the level of support starts to drop and a Eurosceptic discourse emerges. It becomes obvious that membership has not only benefits but also costs and as the more uneasy issues enter the agenda, the debate turns into a “more salient, public and politicized” one (Slomczynski and Shabad 2003: 503).