Editing Euroscepticism (section)

===Hard Euroscepticism===
According to Taggart and Szczerbiak, hard Euroscepticism, or anti-EU-ism,<ref name="Arato 162"/>{{sfnp|Harmsen|Spiering|2004 |p=18}}<ref name="Gifford 2008 5"/>{{sfnp|Szczerbiak|Taggart|2008|p=7}}<ref name="Lewis 2003 211"/> is "a principled opposition to the EU and European integration and therefore can be seen in parties who think that their countries should withdraw from membership, or whose policies towards the EU are tantamount to being opposed to the whole project of European integration as it is currently conceived".{{sfnp|Szczerbiak|Taggart|2008|p=7}} The [[Europe of Freedom and Direct Democracy]] group in the [[European Parliament]] (2014–2019) displayed hard Euroscepticism, but following the 2019 EU elections the group was disbanded due to too few members, as its largest member, the British [[Brexit Party]], withdrew ahead of the United Kingdom's formal exit from the EU.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/brexit-party-nigel-farage-fails-to-form-political-group-in-european-parliament/|title=Brexit Party misses first deadline to form political group in European Parliament|date=26 June 2019|last=de La Baume|first=Maïa|newspaper=Politico|access-date=30 August 2023}}</ref>

Some hard Eurosceptics regard their position as pragmatic rather than in principle. Additionally, [[Tony Benn]], a left-wing [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] MP who fought against [[European integration]] in 1975 by opposing membership of the [[European Communities]] in [[1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum|that year's referendum on the issue]], emphasised his opposition to [[xenophobia]] and his support of [[democracy]], saying: "My view about the European Union has always been not that I am hostile to foreigners, but that I am in favour of democracy. ... I think they're building an empire there, they want us to be a part of their empire and I don't want that."<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0wFii8klNg| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/f0wFii8klNg| archive-date=11 December 2021 | url-status=live|author=Tony Benn|work=[[Oxford Union]]|title=European Union|date=25 March 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

The Czech president [[Václav Klaus]] rejected the term ''Euroscepticism'' for its purported negative undertones, saying at a meeting in April 2012 that the expressions for a Eurosceptic and their opponent should be "a Euro-realist" and someone who is "Euro-naïve", respectively.<ref>{{cite web|title=Radio Prague: Current Affairs|url=http://archiv.radio.cz/english/cur-affrs/31-5-99.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303230601/http://archiv.radio.cz/english/cur-affrs/31-5-99.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=3 March 2016|access-date=28 July 2013}}</ref> [[François Asselineau]] of the French [[Popular Republican Union (2007)|Popular Republican Union]] has criticised the use of the term 'sceptic' to describe hard Eurosceptics, and would rather advocate the use of the term "Euro opponent".<ref name=UPR1>[[François Asselineau|Asselineau, François]]. [http://www.upr.fr/actualite/france-europe/europeens-convaincus-contre-eurosceptiques "« Européens convaincus » contre « Eurosceptiques » : Le retour de la Sainte Inquisition"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140408033335/http://www.upr.fr/actualite/france-europe/europeens-convaincus-contre-eurosceptiques |date=8 April 2014 }}, ''[[Popular Republican Union (2007)|Popular Republican Union]]'', 16 December 2010. Retrieved 29 October 2013.</ref> He believes the use of the term 'sceptic' for soft Eurosceptics to be correct, since other Eurosceptic parties in France are "merely criticising" the EU without taking into account the fact that the [[Treaty of Rome]] can be modified only with a unanimous agreement of all the EU member states, something he considers impossible to achieve.<ref name=UPR2>{{cite news|author=Laurent De Boissieu|url=http://www.la-croix.com/Actualite/France/Presidentielle-Ces-petits-candidats-qui-veulent-se-faire-entendre-_EP_-2012-03-15-778791|title=Présidentielle: Ces "petits" candidats qui veulent se faire entendre|trans-title=Presidential election: These "small" candidates who want to be heard|language=fr|newspaper=La Croix|date=15 March 2012|access-date=9 March 2016}}</ref>