This paper will look into the effects of Eurosceptic government (parties) on the behaviour of the member state in terms of European policy. There are many studies about Euroscepticism out there, but very few have looked at the practical effects of Euroscepticism on government policy. A qualitative comparative case study is proposed to identify the effects of Eurosceptic parties on government. The cases would be role of soft-Eurosceptic government party CU in the CDA/PvdA/CU cabinet from 2007-2010, the role of hard-Eurosceptic permanent parliamentary supporter PVV in the 2010-2012 VVD-CDA cabinet and, as a non-case, the CDA/VVD/D66 cabinet 2003-2006. The time dimension will have to be taken into consideration to account for the changing domestic and EU-wide perspective of the European Union in public opinion and political parties, as in accordance with post-functionalist theory. Hypothesis 1: The hard-Eurosceptic position of PVV changed the position of the Dutch government in European affairs, while CU’s soft-Eurosceptic position did not. Hypothesis 2: The politicisation of European integration is expected to be a tool with which populist hard-Eurosceptic PVV can influence the government’s position, while this is not likely to hold for the CU. Conditions: (i) The size of the Eurosceptic party is expected to play a significant role on the effectiveness of changing government policy. (ii) The degree of Euroscepticism is also expected to play a role. A hard-Eurosceptic party is less likely to give in to issues related to the EU than strategic Eurosceptic parties. Three issue areas will be considered: European integration, Turkey’s accession process to the EU and CFSP-related events. This study will contribute to the understanding of the ways Euroscepticism in government does and does not affect government policy. [this is the replacement of an earlier paper proposal entitled "Did the Party for Freedom change the position and the role of the Netherlands in EU affairs?"]
