Claim 3debaef2Checked 21 Jul 2026
TrueOn the truth scale
“The extreme Euronationalists are pursuing policies in southern Europe.”
Reasoning & Evidence21 Jul 2026
By December 2011, the evidence is overwhelming that EU institutions — in conjunction with the ECB and IMF (the "Troika") — were actively pursuing and conditioning policies in multiple southern European countries:
- **Greece** had been under an EU/IMF adjustment programme since May 2010, with strict austerity conditionality (Council Decision of 12 July 2011 reinforcing fiscal surveillance and requiring deficit reduction measures).
- **Portugal** signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality in May 2011, tying €78 billion in financial assistance to deep structural reforms, fiscal consolidation, and labour market liberalization.
- **Ireland** received an €85 billion bailout in November 2010 with a comprehensive policy package negotiated by the European Commission, ECB, and IMF.
- **Italy** saw the installation of Mario Monti — a former European Commissioner — as prime minister of a technocratic government in November 2011, specifically to push through austerity measures demanded by EU partners.
- The EU's own Quarterly Report on the Euro Area (2011) documented the "differentiated fiscal consolidation" strategy and "adjustment programmes for Greece and Ireland."
A CEPR/VoxEU analysis confirms: "Southern Eurozone countries have been forced to introduce severe austerity programs since 2011," and these were driven by a combination of financial market pressure and EU policymaker decisions.
The label "extreme Euronationalists" is Farage's rhetorical characterization, not a factual designation — but the underlying assertion that EU/eurozone authorities were actively pursuing policies (austerity, structural reform, fiscal consolidation) in southern European countries is accurately supported by extensive official documentation.
Sources: European Commission, Memorandum of Understanding on Specific Economic Policy Conditionality for Portugal, May 2011 (https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/eu_borrower/mou/2011-05-18-mou-portugal_en.pdf); Council Decision of 12 July 2011 addressed to Greece (https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:32011D0734); European Commission, Quarterly Report on the Euro Area 1/2011 (https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/qr_euro_area/2011/pdf/qrea1_en.pdf); European Commission, The Economic Adjustment Programme for Ireland, Occasional Paper 76, 2011 (https://ec.europa.eu/economy_finance/publications/occasional_paper/2011/pdf/ocp76_en.pdf); CEPR/VoxEU, "Panic-driven austerity in the Eurozone and its implications" (https://cepr.org/voxeu/columns/panic-driven-austerity-eurozone-and-its-implications); New York Times, "Facing Crisis, Technocrats Take Charge in Italy," 16 Nov 2011 (https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/17/world/europe/monti-forms-new-italian-government.html); BBC News, "Monti unveils technocratic cabinet for Italy," 16 Nov 2011 (https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-15751179); Al Jazeera, "Italian prime minister unveils austerity plan," 17 Nov 2011 (https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2011/11/17/italian-prime-minister-unveils-austerity-plan)
From article
Extreme Euronationalists. You want to see them standing to attention when they play the anthem. You want to watch when they goosestep the EU flag around the parade ground at the front of the European Parliament. You have to be there to understand what’s actually going on. They’re so extreme, they will wilfully destroy democracy – which they’re doing. They are pursuing policies in southern Europe which I think, unless these countries break out of this prison of the euro, will lead to revolution. I mean, there may be some very unpleasant times to come.
Sources opened