Of course, the notion of returning to the pre-EU world is fundamentally flawed, owing to the simple fact that individual European countries cannot compete in the modern global economy. Nonetheless, a sense of nostalgia drove many voters’ decisions.
民粹主义者和欧洲怀疑派助长了认为自己被欧盟机构忽视的人的不满，这些人现在相信，欧洲工程带来的好处（如迁徙自由）已不再大于负担（如移民涌入和紧缩）。越来越多的欧洲人抵制进一步一体化，主要是因为担心日益紧密的联盟会削弱国家身份。