Interests Slides to support Chapter 14 of The Government and Politics of the European Union, 7th ed., by Neill Nugent

The Context In all democratic political systems, interests attempt to influence the taking and implementation of public policy Democratic political systems vary considerably with regard to the level and nature of interest activity ‘Brussels’ is rapidly acquiring the reputation of being the second largest lobbying centre after Washington

Why are Interests so Active at the EU Level? Decisions of importance to them are increasingly taken at EU level. The EU’s policy portfolio is now such that there are few policy areas in which there is not at least some EU involvement. Most interest activity is naturally where there are the most developed EU policy areas: SEM-related policies, the CAP, and cohesion policies

Types of Interest Interests can be classified in various ways. In the EU context, the principal interests are of the following types: multinational business firms Eurogroups: which themselves come in many different forms – though most represent economic interests national lobbies, of many different forms third countries can be thought of as interests

Channels Utilised The channels used by interests depend, in most decisional contexts, on three key factors: the location of power the formal opportunities provided for inputting into decision-making the receptivity of decision makers to lobbying and consultative Activity Taking these in turn …

Channels Utilised: the Location of Power Varying powers are exercised by the EU’s decision making and taking actors. For example: the Commission is especially influential re policy formulation and implementation the Council and EP are crucial re decision-taking national agencies in the member states undertake most ‘front line’ policy implementation

Channels Utilised: Formal Opportunities for Inputting EU processes offer a number of formal opportunities for interests to input and lobby. For example: the extensive system of consultative committees that is clustered around the Commission the Commission’s increasing use of consultative policy papers ‘open’ EP hearings

Channels Utilised: Receptivity of Decision Makers There are great variations in the ‘accessibility’ of key policy actors. For example: The Commission is relatively open, not least because it often needs information from interests The European Council and the Council of Ministers are difficult to access as institutions The EP can be approached in various ways The representation of interests is a key part of the rationales of the EESC and the CoR

Influence Exercised A number of factors combine to determine the influence exercised by interests in any particular situation. These factors include: the dependence of the Commission on interests for information and cooperation the ability of interests to forge working relationships with national governments the extent to which interests are well resourced the extent to which interests are ‘representative’

Interests and Democracy The relationships between interest activity and democratic principles have long been analysed in political science. The ‘customary’ two key questions arise in the EU context as much as any other: does interest activity contribute to democracy by allowing for participation beyond elections? does the ‘unbalanced’ nature of interest activity undermine democracy?