Interest group influence on EU policy-making: A quantitative analysis across issues

This paper presents a large-scale empirical analysis of interest group influence on EU policy-making across a wide range of issues. The explanation of policy outcomes as well as the democratic legitimacy of the EU crucially depends on how much influence interest groups have and how influence is distributed among them. However, only few studies have addressed the question of influence and most are limited to case studies focusing only on one single issue. Recent literature however suggests that interest group influence varies considerably across issues. It is assumed that influence is not a mere function of interest group characteristics, but strongly shaped by the issue context. The lack of large-N studies controling for issue variables is mainly due to methodological difficulties in measuring influence. Hence, this paper employs a new approach: Drawing on a quantitative text analysis performed with Wordfish, policy preferences of interest groups will be compared with the policy proposal in order to identify the winners and the losers of the decision-making process. While controling for interest group characteristics, the effect of issue-related variables on interest group influence will be tested across 15 policy issues

Regional Participation in EU Policy-Making - Democratic Effects

The European Union and the discussion on its democratic deficit is the central theme to this thesis. Democracy is traditionally discussed based on the nation-state but here the debate on how democratic legitimacy can be achieved in a globalized society, where political issues transcend borders, is utilized. Regionalization is a central concept in globalization because it is transnational to its nature and sometimes by-passes the nation-state in its influence on EU policy-making. It is investigated whether the lobbying activities of regional offices can be democratically justified and the case of the South Sweden European Office is used for empirical observations. Further, the participation of regional offices suggests helping the democratic legitimacy of the European Union. This is investigated using a Multi-Level Governance approach together with a discussion on lobbying as a means of democratic participation

Brüssel, Basel III und Bankenunion: Praktikum in der EU-Repräsentanz des Deutschen Sparkassen- und Giroverbandes (DSGV)

Ich berichte über mein dreimonatiges Praktikum in der EU-Repräsentanz des Deutschen Sparkassen- und Girover-bandes in Brüssel. Vom Juni bis August 2012 lernte ich als Prak-tikantin das Arbeitsleben und die Abläufe in einer Interessenver-tretung kennen und einen sehr interessanten Einblick in finanz-marktpolitische Themen. Außerdem erhielt ich eine einzigartige und beeindruckende Einsicht in die Funktionsweise der Europäi-schen Union mit ihren Institutionen und Akteuren

In search of a Polish interest representation pattern in the European Union - the case of sector interest organisations

"It may be expected that along with Poland’s accession to the EU, domestic sector interest organisations, to a larger extent than hitherto, will also be lobbying at the EU level, by using various ‘channels of access’. This article has two objectives: first, it is aimed at reconstructing the pattern of interest representation of Polish third sector organisations at the EU level; second, it analyses whether and how the isolated scheme fits into a pluralistic economic interest intermediation system in the EU. The analysis of individual cases reveals the advantage of a non-corporation related model in the representation of Polish interest groups, with the government occupying a dominant role, which may not be in line with the pluralistic and network-dependent character of the system at the EU level." (author's abstract

Österreichs Interessenpolitik auf neuen Pfaden: zwischen Austrokorporatismus und Lobbying?

'Interessenvermittlung in Österreich hat sich in den vergangenen 10 bis 15 Jahren gewandelt. Neben den ehemals dominanten sozialpartnerschaftlichen Verbänden haben sich neue Akteure, insbesondere Politikberatungsagenturen und Firmenlobbyisten, etabliert. Der ursprüngliche Austrokorporatismus als eine privilegierte Einbeziehung ausgewählter Verbände scheint zum Teil einem individualisierten Lobbyismus zu weichen. Bei Berücksichtigung der Ergebnisse einer qualitativen, empirischen Studie konzentriert sich dieser Artikel auf die Ursachen und die Konsequenzen dieses Wandels, bezogen auf zwei Entwicklungen: erstens die Europäisierung und Globalisierung österreichischer Politik und seiner Akteure, zweitens die - teils dadurch induzierten - veränderten innenpolitischen Beziehungen zwischen politischen Entscheidungsträgern und den traditionell privilegierten Interessenvertretern in Österreich.' (Autorenreferat)'Interest representation in Austria has changed significantly during the past 10 to 15 years. New actors, notably public affairs consultancies and company lobbyists, managed to establish themselves alongside the previously dominant associations of the social partnership. The original 'Austro corporatism' as a privileged incorporation of selected associations seems to partially give way to individualised lobbyism. Considering the results of a qualitative, empirical study, this article concentrates on the causes and consequences of this change, relating them to two developments: firstly the Europeanisation and globalisation of Austrian politics and its actors, secondly and partially Europeanisation/ globalisation-induced, the changed domestic relations between political decision-makers and the traditionally privileged interest representatives in Austria.' (author's abstract)

Organized Economic Interests and European Integration: the Question of (neo)corporatism

When economic development is considered, political economy is at stake; in this perspective growth or counter-growth forces operate within the institutional framework. The analysis focuses on corporatist forms of social dialogue in the international environment of the EU and within the European structures. First, the notion of corporatism as opposed to other institutionalized channels of access is explained. Then, the paper presents corporatist forms at the national level under change. Next, it deals with interest coordination at the European Commission level. The paper concludes that an erosion of corporatist forms is visible; no embracing pattern in the EU should be expected instead; on the contrary, increasing fragmentation of lobbying is observed

ACTA : Model debate or wasted opportunity?

The growing digitalization of recent decades and the ease with which we can connect to others on the web has resulted in many forms of civil activism which appear hardly conceivable without it. Ironically, one of the most profound of these manifestations has been in its defense. In 2012, a European public went online and took to the streets to demonstrate, ultimately successfully, against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). An international trade agreement intended to establish a minimum standard for copyright protection among members many feared it would facilitate online surveillance and censorship. The surrounding debate had many lasting effects yet also stands as an example of prejudiced allegations and subjective debate. This is seldom criticized because it developed the excitement of a mass movement for the short time of its existence. Almost a year later however, one has to wonder: What was actually achieved? Utilizing a poststructuralist discourse analysis, this thesis will investigate the development, composition and impact of the ACTA debate in Europe. Following Foucault's reasoning that discourses establish facts which tend to inform subsequent decision-making processes, it will be shown that this discussion was split in focus. Its division between the specific legislative proposal and the principal of copyrights roughly corresponded to the distinction between expert and public discourses whose reciprocal influence will also be considered. Comparatively analyzing two major daily newspapers each of two major Member States (i.e. Germany and the UK) will showcase how the public discourse developed. A subsequent analysis of the expert discourse, based on a number of interviews conducted with Brussels based authorities, will chronicle this development from an institutional point of view. Based on these findings, the protests against ACTA will be critically evaluated. It will be argued that they failed to realize an existing potential to have a more profound impact beyond the rejection of the specific agreement. The point being that no viable alternatives in ACTA’s place had been suggested, thus increasing the likelihood of similar advances to reemerge in the future. Despite the justified concerns regarding the agreement, protesting alone will not automatically result in better policies. After all, effective political decision making requires effort from both sides: political experts and the public

National screening for barley grain defects

Three defects on barley grain can impact on the price paid to grain growers. Black point (BP), kernel staining (KS) and pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) can result in malting barley being downgraded to feed. Resistance to these defects is the best option, and in this project hundreds of breeding lines grown over three years were screened for these traits. A number of lines exhibited resistance to each defect but very few had resistance to all defects. The results from the screening program have been provided to the Australian barley breeders through the Barley Breeding Australia (BBA) program

Interest group lobbying in the European Union: privacy, data protection and the right to be forgotten

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Palgrave Macmillan via the DOI in this recordThe issue of trust and control of data online has become critical for many European Union (EU) citizens in an era where we are increasingly reliant on digital platforms across a plethora of everyday activities. Indeed, the future of the EU’s Digital Single Market Policy is reliant on developing trust through robust legislation that ensures explicit control of data by EU citizens. This article explores the extent to which interest groups have been able to successfully achieve their goals through actions in the European Union institutional spaces that construct privacy and data protection legislation. Specifically, it investigates the intervention of interest groups utilising the ‘right to be forgotten’ (RTBF) in the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) as a case study. The article shows that issue salience and conflict, as well as institutional politicisation and lobbying by a union of ‘strange bedfellows’ are important factors in determining interest group preference attainment and success and ultimately, who the winners and losers have been in the RTBF decision-making process.Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC

(De-)Europäisierung der österreichischen Grünen

Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, den Europäisierungsgrad der österreichischen Partei Die Grünen im Jahr 2008 zu ermitteln. Dafür wird ein möglicher Parteienwandel durch die Europäisierung verantwortlich gemacht, der anhand der Wahlkampfprogramme von 1995 und 2008 sowie einer Auswertung von Experteninterviews mit Grünen Spitzenpolitikern aus dem Jahr 2005 untersucht wird. Ein europäisierter Parteienwandel zeichnet sich dadurch aus, dass die Einflüsse der Europäischen Integration adaptiert werden. Dies spiegelt sich in der Aufmerksamkeit der Partei gegenüber der Europäischen Union wieder. Parteiführungen können darin eine Chance erkennen, die Partei nach ihren Vorstellungen zu verändern. Andererseits kann der Europäisierung zugunsten des eigenen Machterhalts von Parteiakteuren verhindert werden. Am Beispiel der österreichischen Grünen wird deutlich, dass der Europäisierungsgrad einer Partei unterschiedlich ausgebildet sein. Bis 2008 haben die Grünen zwar einen inneren Organisationswandel vollzogen, da mit dem EU-Beitritt neue europäische Parteipositionen hinzukamen, allerdings beschränkt sich deren Einfluss und Handlungsspielraum weitgehend auf die EU. Die nationalen Wahlprogramme haben gezeigt, dass auch 13 Jahre nach dem EU-Beitritt eine Trennung von europäischen und nationalen Inhalten beigehalten wird