Corporate lobbying in the European Union: the logic of access

Bouwen, Pieter

doi:10.1080/13501760210138796

Cited by 534 publications

(481 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…On the other hand, it creates a constraint for those interest groups and lobbyists that seek to work with the supranational institutions. As Bouwen (2002) has argued, lobbying in the EU is marked by an exchange logic, where lobbyists gain access in exchange of specific types of information. In their search for expert advice, the European Institutions will privilege those interest representatives that contribute to the creation of a problem-solving situation.…”

Section: The Nature Of the Political Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Advising the European Commission on technical policy matters has proven to be the most common and most successful mode of participation of societal actors of all kinds (Radaelli, 1995;Bouwen, 2002;Saurugger, 2002). While representatives have a chance to express their views on policy proposals, Commission officials, but also Members of the European Parliament (MAP), benefit from the technical expertise these actors can provide.…”

Section: Eu Lobbying: Expert Knowledge and Multi-level Representationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The brash and the soft-spoken: Lobbying styles in a transatlantic comparison

Woll

2012

Int Groups Adv

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Executive Summary Lobbying on both sides of the Atlantic has experienced a considerable boom in the last 50 years and one could be led to believe that the two industries look increasingly alike. Lobbyists have become highly professionalized and master a multitude of venues and levels of political authority. Direct representation of companies or other stakeholders co-exists with associational representation in both Washington DC and Brussels, even though peak associations play a greater role in Europe. The use of some instruments is different, however, in particular financial contributions and legal tactics, which are central in the United States (US) and much less common in the European Union (EU). What is more, observers of lobbying in the US and the EU have noted the markedly different lobbying styles: frequently aggressive advocacy approach in the US and a more consensus-oriented informational lobbying in the EU. While US groups and lobbyists oftentimes defend their immediate interest by trying to exert pressure on public officials, EU representatives seem to be more soft-spoken in their approach and are said to work in a more constructive manner with bureaucratic and political representatives. After developing a description of what makes up the respective styles, this article discusses cultural and institutional explanations cited in the literature. Rather than seeing lobbying styles as culture traits, it discusses the institutional constraints affecting lobbying behavior. In particular, the passage rate of proposals, the fragmentation of public media, the electoral structure and the transparency of political negotiations create different incentive structures in the US and the EU. However, lobbying styles are more than the cumulative effect of these different elements. They are linked to the nature of the political system, of which the institutional constraints are a reflection. The US, a fully established federal system, relies on majority decision-making. This creates an adversarial culture and 'winner-takes-all-politics'. The EU, by contrast, functions as a complex intergovernmental system with a high degree of supranational centralization. The resulting tension between integration and inter-state bargaining creates a system that relies on consensus-building. In this context, the access of private actors to supranational institutions depends on their contribution to the creation of problem-solving policy approaches. As long as the EU has to rely on the acceptance of its policy outputs for its legitimacy, we are bound to find many individual r

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Section: The Nature Of the Political Systemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Eu Lobbying: Expert Knowledge and Multi-level Representationmentioning

confidence: 99%

The brash and the soft-spoken: Lobbying styles in a transatlantic comparison

Woll

2012

Int Groups Adv

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“…When looking in particular at the European Union's supranational structure, Bouwen ( 2002Bouwen ( , 2004 argues that the type of feedback that groups produce is the most important resource at their disposal to gain access to different policymakers. The policy officials in the European Commission (CEC) are most interested in expertise and technical know-how related to understanding the market and public demands; the members of European Parliament (EP) seek knowledge on aggregated needs and interests in the European economic arena; and the Council's members look for information on the aggregated needs and interests of specific domestic sectors.…”

Section: Problem Streammentioning

confidence: 99%

Interest groups in multiple streams: specifying their involvement in the framework

Rozbicka

Spohr

2015

Policy Sci

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Although interests inhabit a central place in the multiple streams framework (MSF), interest groups have played only a minor role in theoretical and empirical studies until now. In Kingdon's original conception, organized interests are a key variable in the politics stream. Revisiting Kingdon's concept with a particular focus on interest groups and their activities-in different streams and at various levels-in the policy process, we take this argument further. In particular, we argue that specifying groups' roles in other streams adds value to the explanatory power of the framework. To do this, we look at how interest groups affect problems, policies, and politics. The influence of interest groups within the streams is explained by linking the MSF with literature on interest intermediation. We show that depending on the number of conditions and their activity level, interest groups can be involved in all three streams. We illustrate this in case studies reviewing labor market policies in Germany and chemicals regulation at the European level.

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“…Uz mnoštvo interesnih udruženja, veću važnost dobivaju metode zastupanja interesa koje su fleksibilnije i jeftinije. 5 Osim nacionalnih interesnih grupa i udruženja koja deluju direktno, sve je izraženiji trend stvaranja klubova, foruma ili ad hoc koalicija poslovnih i političkih interesa.…”

Section: Funkcionisanje U Krizamaunclassified

Politički Konsalting I Lobiranje

Milutinović¹

2012

SVR

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Sažetak: U mnogim krugovima vršenje uticaja lobiranjem smatra se netransparentnim političkim procesom i sumnjivim poslom, koji graniči sa korupcijom. Neki veruju da se iza političkog konsaltinga i lobiranja krije nelojalna konkurencija, kriminal ili podmićivanje. Zastupanje interesa na nacionalnom i na evropskom nivou sastavni је deo političkog konsaltinga. U radu će biti predstavljeni akteri, institucije i oblici lobiranja na nacionalnom i evropskom nivou i uticaj na donošenje prihvatljivih odluka. Težište je usmereno ka radu lobista, čija aktivnost teži transparentnosti i visokoj profesionalnosti. Tu je lobiranje legitiman vid zastupanja interesa klijenata, koje doprinosi interesima klijenata kao i opštem dobru, zbog čega se na određen način može govoriti o pluralizmu interesa modernih demokratija savremenog sveta, kako na unutrašnjem, tako i na međunarodnom planu.Ključne reči: politički konsalting, komuniciranje, interesne grupe, lobiranje, odnosi s javnošću.

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Corporate lobbying in the European Union: the logic of access

Cited by 534 publications

References 33 publications

The brash and the soft-spoken: Lobbying styles in a transatlantic comparison

The brash and the soft-spoken: Lobbying styles in a transatlantic comparison

Interest groups in multiple streams: specifying their involvement in the framework

Politički Konsalting I Lobiranje

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