Lobbying Brexit Negotiations: Who Lobbies Michel Barnier?

Abstract

Interest groups have a vital role in international negotiations and carry the potential to influence their outcome. This article contributes to discussions surrounding Brexit and institutional change in the EU, focusing on Article 50 negotiations and stakeholder engagement. Drawing from theories on deliberative democracy and institutional legitimacy, we argue that different groups are given access to the Chief Negotiator depending on the resources they can contribute. Assessing our expectations, we inspect the entire interest group population that held meetings with Michel Barnier and his team from 2016 onwards. On the aggregate, we observe a pluralist approach. A closer inspection reveals a tightly knit circle of insiders that hold unparalleled access. To the extent that these meetings offer a glance into the future of EU lobbying, European trade and professional associations are likely to observe growing cohesion and significance. Conversely, UK private interests will see their presence and influence diluted as their relevance grows smaller in Brussels. Following the trends we observe, think tanks and socioeconomic interests are likely to experience a continuous surge in their involvement in stakeholder activities.

Aiding empirical research on the commercial determinants of health: a scoping review of datasets and methods about lobbying

“…Seven studies declared that they had no conflict of interest [ 39 , 55 50 -]. The others did not make a declaration.…”

The politics of EU diaspora in the UK post-Brexit: civic organisations’ multi-scalar lobbying and mobilisation strategies

“…However, one positive outcome from the work of organisations like the3million is that such organisations erode the border between foreign and domestic politics and challenge the role of the state by legitimising the importance of non-state actors (Østergaard-Nielsen 2003 : 778). While influence is often an illusion, as decisions are mainly shaped by an inner circle (Coen and Katsaitis 2021 : 38), especially when it comes to high-stake decisions, stakeholder consultations can have transformative, depolarising and coordinative outcomes (Coen and Katsaitis 2021 : 39). This article furthers the debate on the transnational role of multi-stakeholder campaign groups and raises further questions about the sustainability of such organisations beyond one political event.…”

“…It is significant that the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, Michel Barnier (European Commission's Head of Task Force for Relations with the United Kingdom), welcomed the3million within the inner circle of the negotiations. He met them three times (Coen and Katsaitis 2021 : 44); only nine organisations were significant enough for Barnier to meet with three or more times, but the3million was one of them.…”

“…Using communication strategies that would counter established frames of meaning is also relevant in the case of the3million . These counter frames provided the3million with privileged access to the Brexit negotiations because EU representatives could claim that they were speaking not just on behalf of the EU but also EU citizens in the UK and that UK negotiators were not representing a homogeneous constituency (Coen and Katsaitis 2021 : 40).…”

Assessing What Brexit Means for Europe: Implications for EU Institutions and Actors

“…Finally, Coen and Katsaitis (2021) show that the UK business groups played a rather minor role in the meetings with the EU Chief Negotiator Michel Barnier, who actively engaged with stakeholders. As the prospect of UK membership in the single market waned and because of their diminished role in pan-European organisations, they targeted mainly the British government.…”