Romanian interest representation in Brussels. An initial assessment of Romania’s lobbying potential in the view of EU membership - Zoe ONUTU -- COPIE&

ROMANIAN INTEREST REPRESENTATION IN BRUSSELS. AN INITIAL ASSESSMENT OF ROMANIA’S LOBBYING POTENTIAL IN THE VIEW OF EU MEMBERSHIP

Zoe ONUTU

Descriere:

The paradigm shifts induced by the consecutive enlargements on the EU polity reshape the questions regarding the influence of various interests on the sophisticated patterns of EU governance. Strongly motivated by the new focus of interest group research, this study aims to provide a tentative assessment of the potential of a future member state, Romania, to influence the European policy process. Thus a theoretically-based overview of the EU lobbying arena is firstly performed, in order to isolate the relevant criteria by which to assess the lobbying efficiency of interest groups in such a competitive environment. After a brief excursus on the particular Central and Eastern European repertoires for interest representation, the analysis further proceeds to discussing the aforementioned criteria on the core study case material represented by the Romanian organizations activating in Brussels. This study argues that the potential of Romanian interest groups to lobby effectively at the EU level is significantly constrained by confining conditions that relate both to their domestic institutional environment and their organizational characteristics. It is further suggested that, at this stage, the process of institutional learning is at a premium. (Autoarea)

Domenii de interes:

• științe politice
• studii europene
• integrare europeană