LOBBYING IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

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Lobbying in the
European Union
Interest Groups, Lobbying Coalitions,
and Policy Change

HEIKE KLÜVER

1
 3
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To Frederik
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 Preface

Why can some interest groups influence policy-making in the European

Union while others cannot? I remember well when, for the first time, I
asked myself the question that this book seeks to answer. I was an exchange
student at the Sciences Po in Grenoble and was taking a class called Interest
Groups in the European Union, taught by Sabine Saurugger. We were
talking about the classical theories of interest representation, interest groups’
lobbying strategies, and the population of interest groups that lobby the
European institutions. Although I was passionate about interest group politics,
I was always wondering to what extent interest groups actually influence
policy-making outcomes. Given that influence is usually the first thing that
people think about when you ask them about interest groups and considering
the important normative implications of lobbying, I was surprised to see very
little research on this topic. Therefore, when starting my PhD, I did not have
to look for a research question for very long. Interest group influence in the
European Union quickly became the research agenda that I pursued for the
next five years and this book brings together the findings of that academic
endeavor.
This book would have not been possible without the help, support, and
inspiration of many colleagues and friends. First and foremost, I am deeply
grateful to my supervisor, Berthold Rittberger, for his encouragement, advice,
and guidance during my PhD and beyond. He has been an excellent supervisor
who has given me enough space to independently develop my own research
project, but who has provided guidance whenever needed and inspired me to
become a better political scientist. Without his encouraging words, academic
guidance, and personal counsel I would have not been able to write this
book. He made me believe in my qualities as a researcher and encouraged
me to pursue an academic career. I will always be grateful for his invaluable
support.
Similarly, I would like to thank my co-supervisor, Sabine Saurugger, who
has supported me ever since my Erasmus stay in Grenoble. Her course on
Interest Groups in the European Union inspired me to investigate this topic
later on in my Master’s and PhD thesis. Her valuable comments, criticism,
and suggestions have played an integral part in the writing of this book, and I
am very grateful for her continuous support over the past years. My gratitude
also goes to Thomas Gschwend, who has provided indispensable advice on
methodological questions. He always had an open door for me and his counsel
has significantly improved the quality of this book.
viii Preface

When writing this book, I have benefited from the excellent and stimulating
research environment at the University of Mannheim. The exchange with
colleagues from the Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences, the
Mannheim Centre for European Social Research and the School of Social
Sciences provided me with important insights and inspirations for my work.
This book would not have been the same without the excellent feedback
and encouragement from my friends and colleagues who have repeatedly
commented on my work and who made my time in Mannheim an intellectually
stimulating and enjoyable experience. In particular, I would like to thank
Doreen Allerkamp, Christian Arnold, Hanna Bäck, Patrick Bayer, Simona
Bevern, Thomas Bräuninger, Tanja Dannwolf, Lisa Dellmuth, Thorsten Faas,
Nathalie Giger, Iris Glockner, Gesine Götze, Stefan Götze, Marcelo Jenny,
Sebastian Köhler, Beate Kohler, Thomas Meyer, Susanne Michalik, Sven-Oliver
Proksch, Christine Quittkat, Ellen Schneider, Stefan Seidendorf, Daniel
Stegmülller, Michael Stoffel, Bettina Trüb, and Arndt Wonka. Above all, I am
grateful to Gema García Albacete and Oshrat Hochman for their intellectual
support and invaluable friendship throughout the entire PhD program.
I extended this research project into a book manuscript during my
Postdoctoral Fellowship at Nuffield College at the University of Oxford.
Nuffield College provided an outstanding and intellectually stimulating
environment for the challenging task of converting my thesis into a book
manuscript. I am grateful to my colleagues and friends for the fruitful
discussions, the support, and the great time I have had throughout my postdoc
years. Most importantly, I would like to thank Elias Dinas, Theresa Kuhn, Eline
de Rooij, Iñaki Sagarzazu, Daniel Stegmüller, and Adam Ziegfeld for their
helpful comments and suggestions. Raymond Duch and Sara Binzer Hobolt
have also provided valuable advice and guidance throughout my Postdoctoral
Fellowship.
In addition, I have benefited enormously from the Graduate School of
Economic and Social Sciences and the Excellence Initiative of the German
Science Foundation that provided an exceptional academic environment,
generous financial support, and an excellent infrastructure for the completion
of my thesis. I am furthermore grateful for financial support provided by the
German Academic Exchange Service and the State of Baden-Württemberg.
My Postdoctoral Fellowship was generously funded by the Volkswagen
Foundation through the Anglo-German State of the State Program. This
fellowship program has been coordinated by the University of Oxford, the
University of Bremen, and the University of Göttingen and I am very grateful
for this outstanding opportunity.
Audiences at several workshops and conferences have provided valuable
comments, criticism, and suggestions that have helped to improve this book.
In particular, I would like to thank Frank Baumgartner, David Coen, David
Lowery, and Christine Mahoney for their excellent comments on my work.
 Preface ix

In addition, I am indebted to Christine Mahoney for hosting me as a visiting

research fellow at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at
Syracuse University. Additionally, I am grateful to all the interest group
representatives who took the time to participate in the survey conducted for
this study. Without their participation, this research project could not have
been realized.
I would like to thank Dominic Byatt and his colleagues at Oxford University
Press who have worked with me on this book as well as the five anonymous
reviewers for their insightful and encouraging remarks. Chapter 3 constitutes
a revised and much extended version of “Measuring Interest Group Influence
Using Quantitative Text Analysis” which was published in European Union
Politics 10(4) 2009. Chapter 2 partly draws on ideas developed in “Lobbying
as a Collective Enterprise: Winners and Losers of Policy Formulation in the
European Union,” Journal of European Public Policy 20(1) 2013. I thank both
journals as well as Sage and Taylor & Francis for allowing me to use that
material in this book.
Finally, I am eternally grateful for the loving support of my parents, Renate
and Otto Klüver, who have always believed in me and are always there for
me when I need them. Above all, I thank Frederik Adriaenssens for his love,
encouragement, and enduring patience. Without his support throughout the
ups and downs of this academic endeavor, this book would not have been the
same. With gratitude, I dedicate this book to him.
Heike Klüver
Oxford, May 2012
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 Contents

List of Figures xii

List of Tables xiv
List of Abbreviations xvi

1. Introduction 1
2. Lobbying in Coalitions 24
3. How to Measure Interest Group Influence 60
4. Mapping European Union Lobbying 93
5. Policy Debates, Interest Groups, and the Structure of Conflict 131
6. The Policy Formulation Stage: Interest Groups and the
European Commission 154
7. The Decision-Making Stage: Bringing the Council and the
European Parliament in 177
8. Conclusion and Implications: Interest Groups, European
Politics, and Democracy 202

Appendix 1: Association Questionnaire 223

Appendix 2: Company Questionnaire 241

Bibliography 257
Index 277
 List of Figures

1.1. Influence conceptualization 7

1.2. Theoretical model 17
1.3. EU policy-making process 20
2.1. Lobbying coalitions 54
3.1. Hand-coding policy position estimates 76
3.2. Wordfish policy position estimates 83
3.3. Word weights vs. word fixed effects 84
3.4. Comparison of Wordfish and hand-coding policy position estimates 86
3.5. Comparison of hand-coding and Wordscores policy position estimates 88
3.6. Comparison of Wordfish and Wordscores policy position estimates 89
4.1. Influence measurement 98
4.2. Conceptualization of lobbying coalitions 116
4.3. Histogram of relative information supply by lobbying coalitions 118
4.4. Histogram of relative citizen support of lobbying coalitions 118
4.5. Histogram of relative economic power of lobbying coalitions 119
4.6. Data structure 124
5.1. Mobilization of interest groups 136
5.2. Complexity of policy issues 137
5.3. The degree of conflict 137
5.4. Territorial origin of interest groups 141
5.5. Histogram of lobbying coalition size 146
5.6. Average composition of lobbying coalitions 147
6.1. Effect of relative information supply on interest group influence
during the policy formulation stage 159
6.2. Marginal effect of information supply on interest group influence
during the policy formulation stage 162
6.3. Effect of relative citizen support on interest group influence during
the policy formulation stage 164
6.4. Effect of relative economic power on interest group influence during
the policy formulation stage 169
6.5. Conceptualization of lobbying coalition effects 173
7.1. The Consultation procedure 179
7.2. The Codecision procedure 180
 List of Figures xiii

7.3. Effect of relative information supply on interest group influence

during the decision-making stage 184
7.4. Marginal effect of information supply on interest group influence
during the decision-making stage 187
7.5. Effect of relative citizen support on interest group influence during
the decision-making stage 190
7.6. Effect of relative economic power on interest group influence during
the decision-making stage 195
 List of Tables

1.1. Features of social and political organizations 6

2.1. Objectives of interest groups 26
2.2. Objectives of the European Commission 32
2.3. Objectives of Members of the European Parliament 36
2.4. Objectives of national governments in the Council 39
3.1. Further information about actors and texts 73
3.2. Hand-coding classification scheme 75
3.3. Hand-coding reliability test 78
3.4. Hand-coding validity check 79
3.5. Top ten word weights and word fixed effects 85
4.1. Vocabulary used by European institutions and interest groups 97
4.2. Wordfish validity test 100
4.3. Submissions to consultations 105
4.4. Information supply by interest groups 107
4.5. Survey response rate 110
4.6. Survey questions for the measurement of citizen support and
economic power (association questionnaire) 111
4.7. Factor analysis of economic power 112
4.8. Citizen support of interest groups 112
4.9. Economic power of interest groups 113
4.10. Relative interest group characteristics 115
4.11. Correlation between interest group characteristics 115
4.12. Operationalization of independent variables 122
4.13. Summary statistics of variables 123
4.14. Participation of interest groups in consultations 127
4.15. Missing values 128
5.1. (a) Summary of policy issues 132
5.1. (b) Summary of policy issues 133
5.2. Distribution of policy issues across Directorates General 135
5.3. Population of mobilized interest groups by actor type 139
5.4. Staff numbers of interest groups 142
5.5. Lobbying expenses of interest groups per year 145
5.6. Size of larger coalition 146
 List of Tables xv

5.7. Composition of lobbying coalitions in percent of interest group type

per issue 149
6.1. Multilevel analysis examining the effect of information supply on
interest group influence during the policy formulation stage 157
6.2. First differences: Effect of relative information supply on interest
group influence during the policy formulation stage 159
6.3. Multilevel analysis examining the effect of citizen support on interest
group influence during the policy formulation stage 163
6.4. First differences: Effect of relative citizen support on interest group
influence during the policy formulation stage 165
6.5. Multilevel analysis examining the effect of economic power on interest
group influence during the policy formulation stage 168
6.6. First differences: Effect of relative economic power on interest group
influence during the policy formulation stage 169
6.7. Lobbying success of the 15% strongest groups in the policy
formulation stage 174
6.8. Multilevel logistic regression testing the free-riding hypothesis for the
policy formulation stage 175
6.9. Comparison of effect sizes in the policy formulation stage 176
7.1. Multilevel analysis examining the effect of information supply on
interest group influence during the decision-making stage 182
7.2. First differences: Effect of relative information supply on interest
group influence during the decision-making stage 184
7.3. Multilevel analysis examining the effect of citizen support on interest
group influence during the decision-making stage 189
7.4. First differences: Effect of relative citizen support on interest group
influence during the decision-making stage 190
7.5. Multilevel analysis examining the effect of economic power on interest
group influence during the decision-making stage 194
7.6. First differences: Effect of relative economic power on interest group
influence during the decision-making stage 195
7.7. Lobbying success of the 15% strongest groups in the decision-making
stage 198
7.8. Multilevel logistic regression testing the free-riding hypothesis for the
decision-making stage 199
7.9. Comparison of effect sizes at both stages 200
 List of Abbreviations

ACEA European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association

ADTS Associação per la Divulgação de les Tecnologies Sostenibles
AEGPL European Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association
AIC Akaike Information Criterion
AVELE Spanish Association for the Promotion of Electric and
Non-Contaminant Vehicles
AVERE European Association for Battery, Hybrid, and Fuel Cell Electric
Vehicles
BEUC European Consumer Organization
BIC Bayesian Information Criterion
BVRLA British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association
CAP Common Agricultural Policy
CECED European Committee of Domestic Equipment Manufacturers
CEO Chief Executive Officer
CMP Comparative Manifesto Project
COGECA General Committee for Agricultural Cooperation in the European
Union
COMM European Commission
CONECCS Consultation, the European Commission and Civil Society
COPA Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations
DE Germany
DemoCiv Democratic Legitimacy via Civil Society Involvement
DG Directorate General
EBB European Biodiesel Board
EC European Community
ELC European Lamp Companies Federation
ENGVA European Natural Gas Vehicles Association
EP European Parliament
ESPRIT European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in
Information Technologies
ETRMA European Tyre and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association
ETS Emissions Trading Scheme
ETSC European Transport Safety Council
 List of Abbreviations xvii

ETUC European Trade Union Confederation

EU European Union
FAEP European Federation of Magazine Publishers
FANC Finnish Association of Nature Conservation
FOEIT Friends of the Earth Italy
FOEUK Friends of the Earth UK
GM General Motors
IG Interest Group
JAMA Japan Automobile Manufacturers’ Association
KAMA Korea Automobile Manufacturers’ Association
LTI LTI Vehicles
MEP Member of the European Parliament
NGO Non-governmental Organization
NL Netherlands
OECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OLS Ordinary least squares
QM Qualified majority voting
RAI RAI Vereniging – Rijwel and Automobiel Industrie
REACH Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals
RSPB Royal Society for the Protection of Birds
SMMT Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders
SQ Status quo
T&E Transport and Environment
UK United Kingdom
UKAA UK Advertising Association
VDA Verband der Automobilindustrie
VW Volkswagen
WWF World Wide Fund For Nature
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 1

Introduction

The study of politics is the study of influence and the influential

Lasswell (1936)

The question of who wins and who loses lies at the heart of the study of
politics. Understanding why some interest groups win and others lose should
be of central concern to scholars: Since one of the major aims of interest
groups is to influence policy-making, any analysis that tries to explain the
emergence of policy outcomes should naturally take into account interest
group pressure. In addition, interest group influence and the distribution of
influence among groups have important normative implications: If public
policy is systematically biased in favor of some interests while others are
constantly losing, the democratic legitimacy of policy outcomes is greatly
undermined (Dahl 1989, 322–326). What determines interest group influence
is therefore one of the central puzzles in the study of politics. However,
understanding why some interest groups win and others lose is still an area
of confusion (Baumgartner and Leech 1998, 13).
Interest group influence should be of particular concern to scholars of
European politics since the European Union (EU) constitutes a promising
political opportunity structure for organized interests (Richardson 2000).
The multiple layers of government together with the high fragmentation
of the European institutions provide a plurality of access points to the
decision-making process. The institutional provisions facilitating interest
group access have been supplemented by an increasing openness of the
European institutions towards interest groups. Due to the constant criticism
of the democratic deficit, the European institutions have started to consider
interest group inclusion as a means to compensate for the representational
deficit often associated with the European polity (e.g. Weiler, Haltern, and
Mayer 1995; Follesdal and Hix 2006). Since the beginning of the 1990s,
the Commission has therefore taken various initiatives to increase the
participation of interest groups such as the White Paper on Governance or the
Transparency Initiative (Kohler-Koch and Finke 2007).
2 Lobbying in the European Union

Even though the Commission initiatives have provided broad access to all
sorts of interest groups, recent empirical evidence shows that the ability to
exploit this access varies between groups. In his case study of the consultation
on the Commission proposal for a new European chemicals policy, Persson
(2007) demonstrates that business interest groups were considerably better
represented than non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Similarly, Dür
and De Bièvre (2007a) find that business groups were more successful in
influencing European trade policy than NGOs. Even though NGOs managed
to gain access to European decision-makers by establishing formal or informal
contacts with them (Eising 2007b, 331), they were not able to translate their
access into influence over policy outcomes. What is more, lobbying success
does not only vary across different types of interest groups, but even the same
interest groups sometimes successfully lobby the European institutions in one
debate whereas they largely fail to shape the policy process in other debates.
For instance, Warleigh (2000) demonstrated in an analysis of the legislative
debate on the Auto Oil package adopted in 1998 which regulated fuel quality
and vehicle emission standards that environmental groups successfully shaped
the policy outcome. By contrast, Klüver (2009) showed that the environmental
lobby largely failed to influence the Commission proposal on the reduction of
CO2 emissions from cars. How can this be explained? Why can some interest
groups influence policy-making in the European Union while others cannot?
And even more puzzling, why do the same interest groups sometimes win and
sometimes lose?
Despite the central importance of interest group influence in the European
Union, only few have studied it. What is more, the few existing studies are
usually limited to specific group types and to one or just a few policy issues and
are therefore characterized by contradictory findings (e.g. Dür and De Bièvre
2007a; Michalowitz 2007; Woll 2007). The lack of research is surprising because
studying interest group influence does not only contribute to the scholarly
literature on interest groups, but it also has major implications for two ongoing
debates in European politics. First, investigating interest group influence can
help us to better understand policy outcomes in the European Union. Whereas
scholars of EU policy-making have mostly concentrated on explaining policy
outcomes with reference to the formal institutions, the role of interest groups
has largely been ignored (e.g. Steunenberg 1994; Tsebelis 1994; Crombez 1997).
However, if we explain policy outcomes solely drawing on the preferences and
bargaining power of the three major European institutions, we disregard how
the preferences of these institutions have actually come about (see also Hörl,
Warntjen, and Wonka 2005). Moravcsik (1993, 1998) for instance argues that
member states in the Council function as a transmission belt for interest group
preferences dominant on the domestic level. Supranationalists furthermore
suggest that interest groups also get active on the European level and that they
 Introduction 3

have an important direct impact on supranational institutions and European

policy-making (Stone Sweet and Sandholtz 1997; Sandholtz and Stone Sweet
1998). Accordingly, the number of interest groups lobbying the European
institutions has increased considerably over the past decades (e.g. Stone Sweet
and Fligstein 2002, 1221). Thus, ignoring the increasing pressure of interest
groups constitutes an oversimplification of the policy-making processes at the
European level. Taking into account interest group influence can therefore help
us to significantly improve our understanding of how policy outcomes emerge
in the European Union.
Even more importantly, an empirical analysis of interest group influence
on European policy-making can shed light on the debate on the democratic
legitimacy of the European Union. The increasing openness of the European
institutions towards interest groups is driven by the intention to bridge the
gap between citizens and the European Union (see e.g. Kohler-Koch 2007;
Saurugger 2010). Similarly, democratic theory has debated the democratic
potential of interest group participation in policy-making (Hirst 1994; Cohen
and Rogers 1995; Schmalz-Bruns 1995). It has been argued that interest
groups can enhance the democratic legitimacy of a political system by
ensuring the participation of citizens and by simultaneously enhancing its
problem-solving capacity (Saurugger 2008, 1276). The inclusion of interest
groups must, however, be treated with caution from a normative standpoint.
Interest group participation can only enhance the democratic quality of
supranational policy-making if influence is not systematically biased in favor of
some interests while others are constantly losing (Dahl 1989, 322–326). Thus,
in order to evaluate the democratic potential of interest group participation in
European policy-making, an empirical assessment of interest group influence
and the distribution of influence among groups is necessary. This book
therefore aims at solving the presented puzzle by explaining why some interest
groups are able to influence policy-making in the European Union while others
are not.
In order to explain interest group influence in the European Union, this
books develops a comprehensive theoretical model for understanding lobbying
success. Lobbying is conceptualized as an exchange relationship in which
the European institutions trade influence for information, citizen support,
and economic power. However, it is argued that it is not sufficient to only
look at the supply of these goods by individual interest groups, but that it
is necessary to acknowledge that lobbying takes place in coalitions. There is
hardly any policy debate on which only one single interest group mobilizes;
lobbying is instead a collective process in which a plurality of interest groups
simultaneously lobby decision-makers. As a result, it is not the information
supply, citizen support, and economic power of individual interest groups
that make the difference, but it is the aggregated amount of goods provided
4 Lobbying in the European Union

by entire issue-specific lobbying coalitions that matters. In order to test

this theoretical claim, this book introduces a new approach to measure
interest group influence which draws on recently developed quantitative text
analysis techniques to analyze online consultations launched by the European
Commission. By extracting the policy preferences of interest groups from
their consultation submissions and comparing them to the policy outcome,
conclusions about the winners and the losers of the decision-making process
are drawn.
Even though the empirical focus of this book is the European Union, the
analysis presented here has important implications for the study of interest
group lobbying more generally. Interest group influence is an important and
recurring theme in the study of politics. Studying what makes an interest
group a winner or a loser is crucial for our understanding of how democracy
works. The European Union functions as the empirical example in this
book, but the theoretical claim and the methods introduced to measure
influence apply to interest group lobbying in any political system. The idea
that lobbying is a collective process is not specific to the European Union.
Lobbying in any other political system is similarly a collective exercise in
which multiple interest groups mobilize. Interest groups that share the same
policy objective are pulling decision-makers in the same direction independent
of the political system under study. Hence, the argument that issue-specific
lobbying coalitions are the decisive unit of analysis is a universal claim that
applies to lobbying anywhere in the world. Similarly, the methodological
approach that draws on a quantitative text analysis of legislative consultations
is also not limited to the European Union. This technique can be used in any
political system in which interest groups release position papers on policy
initiatives. Hence, this books does not only provide insights for the study
of interest group influence in the EU, but it has important theoretical and
methodological implications for the study of interest group lobbying more
generally.
In the ensuing sections, I first define the key concepts of this study. I then
proceed to discuss briefly the state of the literature on interest group influence
on policy-making in the European Union and point out its shortcomings. The
next section contains a summary of the theoretical argument followed by an
illustration of the methodological approach employed in this book. Finally,
I present a short overview of the successive chapters.


In the course of this book, the expressions “consultations,” “legislative consultations,” and
“public consultations” will be used exchangeably to denote online consultations conducted by
the European Commission.
 Introduction 5

1.1 KEY CONCEPTS: INTEREST GROUPS

AND INFLUENCE

In this section, I define the central concepts of this study. First, I make clear
what makes an actor an “interest group” and what kind of actors are covered
by the term. Second, I elaborate on the concept of “influence.”

1.1.1 Interest groups

The study of interest group politics has been plagued by a wide variety of
terms that were used to denote organized interests. When looking at the
literature you find that scholars use terms like interest associations, pressure
groups, interest organizations, civil society organizations, non-governmental
organizations, or public interest groups. The use of different terminologies
goes hand in hand with what Beyers, Eising, and Maloney (2008, 1108) call
a “balkanization” of the field into numerous branches that are characterized
by little communication between the different strands of the literature. For
instance, there is a long-standing divide between scholars studying “special
interest groups,” that is, interest groups which represent economic interests
and scholars studying so-called “civil society organizations,” that is, interest
groups which represent public interests. Even though these researchers share
a common ground and are studying similar phenomena, they are still largely
divided (Beyers, Eising, and Maloney 2008; Eising 2008). This study aims to
bridge the gap between the different strands in the literature by analyzing
a wide variety of different actors. I use the conventional term interest
group, but employ a very broad definition in order to cover a large range
of actors.
According to Beyers, Eising, and Maloney (2008, 1106–1109) three features
must be present to define an actor as an “interest group”: organization, political
interests, and private status. In order to qualify as an interest group, political
actors must draw on some sort of organization. Organization relates to the
nature of the group and excludes unorganized broad movements and waves
of public opinion. For instance, the broad women’s movement does not qualify
as an interest group because it does not dispose of any organizational structure.
By contrast, the European Women’s Lobby, which is the European federation


Beyers, Eising, and Maloney (2008) use the term “informality” to denote private status.
However, interest groups can also draw on formal channels such as obligatory hearings to realize
their interests which makes the term “informality” somewhat misleading. In addition, I go
beyond the mere office-seeking argument that lies behind the informality notion suggested by
Beyers, Eising, and Maloney (2008) by also excluding public institutions from the interest group
definition. I therefore refrain from using the term “informality” and use “private status” instead.
6 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 1.1 Features of social and political organizations
Organization Political interest Private status

Political parties X X
Social movements X X
Leisure associations X X
Interest groups X X X

of women’s associations in the European Union, qualifies as an interest group

because it has a clear organizational structure with formal membership status
and a permanent secretariat responsible for its administration. The second
feature that must be present in order to define actors as interest groups
is political interest. Actors must pursue the objective to influence political
decision-making and to shape policy outcomes. This feature distinguishes
interest groups from leisure associations. For example, a sports club usually
does not have a political interest and therefore does not qualify as an interest
group. Finally, the last characteristic that must be present so that actors
are classified as interest groups is private status. Private status refers to the
fact that interest groups are not seeking public office and that they are not
public institutions which are funded and subject to the state. Interest groups
do not compete in elections, but instead seek to realize their interests by
informal and formal contacts with legislators or by using demonstrations
or protests to pressure political decision-makers. Private status therefore
distinguishes interest groups from political parties. In addition, private status
also distinguishes interest groups from public institutions such as hospitals
or universities. Public institutions dispose of an organization and they can
have a political interest, but they depend on public funding and are subject
to the state. Table 1.1 summarizes how interest groups differ from other
organizations.
There are, however, different types of interest groups. A wide variety of actors
have an organization, have a political interest, and do not strive for public
office. This definition for instance applies to employers’ associations, trade
unions, environmental groups, companies, or professional associations. For
analytical reasons, I further distinguish between two major types: associations
and companies. The crucial difference between these two interest group types
is membership. Whereas associations are membership organizations which
have individuals, companies, or public institutions as members, companies are
corporate actors which do not have any members.


Chambers are also classified as interest groups as they are organizations with political
interests that do not compete for public office. Even though they often perform public or
quasi-public functions, they are usually funded by member contributions which grants them
considerable independence from the state.
 Introduction 7

1.1.2 Influence

The second key concept which has to be defined is “influence.” Influence is

understood as the ability of an actor to shape a political decision in line with
his preferences (Dür 2008c, 561). Thus, this book focuses on the analysis of
the first face of power by examining who wins and who loses regarding a
collectively binding decision over public policy (Dahl 1957). Interest groups
are considered to be influential if they are able to shape political decisions
so that policies converge with their policy preferences. Hence, a necessary
condition for influence is the coincidence of the policy preferences of an actor
with the output of the political decision-making process (see figure 1.1).
However, winning on a policy issue does not mean that interest groups are
in fact influential. The convergence of policy preferences of actors with policy
outputs is only a necessary, not a sufficient condition for influence. A pure
convergence of policy preferences of interest groups and political decisions
does not necessarily imply influence. It can for instance be the case that interest
groups simply get what they want since other actors with the same policy goal
were influencing the European institutions. Thus, if the distance between the

Convergence of policy
Outcome output with actor‘s
policy preference

Reason Influence Luck

Factors not
Explanation Actor properties
related to actor

No systematic
Observable Systematic effect
effect of actor
implication of actor properties
properties

Fig. 1.1 Influence conceptualization


The second face of power focuses instead on an actor’s ability to set the agenda (Bachrach
and Baratz 1962) whereas the third face of power refers to an actor’s ability to prevent other actors
from recognizing their genuine interest (Lukes 1974).
8 Lobbying in the European Union

ideal point of an interest group and the policy position of a decision-maker

decreases over the course of the legislative process, it does not necessarily
mean that the policy outcome can be attributed to the policy preference of
this particular interest group. This interest group might just be lucky to get
what it wants (Barry 1980a,b). Hence, convergence can emerge since an
actor influenced the political decision-making process or because an actor was
simply lucky.
To empirically disentangle influence and luck, I draw on the observable
implications illustrated in figure 1.1. The crucial point that distinguishes
influence from pure luck is a causal link between the policy preferences
of an actor and the output of the policy-making process (Nagel 1975, 29).
If an interest group is able to influence a political decision, there must be
a causal connection between the attributes of this interest group and the
political decision. Hence, there must be a systematic association between
actor properties and the policy output. These properties could for instance be
bargaining power, information provided by interest groups, or demonstrations
that interest groups organize in order to pressure legislators. What kind of
actor properties account for the ability of an interest group to influence
policy-making has to be specified theoretically (see chapter 2). If an actor
is indeed able to influence political decisions which bring about the policy
output, one can observe a systematic, that is, statistically significant effect of
actor properties.
If an actor is, however, only lucky to get what he wants, then the policy output
can be attributed to factors that are not related to the actor and no systematic
pattern can be detected that connects actor properties and the outcome of a
legislative debate. For instance, a policy change that is favored by an actor
might have occurred due to a focusing event that has triggered a swing in public
opinion or due to a change in the partisan composition of the government. If
the coincidence of an actor’s policy preference with the policy output cannot
be linked to attributes of the actor, a systematic, that is, statistically significant
effect of actor properties cannot be detected.
However, one needs to note that a statistically significant effect does not
exclude the possibility of luck. As long as a statistical model cannot account
for the entire variance in the data, there can also be luck involved in addition
to the systematic pattern that links interest group properties with the policy
output. If, however, at least part of the variation is explained by interest
group properties, one can conclude that interest groups at least exerted


The initial arguments put forward by Barry (1980a,b) have led to a vibrant debate about the
nature of power and luck between Barry (1980a,b, 2002) on the one hand and Dowding (1991,
1996, 2003) on the other hand. However, for the purpose of this analysis, it is sufficient to make
the classic distinction between influence defined as the ability of an actor to shape a decision in
line with his preferences and luck understood as “getting what you want without trying” (Barry
1980a,b).
 Introduction 9

some influence. In addition, if no systematic pattern between observed actor

properties and the policy output can be detected, it can still be the case that
unobserved actor properties account for the coincidence of actor preferences
with the policy output. Thus, whereas the failure to find a systematic effect
that connects actor properties with the policy output does not exclude the
possibility of influence since there might be unobserved actor properties at
play, the detection of a systematic pattern that links actor characteristics with
the policy output provides empirical evidence for the hypothesis that actors
indeed exerted influence.
To sum up, influence is understood as the ability of interest groups to
shape political decisions in line with their policy preferences. The necessary
condition for detecting interest group influence is the convergence of policy
preferences of interest groups with the policy output. Convergence is, however,
not a sufficient condition for influence. It is important to causally link interest
groups’ policy preferences with the policy output in order to distinguish
influence from pure luck. This can be done by empirically analyzing whether
actor properties have a systematic, that is, statistically significant effect on
convergence. If there is a statistically significant association between actor
properties and the policy output that is based on convincing theoretical
reasoning, one can conclude that interest groups indeed influenced the
policy-making process.

1.2 THE STUDY OF INTEREST GROUPS

AND ITS SHORTCOMINGS

Despite its central importance, scholarly attention to interest group influence

in the European Union has been surprisingly limited. Whereas the number of
interest group studies has flourished in the past years, researchers have usually
avoided the question of influence. A number of textbooks and edited volumes
present a general account of European Union lobbying without systematically
dealing with interest group influence on European policy-making (Mazey
and Richardson 1993; Schendelen 1993; Wallace and Young 1997; Aspinwall
and Greenwood 1998; Balme, Chabanet, and Wright 2002; Greenwood 2002;
Warntjen 2004; Eising and Kohler-Koch 2005; Greenwood 2007a; Coen and
Richardson 2009b; Coen, Grant, and Wilson 2010a). Several other studies are
concerned with measuring the interest group population at the European level
(Berkhout and Lowery 2008; Messer, Berkhout, and Lowery 2010; Wonka et al.
2010) or attempt to classify the European interest group system as pluralist,
corporatist, statist, or network-like (Kohler-Koch and Eising 1999; Eising
2007a, 2009). Other scholars focus on explaining lobbying strategies employed
by interest groups in the European Union (Coen 1997, 1998; Beyers 2002, 2004;
10 Lobbying in the European Union

Eising 2004; Bouwen and McCown 2007; Mahoney 2007a; Bernhagen and
Mitchell 2009). Another prominent topic in European interest group research
has been the impact of European integration on national interest groups
and domestic interest intermediation patterns (Schmidt 1996; Richardson
2000; Cowles 2001; Coen and Dannreuther 2003; Saurugger 2003; Quittkat
2006; Beyers and Kerremans 2007; Klüver 2010; Beyers and Kerremans
2012).
In order to gain some leverage on the question of influence, some researchers
have opted to work on interest group access to European institutions rather
than focusing directly on influence (Bouwen 2004a,b; Eising 2007b, 2009).
They consider access as a precondition for influence and claim that studying
access is therefore likely to be a good indicator for influence (Bouwen 2002,
366). Dür and De Bièvre (2007a), however, demonstrated that access does not
necessarily imply influence. Not all interest groups are equally able to translate
their access into influence. Others have preferred to address the question of
interest group influence on European policy-making in purely theoretical
terms (Henning 2000; Crombez 2002).
Many hypotheses exist that stress potential determinants of interest group
influence on policy-making (for reviews, see Smith 1995; Potters and Sloof
1996; Baumgartner and Leech 1998; van Winden 2003; Dür and De Bièvre
2007b; Dür 2008b). However, only very few scholars have empirically dealt
with interest group influence on European policy-making and empirical tests
of these hypotheses for the case of the European Union are therefore scarce
(see also Dür and De Bièvre 2007b; Dür 2008b). Even in the United States,
where interest group research draws on a long-standing tradition, the question
of interest group influence still remains an area of confusion (Baumgartner
and Leech 1998, 13). What is more, the small number of empirical studies
on interest group influence in the European Union are characterized by
contradictory findings due to focusing only on a specific group type or on
one or just a few policy issues (see also Dür 2008b). Below, I summarize the
hypotheses and the empirical findings for the case of the European Union and
outline the shortcomings of the literature that this book aims to overcome.
Following Dür and De Bièvre (2007b), I classify the factors that are expected
to explain interest group influence into three broad categories: the institutional
context, issue-specific factors, and interest group properties.
The institutional context defines the opportunities for getting in touch
with decision-makers and therefore plays a crucial role in the analysis of
interest group influence (Kitschelt 1986; North 1990; Marks and McAdam
1996; Mahoney 2004, 2007a; Naoi and Krauss 2009). It is particularly helpful
to take into account the institutional context when comparing interest group
influence in different political systems (Mahoney 2007a, 2008). However,
when solely examining interest group influence in one particular political
 Introduction 11

system, the institutional context alone cannot account for variation in interest
group influence since it is held constant and all interest groups face the
same institutions. However, thoroughly analyzing the institutional context
is helpful in understanding the sources for variation in interest group
influence. Accordingly, several studies conceptualize lobbying as an exchange
relationship between decision-makers and interest groups (Pappi and Henning
1999; Bouwen 2002; Michalowitz 2004; Hall and Deardorff 2006). According
to these works, the European institutions demand certain goods from interest
groups and the ability to influence political decisions varies with the ability
to provide these goods. What is more, several scholars demonstrated that the
European Commission even actively supports the creation and maintenance
of certain interest groups in an effort to extract goods from them such as
legitimacy or information (Bauer 2002; Broscheid and Coen 2003, 2007;
Sánchez-Salgado 2007; Mahoney and Beckstrand 2011). In addition, following
historical institutionalist reasoning, one could argue that historically grown
networks between the European institutions and interest groups could explain
variation in interest group influence (e.g. Hall and Taylor 1996, 941). However,
the underlying reason for privileging certain interest groups over others is
their ability to provide goods that the European institutions require. The
European Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament (EP) would
not have engaged in long-standing networks with interest groups if these had
not been able to provide incentives to the European institutions. Hence, it is
crucial to identify the demands of the European institutions to comprehend
which properties interest groups have to exhibit to be able to influence
policy-making in the European Union. In order to understand variation in
interest group influence, it is therefore necessary to identify the demands
of political institutions from which explanatory factors for interest group
influence can be deduced.
Scholars have furthermore pointed out the importance of issue-related
factors for interest group influence (Lowi 1964; Mahoney 2007a, 2008;
Baumgartner et al. 2009; Klüver 2011). According to the features of the policy
issue in question, interest group influence has been expected to vary across
issues. Mahoney (2007a, 2008) argued that the salience, the degree of conflict,
and the scope of an issue have a negative effect on the chance of interest
groups to influence policy-making. She reasoned that the more salient an issue,
the more actors are active on this issue and the more attentive the general
public. Thus, interest groups should find it difficult to exert influence since
policy-makers cannot listen to one single advocate. The degree of conflict over
an issue was expected to affect the ability to influence policy-making in a
similar way: the higher the degree of conflict, the more opposing groups are
trying to lobby the decision-makers and the harder it is to shift the policy
output in one particular direction. Finally, she expected that the scope of an
12 Lobbying in the European Union

issue is also negatively associated with interest group influence since large
scope issues should involve a larger number of interests and decision-makers
therefore cannot follow a single special interest. Her empirical results, however,
only supported the negative effect of issue scope on interest group influence on
European policy-making. Some scholars have also stressed that interest groups
have more influence on technical and highly complex policy issues since public
decision-makers require interest group expertise (Smith 2000; Woll 2007).
This hypothesis, however, still lacks empirical support. In addition, Dür and
De Bièvre (2007a) and Dür (2008b) argued that interest group influence should
also vary depending on whether the policy issue is distributive, redistributive,
or regulatory in nature. Up until now, there is, however, also no study that
systematically tests this expectation.
Drawing on earlier ideas presented by Sabatier (1988) who pointed to the
importance of advocacy coalitions for policy change, recent work on lobbying
in the United States has furthermore identified the size of lobbying coalitions
as an important issue-related variable affecting interest group influence (Leech
et al. 2007; Baumgartner et al. 2009). Lobbying coalitions are defined as
sets of actors who share the same policy goal (Baumgartner et al. 2009, 6).
Accordingly, several scholars have studied interest group coalitions (Salisbury
et al. 1987; Hojnacki 1997, 1998; Gray and Lowery 1998; Pijnenburg 1998; Hula
1999; Mahoney 2007b). These works, however, focus mainly on explaining
the formation of coalitions and do not analyze the effect of coalition building
on interest group influence. Baumgartner et al. (2009) were the first to
point out the importance of lobbying coalitions for interest group influence.
They demonstrated that not only individual interest group properties, but
also characteristics of lobbying coalitions have to be taken into account to
understand interest group influence in the United States. Similarly, Klüver
(2011) shows that lobbying coalitions play a crucial role for lobbying success in
the European Union. She, however, only focuses on the mere size of lobbying
coalitions without taking into account further characteristics of lobbying
coalitions such as their information supply or their resources. The lack of
empirical evidence on issue-related factors is a more general problem of the
literature. Since most of the few studies on interest group influence in the
European Union concentrate on one or just a few policy issues, the effect of
issue characteristics could not be tested empirically since the issue context is
held constant (for exceptions, see Mahoney 2007a, 2008; Klüver 2011).
The third group of factors that have been identified in the literature
are interest group characteristics. Several hypotheses link the properties of
individual interest groups to influence over policy outputs. These properties
can be distinguished into permanent and non-permanent characteristics.
Permanent characteristics refer to interest group properties which are constant
across different issues whereas non-permanent features vary from issue to
issue.
 Introduction 13

In terms of permanent characteristics, actor type and resources have

been identified as important explanatory variables. A prominent hypothesis
concerning actor type is that interest groups which defend diffuse interests are
less successful in influencing policy-making than interest groups representing
concentrated interests. On the one hand, diffuse interests should find it
more difficult to get organized than concentrated interests (Olson 1965). On
the other hand, once organized, diffuse interests should also find it more
difficult to mobilize resources from their members and they are therefore
disadvantaged when it comes to influencing European policy-making (Dür
and De Bièvre 2007a). However, the empirical findings concerning this
hypothesis are contradictory: Whereas Schneider and Baltz (2003) and Dür
and De Bièvre (2007a) confirm the hypothesis that diffuse interests are less
influential than concentrated interests, other authors contend that diffuse
interests were in fact capable of exerting a considerable amount of influence
on European policy-making (e.g. Pollack 1997b; Warleigh 2000).
The positive impact of resources on interest group influence is another
very prominent hypothesis in interest group research that has gained a lot
of attention (e.g. Gerber 1999; Hall and Deardorff 2006; Mahoney 2007a,
2008; Baumgartner et al. 2009; Eising 2009). Most notably, American interest
group scholars have investigated the impact of resources on voting behavior
in Congress by studying the effect of campaign contributions to members
of Congress (for a review, see Smith 1995). Since the European Union is
largely isolated from political campaigns, EU scholars have instead focused
on the positive effect of resources on the ability to effectively organize and
lobby the European institutions which presumably increases their chance to
influence policy-making. Accordingly, Coen and Dannreuther (2003), Eising
(2007b, 2009), and Klüver (2010) demonstrated that resource endowment has
a positive effect on interest group access to the European institutions. Recent
empirical evidence, however, questions the seemingly simple story. Mahoney
(2007a, 2008) and Baumgartner et al. (2009) did not find any clear relationship
between resources and lobbying success. The contradictory effect of resources
can partly be due to the unclear usage of the concept “resources.” Resources
mentioned in the literature include money, legitimacy, political support, and
knowledge and sometimes also information is subsumed under the term
“resources” (Dür 2008b, 1213–1215). Conceptual clarifications are therefore
necessary when investigating the effect of interest group resources on their
ability to influence policy-making in the European Union. In addition, the
contradictory effect can also be a result of measuring different concepts since
“access” does not necessarily translate into “influence” and the results of access
studies can therefore not be directly linked to interest group influence (Dür
and De Bièvre 2007a).
Concerning non-permanent features of interest groups, lobbying strategies
and information supply have been highlighted in the literature. When lobbying
14 Lobbying in the European Union

on a policy issue, interest groups can choose between inside strategies,

by establishing direct contacts with decision-makers and exchanging
information, and outside strategies, which refer to demonstrations or protests
to pressure decision-makers by increasing the awareness of the general public
(Kollman 1998; Beyers 2004). Mahoney (2007a, 2008) hypothesized that
the use of outside lobbying should increase the chance of interest groups to
influence policy-making. However, her empirical results showed the contrary.
Making use of outside lobbying tactics has instead a negative effect on interest
group influence in the European Union. By contrast, Beyers (2004) found
that outside strategies are positively correlated with access to the European
institutions. The empirical results concerning the impact of lobbying strategies
on interest group influence are therefore inconclusive. The contradictory
effects can again be a result of measuring different concepts since Beyers
(2004) examined “access” and Mahoney (2007a, 2008) investigated “success.”
The importance of information supply for interest group influence has been
discussed extensively in the literature (e.g. Potters and van Winden 1990, 1992;
Austen-Smith 1993; Lohmann 1995, 1998; Grossman and Helpman 2001;
Crombez 2002; Broscheid and Coen 2003; Bernhagen and Bräuninger 2005;
Bernhagen 2007). It is generally argued that decision-makers need external
information and that interest group influence increases with the amount of
information they can supply. Whereas the literature is characterized by a
wide variety of theoretical models on how information supply affects interest
group influence, empirical tests are scarce (for exceptions, see Austen-Smith
and Wright 1994; Broscheid and Coen 2003; Bouwen 2004a; Bernhagen and
Bräuninger 2005; Bernhagen 2007; Eising 2007b). Austen-Smith and Wright
(1994) test their theoretical argument based on data provided by interest
groups on their lobbying efforts in the confirmation battle over the nomination
of Robert Bork to the US Supreme Court. Bouwen (2004a) tested his exchange
model based on interviews with public officials in the European institutions.
However, he limited his analysis to interest group access in the financial
sector and he did not directly measure information supply, but a priori
assumed that different types of actors (companies, national associations, and
European associations) provide different types of information to a varying
degree. This constitutes an oversimplifcation since differences among actor
types are not taken into account. Eising (2007b) analyzed the effect of
information supply on interest group access by asking interest groups about
their frequency of information provision. Even though his analysis is based
on a broad empirical basis, he does not account for issue-specific differences,
but simply measures information supply on the aggregate level. Bernhagen
and Bräuninger (2005) empirically test their signaling model based on two
case studies which makes it difficult to draw general conclusions for the
entire population of interest groups. Hence, whereas the empirical evidence
on the effect of lobbying strategies on interest group influence is characterized
 Introduction 15

by contradictory findings, empirical evidence on the hypothesized effect of

information supply is still lacking.
In conclusion, whereas each of the cited studies has great merits in pointing
out possible determinants of interest group influence in the European Union,
a multitude of hypotheses has been suggested and empirical evidence is still
scarce. For instance, even though the effect of information supply on interest
group influence has been discussed extensively in the theoretical literature on
lobbying, there is hardly any empirical evidence on this topic. In addition, even
though the importance of the issue context for interest groups has recently
been highlighted, most of the few studies on interest group influence in
the European Union did not take into account the characteristics of policy
issues. What is more, the few existing empirical studies are characterized by
contradictory findings. For instance, whereas Dür and De Bièvre (2007a) and
Schneider and Baltz (2003) found that diffuse interests are less influential
than concentrated interests, Pollack (1997b) and Warleigh (2000) came to
the conclusion that diffuse interests are very well able to influence European
policy-making. Similarly, Eising (2007b) and Klüver (2010) demonstrated
that resource endowment has a positive effect on interest group access
to European institutions, which has often been considered to be a good
proxy for influence, whereas Mahoney (2007a, 2008) did not find any clear
relationship between resources and lobbying success in the European Union.
More generally, one can assert that the findings concerning the effect of interest
group characteristics are mostly contradictory, whereas empirical evidence on
issue-related characteristics is largely missing. Contradictory results are mainly
due to the fact that the few existing studies typically focus on one particular
group type and/or one or just a few policy issues. It is therefore difficult to
draw general conclusions for the entire population of interest groups and
policy issues. The lack of large-N empirical studies on interest group influence
across different group types and across different policy issues which allow
for testing the effects of issue characteristics is largely due to methodological
difficulties in operationalizing interest group influence. This book therefore
provides three important contributions to the literature on lobbying and
interest groups.
First, it presents a coherent theoretical model of interest group influence
on policy-making in the European Union which systematically combines
explanatory variables that have so far largely been treated in isolation from
each other. Based on deductive reasoning, lobbying is conceptualized as an
exchange relationship between interdependent actors in which the European
institutions trade influence for information, citizen support, and economic
power. The ability of interest groups to influence policy-making is therefore
hypothesized to vary with the capacity to provide these goods to the European
institutions. Taking into account the contextual nature of lobbying, I moreover
argue that it is not sufficient to look at individual interest groups. By
16 Lobbying in the European Union

contrast, lobbying has to be conceptualized as a complex collective process

in which the aggregated information supply, citizen support, and economic
power of entire lobbying coalitions are decisive for explaining interest group
influence.
Second, this book introduces and tests a new measurement approach of
interest group influence which enables interest group scholars to study interest
group influence on a large empirical scale. The scarce and contradictory
empirical evidence on interest group influence in the European Union is
primarily caused by methodological difficulties to operationalize influence
(Dür 2008c). So far, three different approaches to the measurement of
interest group influence can be identified: process-tracing, assessing attributed
influence, and gauging the degree of preference attainment (Dür 2008c).
Process-tracing is the most frequently applied approach to the study of interest
group influence (e.g. Cowles 1995; Warleigh 2000; Michalowitz 2004, 2007;
Woll 2007, 2008). Although process-tracing provides high internal validity and
is well-suited for checking rival theories and for generating new hypotheses,
the analysis is usually limited to a specific group type and to one or just
a few policy issues. It is therefore difficult to draw general conclusions for
the entire population of interest groups and policy issues. The attributed
influence method draws either on the self-evaluation of interest groups or on
the assessment of experts and can be applied to a large number of cases (e.g.
Pappi and Henning 1999; Dür and De Bièvre 2007a). However, it measures
“perceived” rather than “actual” influence. The preference attainment approach
compares the policy preferences of interest groups with the policy output in
order to draw conclusions about the winners and losers of the decision-making
process (e.g. Mahoney 2007a, 2008; Schneider and Wagemann 2007;
Baumgartner et al. 2009). This approach is promising since it provides an
objective measurement, covers all channels of influence and can be applied to
a large number of cases. However, one of the major problems associated with
the preference attainment technique is how to measure policy preferences. This
book therefore proposes a new methodological approach to measure policy
preferences, thus paving the way for the large-scale measurement of interest
group influence.
Third, using this proposed measurement approach this book empirically
tests the theoretical expectations across a wide variety of policy issues and
group types. I constructed a large new dataset that combines the measurement
of interest group influence with explanatory variables identified in the
theoretical model. These explanatory variables were measured by coding
interest group websites, by conducting a survey of interest groups, and by
retrieving issue-related information from the European Union databases
PreLex and EurLex. I therefore present a unique empirical analysis of interest


For a thorough discussion of these approaches, see chapter 3.
 Introduction 17

group influence on policy-making in the European Union. Based on this

large-scale analysis, general conclusions concerning the determinants of
interest group influence on European policy-making can be drawn.

1.3 THE ARGUMENT: LOBBYING IN COALITIONS

To remedy the shortcomings of the literature, this book presents a coherent

theoretical model that explains interest group influence on policy-making
in the European Union. The development of the theoretical model proceeds
in two major steps: I first elaborate an exchange model of lobbying that
conceptualizes the relationship between interest groups and the European
institutions as an exchange relationship between interdependent actors (Pfeffer
and Salancik 1978; Pappi and Henning 1999; Bouwen 2002). I then embed this
exchange model into a broader theoretical model that takes into account the
contextual nature of lobbying. The theoretical model is illustrated in figure 1.2.
The starting point for the exchange model are theoretical assumptions
about the logic of action and the objectives of interest groups, the European
Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament. By taking the
institutional context into account in which the European institutions and
interest groups interact, I derive propositions about the strategies that interest
groups and the European institutions employ in order to advance their
objectives. I assume that interest groups and the European institutions are

INFLUENCE
European Institutions

Lobbying Coalitions
Issue context

INFORMATION
CITIZEN SUPPORT
ECONOMIC POWER

Fig. 1.2 Theoretical model

18 Lobbying in the European Union

rational, goal-oriented, and purposeful actors that aim at maximizing the

attainment of their preferences. I furthermore assume that interest groups are
driven by the desire to exert influence on policy-making, that the Commission
aims at proposing policy proposals that successfully pass the legislative process,
and that national governments in the Council and Members of the European
Parliament (MEPs) strive for reelection.
Based on their preferences and the institutional context in which interest
groups and the European institutions are embedded, I conceptualize EU
lobbying as an exchange relationship between interdependent actors. Interest
groups demand influence on policy-making from the European Commission,
the Council, and the European Parliament. In exchange, the European
institutions demand three goods from interest groups in order to pursue
their individual objectives: policy-relevant information, citizen support, and
economic power. The ability of interest groups to influence policy-making is
therefore hypothesized to vary with the capacity to provide these goods to the
European institutions. Interest groups which can provide a lot of information,
citizen support, and economic power have a very good chance to shape
the outcome of a legislative debate whereas interest groups that supply little
information, citizen support, and economic power have a very low chance to
influence policy-making in the European Union.
Whereas the exchange model identifies the provision of information,
citizen support, and economic power as crucial determinants of interest
group influence, it is not sufficient to focus only on the exchange between
individual interest groups and the European institutions to explain variation
in interest group influence. It is misleading to simply look at the amount of
goods that are provided by individual interest groups to draw conclusions
about their influence on policy-making. Policy issues raise the attention
of multiple interest groups at the same time. Lobbying is therefore not an
individual endeavor, but a complex collective process of multiple interest
groups simultaneously trying to shift the policy outcome towards their ideal
point. In order to understand why some interest groups win and others lose on
a policy issue, it is therefore important to examine how interest groups align
in the policy space on any given policy issue. More precisely, the grouping
of interest groups into lobbying coalitions is crucial in order to understand
lobbying success. A lobbying coalition is defined as a group of actors who share
the same policy goal (Baumgartner et al. 2009, 6). These lobbying coalitions
are by definition issue-specific since the policy preferences of interest groups
concerning specific policy issues determine whether they pull decision-makers
in the same direction.
I therefore embed the exchange relationship into a broader theoretical
model that takes the context into account in which interest groups and the
European institutions interact. Rather than focusing on individual interest
group properties or permanent networks, I expect that the issue-specific
 Introduction 19

grouping of interest groups into lobbying coalitions is the decisive point in

understanding lobbying success. Since interest groups that belong to the same
lobbying coalition push the European institutions in the same direction of
the policy space, the likelihood that interest groups are able to influence the
policy-making process increases with the aggregated amount of information,
citizen support, and economic power provided by their lobbying coalitions. I
therefore argue that the aggregated information supply, citizen support, and
economic power of lobbying coalitions explains the variation in interest group
influence.
In addition, I expect that the issue context affects the intensity of the
exchange relationship between interest groups and the European institutions
with regard to information supply. Every policy issue is distinct as policy issues
differ extensively in terms of complexity. Some issues are highly technical
whereas the complexity of other issues is rather low. The characteristics of the
policy issue at hand therefore considerably affect the ability of interest groups
to succeed in their lobbying attempts. If a policy issue is highly complex,
the European institutions need a high amount of information from interest
groups. Hence, interest groups which can supply the information needed
by the Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament should be
in a good position to influence the policy-making process. However, if a
policy issue is hardly complex at all, the European institutions barely need
any information. Interest groups which rely mainly on providing information
to European decision-makers should thus find it very difficult to have an
impact on the legislative debate. I therefore expect that the positive effect of
information supply on interest group influence is moderated by the complexity
of the policy issue.

1.4 THE METHOD: MEASURING INTEREST GROUP

INFLUENCE USING QUANTITATIVE TEXT ANALYSIS

Even though the question of influence is central to the study of interest

groups and public policy, interest group scholars have largely avoided
studying influence as discussed earlier in this chapter. The major problem
that has prevented interest group scholars from analyzing influence is the
difficulty in operationalizing influence. This book therefore introduces a
new approach to the measurement of interest group influence drawing
on recently developed quantitative text analysis techniques to analyze
policy-related consultations conducted by the European Commission. Using
this methodological innovation, the theoretical model presented in chapter 2
is tested across 56 policy issues and 2,696 interest groups.
20 Lobbying in the European Union

Following the influence conceptualization discussed earlier in this chapter

(see section 1.1.2), I measure interest group influence drawing on the
preference attainment approach by comparing the policy preferences of
interest groups with the legislative output of the policy-making process in
order to draw conclusions about the winners and the losers of European
policy-making. The preference attainment approach has several advantages
over other approaches to influence measurement (Dür 2008c). First,
comparing the policy preferences of interest groups with the policy output
allows objective assessments of who was successful in lobbying political
decision-makers. Second, the preference attainment approach captures interest
group influence which has been exercised through various channels since
influence should by definition be observed in the convergence of the policy
outcome with an interest group’s ideal point. Finally, the preference attainment
method can be applied to a large number of cases which makes it possible to
draw general conclusions about the determinants of interest group influence
(for an extensive discussion, see chapter 3).
In order to provide a profound understanding of the influence process,
the hypotheses derived from the theoretical model are tested separately for
the policy formulation and the decision-making stage (see figure 1.3). The
policy formulation stage begins with the preliminary draft proposal on which
basis the European Commission launches a public consultation. This stage
ends with the adoption of the official legislative proposal which at the same
time marks the beginning of the decision-making stage. During this stage, the
Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission negotiate
the design of the final legislative act. I therefore compare the policy preferences
of interest groups with the preliminary draft proposal, the official policy
proposal issued by the European Commission, as well as the final legislative
act adopted by the Council and the European Parliament.
Stage

Policy Formulation Decision-Making

Output

Preliminary Legislative Legislative

Draft Proposal Proposal Act
Actors

COMM COUNCIL, EP, COMM

Fig. 1.3 EU policy-making process

 Introduction 21

It has been a long-standing problem of the preference attainment approach

to measure policy positions of interest groups and the legislative output. In
order to overcome this problem, this book introduces quantitative text analysis
to the study of interest group preferences. More specifically, I draw on the
recently developed quantitative text analysis technique Wordfish that allows
estimating the policy positions of texts solely based on the relative frequencies
of words they contain (Slapin and Proksch 2008). Policy preferences of interest
groups were extracted from their submissions to Commission consultations.
Based on a preliminary draft proposal, interest groups can submit comments
before the European Commission adopts its final policy proposal. These
consultations provide a rich new data source for interest group research that
has so far been overlooked for the study of interest group preferences and
influence. The policy positions of the European institutions are extracted from
official summaries of the preliminary draft proposal, the legislative proposal,
and the final legislative act.
Drawing on the proposed measurement approach to interest group
influence, I constructed a large new dataset on lobbying in the European
Union. I first selected 56 policy proposals and then gathered the submissions
of 2,696 associations and companies which participated in the consultations
preceding the adoption of these policy proposals. This dataset was enriched
by information gathered by coding interest group websites, by a survey of
the interest groups which participated in the consultations, as well as by
information retrieved from the European Union databases PreLex and EurLex.
Due to the two-stage selection process, interest groups are clustered into policy
issues and I therefore use multilevel modeling to analyze the data. Testing the
hypothesized effects across such a large number of policy issues and interest
groups allows for drawing general conclusions about the determinants of
interest group influence on policy-making in the European Union.

1.5 OVERVIEW OF THE B O OK

Chapter 2 presents the theoretical model. The chapter starts by specifying

theoretical assumptions concerning the logic of action and the preferences
of interest groups and the European institutions. Taking into account the
institutional context, propositions about goods that are exchanged between
interest groups and the European institutions are then deduced. It is reasoned
that the European institutions trade influence for information supply, citizen
support, and economic power that are provided by entire coalitions of interest
groups pursuing the same policy objective. In addition, it is expected that
the issue context affects the intensity of the exchange relationship between
22 Lobbying in the European Union

interest groups and the European institutions. The chapter concludes with the
specification of the hypotheses derived from the theoretical model that guides
the empirical analysis presented in the book.
Chapter 3 presents a case study that introduces and tests a new measurement
approach to interest group influence. The chapter starts by explaining
the underlying conceptual approach which draws on the comparison of
interest group preferences and policy outputs. The chapter then presents
a new measurement approach to policy positions of interest groups which
uses quantitative text analysis to analyze consultations of the European
Commission. Since this is a novel approach and text analysis has not been used
in interest group research so far, the validity of this measurement approach
is demonstrated by presenting a case study in which the results obtained by
computerized text analysis are compared with traditional hand-coding. In the
light of the findings of the case study, conclusions for the applicability of text
analysis in interest group influence research in general and for measuring
interest group influence in this book in particular are drawn.
Chapter 4 explains how the dataset for this book was constructed. The
chapter starts by illustrating the practical implementation of the proposed
influence measurement approach across a large number of interest groups
and policy issues. The chapter provides a step-by-step guide of the document
selection, the document preparation, and the actual text analysis. Next, the
chapter discusses how the policy issues and interest groups were selected for
this study. Afterwards, the operationalization of the explanatory and control
variables is laid out and summary statistics of all the variables used in this book
are presented. Finally, the specification of the statistical model is discussed on
which basis the hypotheses are tested in chapter 6 and chapter 7.
Chapter 5 provides an overview of the policy debates studied in this book.
This chapter first investigates the characteristics of the policy issues on which
interest groups lobby the European institutions. The chapter sheds light on
which types of issues are typically discussed, how salient and complex these
issues are, and how much conflict they generate among interest groups.
Afterwards the population of interest groups that mobilized in the selected
policy debates is closely examined by investigating which types of interest
groups mobilize, where they come from, and what resources they have at their
disposal. Finally, this chapter provides a thorough analysis of the structure of
conflict underlying the policy debates and the lobbying coalition patterns that
have emerged on these issues. The chapter concludes with a summary of the
most important features of policy debates in the European Union.
Chapter 6 tests the hypotheses derived from the theoretical model for
the policy formulation stage in which the European Commission drafts
the legislative proposal. This chapter first gives a short overview of the
policy formulation stage in the European Union. Afterwards, the hypotheses
are tested step-by-step using multilevel regression analysis. All analyses are
 Introduction 23

accompanied by a thorough illustration and interpretation of the results

and examples from the policy debates studied in this book are presented.
Finally, the nature of the coalition effects is analyzed by investigating whether
interest groups can free-ride on powerful groups that share the same policy
preferences. The chapter concludes with a summary of the findings.
Chapter 7 shifts the focus from the policy formulation to the decision-
making stage of the European policy-making process in which the Council, the
European Parliament, and the European Commission bargain about the
design of the final legislative act. The chapter first briefly summarizes
the decision-making process in the European Union. Afterwards, multilevel
regression analyses are presented on which basis the effects of information
supply, citizen support, and economic power of lobbying coalitions are tested
for the decision-making stage. All analyses are enriched by examples taken
from the 56 policy debates studied in this book to illustrate the effects of
information supply, citizen support, and economic power based on real-world
policy debates. Finally, it is investigated whether lobbying coalitions enable
free-riding before the chapter concludes with a summary of the results.
Chapter 8 summarizes the main argument and the empirical results of the
study. Based on the large-scale analysis of interest group influence across a wide
variety of policy issues and interest groups, general conclusions concerning
the determinants of interest group influence on European policy-making are
drawn. In the light of the findings of this study, the contribution of this book
to the literature on European politics and interest groups is highlighted by
pointing out the implications for our understanding of the EU policy-making
process, the democratic legitimacy of the European Union, and the study
of interest groups more generally. Finally, open questions and directions for
further research are discussed.
 2

Lobbying in Coalitions

In this chapter, I develop a theoretical model that explains why some interest
groups are able to influence policy-making in the European Union while others
are not. The development of the theoretical model proceeds in two major
steps: I first elaborate an exchange model of lobbying that conceptualizes
the relationship between interest groups and the European institutions as an
exchange relationship between interdependent actors (Pfeffer and Salancik
1978; Pappi and Henning 1999; Bouwen 2002). I then embed this exchange
model into a broader theoretical framework that takes into account the
contextual nature of lobbying.
The starting point for the exchange model are theoretical assumptions
about the logic of action and the objectives of interest groups and the
European institutions. I develop a hierarchically ordered set of preferences that
specifies the objectives of interest groups and the Commission, the Council,
and the European Parliament in the context of European policy-making.
These are axioms from which I then derive propositions about the goods
that are exchanged between interest groups and the European institutions.
I expect that interest groups demand influence from the European institutions
whereas the European Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament
demand policy-relevant information, citizen support, and economic power
from interest groups. The ability of interest groups to influence policy-making
is hypothesized to vary with the capacity to provide these goods to the
European institutions.
However, since lobbying takes place in a complex environment, it is not
sufficient to focus only on the exchange between individual interest groups
and the European institutions to explain variation in interest group influence.
I therefore embed this exchange relationship into a broader theoretical model
that takes into account the context in which interest groups and the European
institutions interact. To fully understand why some interest groups win while
others lose, it is necessary to acknowledge that lobbying is a collective process
in which decision-makers are confronted with multiple interest groups at the
same time. I therefore argue that the aggregated information supply, citizen
support, and economic power of entire coalitions of interest groups which
 Lobbying in Coalitions 25

fight for the same policy objective are decisive. In addition, I expect that
the issue context affects the intensity of the exchange relationship between
interest groups and the European institutions with regard to information
supply.
The chapter proceeds as follows: I first theorize about the supply side
of lobbying by illustrating the theoretical assumptions concerning the logic
of action and the preferences of interest groups. I then proceed by discussing
the demand side of lobbying by specifying the underlying logic of action
and the preferences of the European Commission, the European Parliament,
and the Council from which I deduce propositions about the goods they
demand from interest groups which I will explain in detail in the next section.
Afterwards, the chapter discusses the role of lobbying coalitions and brings
together the propositions about the demands of interest groups and the
European institutions in specifying hypotheses concerning the determinants
of interest group influence on policy-making in the European Union. Finally,
I highlight the importance of the issue context and derive hypotheses on how
it affects the ability of interest groups to shape policy-making outcomes. The
chapter concludes with a summary of the theoretical model (see also figure 1.2
for an overview).

2.1 THE SUPPLY SIDE OF LOBBYING: OBJECTIVES

OF INTEREST GROUPS

In order to understand the role of interest groups in European policy-making,

I first conceptualize the nature and the goals of interest groups. This is
important since a theoretical model of interest group influence must depart
from a proper theoretical understanding of what interest groups are trying to
achieve (Goldstein 1999, 128). As discussed in section 1.1.1, interest groups
are actors who have a political interest, who are organized, and who do
not strive for public office or are subject to the state. Drawing on rational
choice theory, I assume that interest groups are rational, goal-oriented, and
purposeful (collective) actors that follow a fixed set of ordered goals (Downs
1957; Coleman 1990). I distinguish four types of objectives (Woll 2008,
33–35): “basic interests,” “role-specific interests,” “means preferences,” and
“policy preferences.” Basic interests are the general or universal interests
of organizations. Role-specific interests apply the basic interest to the
specific situation of the actor in question. Means preferences are strategies


This chapter partly draws on ideas developed in “Lobbying as a Collective Enterprise:
Winners and Losers of Policy Formulation in the European Union.” Journal of European Public
Policy, 20(1) 2013.
26 Lobbying in the European Union

organizations can employ in order to achieve their role-specific and ultimately

their basic interests. Policy preferences finally constitute the policy positions
interest groups adopt concerning concrete policy issues that accommodate
their role-specific interests.
The basic interest of interest groups is survival, the most fundamental
objective of organizations (e.g. Gray and Lowery 1996; Lowery 2007). All
other goals of interest groups are secondary since survival is the precondition
for achieving any of the other objectives. Survival is the basic interest of
both associations and companies. As specified in section 1.1.1, the key
difference between associations and companies is membership. Whereas
associations are membership organizations that have individuals, companies,
public institutions, or other associations as members, companies are corporate
actors that do not have any members. Associations and companies therefore
have different internal structures and different functions so that the pathway
to survival is different (see table 2.1).
Associations are membership organizations whose primary function is to
represent their members before government (Berry 1997, 6–7). Since members
are their main resource providers, associations are competing for members
to extract adequate resources from them to ensure their survival (McCarthy
and Zald 1977; Schmitter and Streeck 1999). Members can be individual
citizens or other organizations such as companies, public authorities, or other
associations. Members control the flow of resources to associations and are
therefore essential for their survival. The type of members does not really
make a difference for associations. They strive to increase the number of active
members as well as “cheque-book members” (Grant 1997; Maloney 1999).
Even though cheque-book members do not actively participate in associations,
they provide financial resources that are important for the functioning and the
survival of associations. The role-specific interest of associations is therefore
the acquisition and maintenance of members.
Individuals or organizations become members of associations for two
reasons: First, individual or collective members delegate the representation

Table 2.1 Objectives of interest groups

Type of objective Associations Companies

1. Basic interest Survival Survival

2. Role-specific interest Acquisition of members Maximizing profitability
3. Means preference 1. Maximizing political influence 1. Acquisition of customers
2. Provision of services 2. Reducing costs
3. Maximizing political influence
4. Policy preference Policy position concerning Policy position concerning
concrete policy initiative concrete policy initiative
 Lobbying in Coalitions 27

of their interests to associations which will lobby political institutions in

order to realize their political interests (Marsh 1976; Moe 1980, 30–35).
Members therefore expect that their associations will influence legislators so
that the policy outcome is as close as possible to their policy preferences. For
instance, individuals become members of an environmental group since the
protection of the environment is important to them. They provide resources
such as financial contributions or labor to the environmental group and expect
in exchange that it lobbies legislators in order to improve environmental
protection. Second, individual or collective actors join associations due to
special services they provide to their members (Olson 1965). For example,
workers might enter trade unions due to the financial support they provide
during strikes or due to the professional training they offer. Car drivers might
join automobile associations due to the repair and pick-up service they offer
in case of car breakdown. The satisfaction of these demands is important for
keeping a large member basis and thereby ensuring the flow of resources and
ultimately the survival of associations. Accordingly, the means preferences of
associations are maximizing their influence on the political decision-making
process and the provision of services to their members.
The fourth type of goals are policy preferences which constitute the ideal
points of actors concerning the policy outcome. The formation of policy
preferences of associations can be conceptualized as a two-stage process: At
the first stage, the policy preferences of associations are internally determined
by their constituencies; at this stage policy preferences develop endogenously.
At the second stage, associations represent these internally determined policy
preferences towards the external environment; here policy preferences are
exogenously given.
Thus, to put it in a nutshell: Associations want to ensure their survival. In
order to do so, they strive for members since these are the main resource
providers. In order to attract and retain members, they provide special services
to them and try to maximize their political influence on legislators so that the
policy outcome is as close as possible to the policy preference determined by
their members.
Companies are by contrast non-membership organizations whose function
is the production of goods and services which they offer on the marketplace
in order to make profits. The main resource providers for companies are
customers who buy their goods and services. Companies therefore compete for
customers and strive for high profits which ensure their survival (Knoke and


Olson (1965) specified coercion as a third reason for joining associations. However, coercion
hardly applies to any associations that are active at the European level. Obligatory membership
usually only applies to chambers, such as the German chambers of skilled crafts in which all
craftsmen are members by law. Chambers represent, however, only 1.7 percent of all interest
groups which actively lobby the European Union and coercion can therefore be neglected (Wonka
et al. 2010).
28 Lobbying in the European Union

Prensky 1984, 4–6). Companies are only able to survive if the money they make
is higher than the costs they are facing. Since high profits guarantee the survival
of companies, the role-specific interest of companies is the maximization of
their profitability.
The profitability of companies depends on three factors: the acquisition
of customers, the costs of providing goods and services, and their influence
on legislation. Companies can increase their profitability if they are able
to increase the number of customers who are buying their products. There
are various opportunities to increase sales, for instance reducing prices,
introducing a new innovative product, or entering an entirely new market
(e.g. Porter 1980; Grant 1991). In addition, companies can augment their
profitability by reducing their costs. They can for example reduce the number
of employees, outsource production to countries with lower labor costs, or
form alliances with other companies in order to share costs for a common
task (e.g. airline alliances) (e.g. Lewis 1990; Kraft 1991; Görg and Hanley
2004). The profitability of companies, however, not only depends on their own
characteristics and strategies, it is also affected by the political environment.
For instance, companies have to pay taxes and customs, their products have to
comply with regulatory standards, and the expenses for staff strongly depend
on the labor market and social welfare legislation. Companies can therefore
attempt to maximize their profitability by influencing the political decisions
to their advantage (Stigler 1971; Peltzman 1985; Coen 1997, 1998; Woll 2007,
2008). The means preferences of companies are therefore threefold: Companies
can acquire new customers, reduce costs internal to their production process,
or influence policy-making in order to generate a more favorable environment
for their business. In order to influence political decisions, companies can draw
on three different lobbying strategies: delegation, insurance, and sophistication
(Coen, Grant, and Wilson 2010b). Companies can pursue a delegation strategy
by forming an association with other companies in order to pool resources
and to speak with one voice. Companies can also pursue an insurance strategy
by acting individually to gain privileged access to decision-makers. Finally,
companies can also choose a sophistication strategy by combining individual
lobbying efforts with delegation to trade associations.
Policy preferences constitute policy positions of companies concerning a
concrete legislative proposal that accommodate their role-specific and basic
interest. For instance, automobile manufacturers lobbied against stricter limits
of CO2 emissions from cars since these would result in additional costs and
would therefore decrease their profitability (see chapter 3).
To sum up, the basic interest of companies is survival. In order to
ensure their survival, companies aim at maximizing their profitability
which constitutes their role-specific interest. Companies can enhance their
profitability by employing three different strategies (means preferences):
acquiring new customers, reducing costs, or influencing the policy-making
 Lobbying in Coalitions 29

process in their interest. Policy preferences constitute the policy positions that
companies adopt concerning a concrete policy issue.
In conclusion, associations and companies share the same basic interest:
They both want to ensure their survival. In order to do so, associations
have to attract members which control the flow of resources and companies
have to maximize their profitability. Associations can draw on two strategies
to attract and retain members: They can maximize their political influence
and they can provide services to members. Companies can choose from a
set of three different strategies: They can acquire new customers, they can
reduce costs which are internal to their production process, or they can
influence policy-making in order to bring about a more favorable regulatory
environment. Hence, maximizing political influence is an important strategy
for associations as well as companies. Interest groups therefore lobby the
European institutions in order to influence the policy-making process. This is
a common aim of both types of interest groups, associations, and companies.
Accordingly, the following proposition can be derived:
Propositon 1: Interest groups demand influence from the European
institutions.

2.2 THE DEMAND SIDE OF LOBBYING: OBJECTIVES

OF THE EUROPEAN INSTITUTIONS

I conceptualize lobbying as an exchange relationship between interest groups

and the European institutions in which goods are exchanged. In order to
understand variation in interest group influence on policy-making in the
European Union, it is necessary to understand what goods the European
institutions require from interest groups. To comprehend why the European
institutions engage in an exchange relationship with interest groups, it is
therefore crucial to thoroughly analyze the institutional role, the objectives,
and the demands of the European Commission, the European Parliament,
and the Council. In the ensuing sections, I will therefore carefully analyze the
role of the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council
in the institutional setting of the European Union on which basis I then
make assumptions about their preferences and their incentives to engage in
an exchange relationship with interest groups.
For the sake of analytical parsimony, I treat the European Commission
as a unitary actor while I theorize about the objectives of the European
Parliament and the Council on the level of individual MEPs and national
governments respectively. I assume that the role-specific interest of the
European Commission is the presentation of policy proposals that successfully
30 Lobbying in the European Union

pass the legislative process while the role-specific interest of MEPs and
national governments is reelection. I choose this approach in order to gain
general insights into the incentives of the European institutions to engage
in an exchange relationship with interest groups that allows for drawing
general conclusions concerning the determinants of interest group influence
on European policy-making. It is unquestionably correct that the European
Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament are collective actors
that are composed of a number of different bureaucratic subunits and
thousands of individuals who have their own preferences. However, what
matters is whether we can attribute shared organizational preferences to an
institutional actor that account for a coherent and predictable behavior (March
and Olsen 1984, 738–739). Thus, the question for the purpose of this book
is not whether the European Commission is a genuinely unitary actor or
whether MEPs and national governments have indeed uniform preferences,
but rather whether these actors behave with sufficient coherence vis-à-vis
interest groups and other actors so that we can, for the purpose of the analysis,
make assumptions about shared preferences that guide their behavior (Pollack
2003, 36).

2.2.1 The European Commission

Drawing on rational choice theory, I assume that the European Commission

is a rational, goal-oriented, and purposeful (collective) actor that follows
a fixed set of ordered goals (Downs 1957; Coleman 1990). In order to
comprehend the behavior and the preferences of the European Commission,
it is important to understand its emergence and its role in the EU
policy-making process. Moravcsik (1993, 1998) argues that member states
have delegated competences to supranational institutions including the
European Commission for two reasons: First, supranational institutions
increase the efficiency of interstate bargaining by providing a permanent
negotiation forum and by monitoring compliance of other member states.
Second, supranational institutions strengthen autonomy vis-à-vis the domestic
arena by augmenting the legitimacy and credibility of policies and insulating
the decision-making process from domestic opponents. Pollack (1997a, 2003)
similarly argues that member states delegate competences to the European
Commission in order to reduce the transaction costs of EU policy-making and
to credibly commit themselves to their agreements. Thus, from a functionalist
perspective of institutional choice, member states granted powers to the
European Commission in order to acquire policy-relevant expertise and to
maintain the credibility of their own commitments since non-compliance,
time inconsistency of preferences, and ill-defined property rights might
endanger common agreements (see also Majone 2001).
 Lobbying in Coalitions 31

In order to fulfill these functions, member states delegated important

oversight, policy implementation, and agenda-setting competences to the
European Commission. First, the European Commission was assigned
important monitoring and enforcement power so that it functions as a
“guardian of the treaties.” In the case of non-compliance by a member state,
the European Commission can warn this member state by issuing a reasoned
opinion and launching an infringement proceeding before the European
Court of Justice. If this member state still does not comply with Community
legislation, the Commission can ultimately ask the Court to issue a fine against
this member state. Second, member states delegated policy implementation
competences to the European Commission. The Commission is responsible
for adopting implementing regulations for secondary legislation, it is in charge
of EU spending programs in certain areas and the Commission directly applies
Community law in specific policy domains, e.g. competition policy. Third, and
analytically most important for the goal of this study, member states delegated
the sole right of legislative initiative to the European Commission so that the
legislative process always starts with a policy proposal from the Commission.
The European Commission therefore plays a central role for policy formulation
in the European Union.
Principals, however, face the problem of agency-shirking which occurs
when agents behave opportunistically by pursuing their own interests (Moe
1990, 121; Kiewiet and McCubbins 1991, 5). Member states have therefore
installed several oversight mechanisms to control the behavior of the
European Commission, such as the appointment process of Commissioners,
the comitology procedure, the possibility of judicial review by the European
Court of Justice, and the requirement that the Council has to approve any
proposal of the European Commission before it can enter into force (Pollack
1997a, 2003). The College of Commissioners is appointed by member states
with the consent of the European Parliament. Member states can therefore
appoint Commissioners with congruent preferences (Döring 2007; Wonka
2007). The Commission’s implementation powers are controlled by comitology
committees. These committees oversee the implementation activity of the
Commission, and their power ranges from mere “assistance” to “supervision”
of the Commission (for a detailed discussion of the comitology control
mechanism, see Pollack 2003, 114–145). The European Court of Justice
can finally control the behavior of the European Commission by annulling
legislative acts which have been adopted illegally (e.g. despite a lack of EC
competence) and by examining complaints concerning the failure of the
European Commission to act upon a requirement set out in the treaties or in
secondary legislation. The monopoly of legislative initiative of the European


This applies to the first pillar of the European Union which is arguably the most important
and therefore the focus of this study.
32 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 2.2 Objectives of the European Commission
Type of objective Objective of the European Commission

1. Basic interest Survival

2. Role-specific interest Presenting successful policy proposals
3. Means preference 1. Acquisition of policy-relevant information
2. Obtaining citizen support
3. Gaining support of actors with economic power
4. Policy preference Policy position concerning concrete policy initiative

Commission is restricted by the requirement that the Council and under

Codecision also the European Parliament have to give their consent to policy
proposals of the European Commission. All Commission proposals therefore
need to be approved by the member states.
After having laid out the reasons for delegating powers to the European
Commission, the competences of the Commission, and the control
mechanisms member states have installed to oversee Commission behavior,
the next question is what motives drive the European Commission. In order
to understand how interest groups can influence the European Commission
and thus policy formulation, it is necessary to understand its motivation.
Following Woll (2008, 33–35), I distinguish again between “basic interests,”
“role-specific interests,” “means preferences,” and “policy preferences” (see
table 2.2).
I assume that the basic interest of the European Commission is survival
which is a common assumption in organizational theory (e.g. Buckley 1967;
Hannan and Freeman 1977). Accordingly, Majone (1996a, 73) states that
supranational institutions “have interests of their own, including survival.”
For the European Commission, survival means that it retains its competences
that were delegated by member states. In order to avoid member states
cutting its competences and therefore threatening its survival, the European
Commission has to successfully carry out the functions delegated by the
member states. Concerning policy-making, which is of analytical interest in
this study, the role-specific interest of the European Commission is therefore
to present policy proposals that successfully pass the legislative process and
at best even extend its competences (Niskanen 1971; Niskanen 1975; Majone
1996a, 61–79; Tallberg 2002, 34). However, as outlined before, member states
have established several control mechanisms to monitor the Commission
and confine autonomous behavior. The ability of the European Commission

The Treaty of Lisbon renamed the Codecision procedure the “ordinary legislative procedure.”
However, as the analysis is limited to proposals that have been adopted before the Treaty of Lisbon
entered into force, I use the term “Codecision procedure” throughout this book.
 Lobbying in Coalitions 33

to initiate legislation is limited by the requirement that member states in

the Council (and the European Parliament under Codecision) have to give
their consent to every proposal before it can enter into force. Hence, the
European Commission wants to make sure that its policy proposal will gain the
approval of national governments and if applicable the European Parliament.
In order to secure their consent, the European Commission is in need of
policy-relevant information, citizen support, and the backing of economically
powerful actors. In order to introduce policy proposals that gain the consent of
the Council and the EP, the European Commission needs technical expertise
and information about the demands of important stakeholders. In addition,
the European Commission needs to rally the support of interest groups with
a large membership base and with a high degree of economic power in
order to get the approval of the Council and the European Parliament for its
policy initiatives. Obtaining information, citizen support, and economic power
therefore constitutes the means preference of the European Commission in
order to achieve its role-specific and basic interests. Whether interest groups
can influence the decisions of the European Commission depends on their
ability to provide these goods to the Commission. At a later stage in this
chapter, I will therefore illustrate the demand for these goods in greater detail.
The policy preference is the policy position that the European Commission
adopts on a specific policy issue that advances its role-specific and ultimately
its basic interest.

2.2.2 The European Parliament

The European Parliament is the only directly elected institution of the

European Union. Whereas functionalist approaches to institutional choice
provide powerful explanations for the delegation of competences to the
European Commission, they are not able to account for the empowerment
of the European Parliament (Rittberger 2003, 2005). From a functionalist
point of view, delegation of powers to supranational institutions results
from the principals’ desire to enhance decision-making efficiency and to
credibly commit themselves to long-term policy goals since non-compliance,
time inconsistency of preferences, and ill-defined property rights might
endanger common agreements (Majone 2001; Pollack 2003). The functionalist
approach, however, fails to explain the decision of member states to
empower the European Parliament. Whereas the European Commission
is a non-majoritarian institution whose legitimacy is based on enhancing
the problem-solving capacity of supranational policy-making, the European
Parliament is a majoritarian institution that is directly accountable to voters
(Majone 1996b). The delegation of powers to the European Parliament is
therefore surprising as it displays all the problems that national governments
34 Lobbying in the European Union

wanted to overcome by delegating powers to non-majoritarian institutions in

the first place (Rittberger 2005, 205).
Rittberger (2003, 2005) suggests an alternative approach that explains
delegation of powers to the European Parliament in terms of the desire
to overcome the democratic deficit of the European Union. The increasing
transfer of competences to non-majoritarian institutions at the European
level has resulted in an asymmetry between consequentialist and procedural
legitimacy. While non-majoritarian institutions increase the problem-solving
capacity of supranational policy-making, they are not directly accountable to
citizens and therefore lack procedural legitimacy. In order not to be blamed
for violating key principles of democratic governance, national governments
have empowered the European Parliament in order to overcome the legitimacy
deficit of the European Union. The function delegated to the European
Parliament is therefore very different to the function of the European
Commission: Whereas the European Commission is designed to increase
the efficiency of supranational policy-making, the European Parliament is
designed to assure the democratic accountability of the European polity.
Members of the European Parliament are therefore accountable to voters and
subject to electoral scrutiny.
In order to ensure the democratic accountability of supranational
governance, member states delegated three major competences to the
European Parliament: supervisory powers over other EU institutions,
budgetary powers, and legislative powers. First, the European Parliament has
the right to censure the European Commission and its consent is necessary
for the appointment of the Commission president and the entire College of
Commissioners. In addition, the European Parliament has a number of further
instruments at its disposal to monitor and control the behavior of the other
EU institutions, such as the right to table written and oral questions, the right
to set up a committee of inquiry that investigates alleged cases of misconduct
of other EU institutions, or the right of recourse before the European Court
of Justice to ask for an annulment of a legislative act or to complain if the
Commission and the Council fail to fulfill their institutional obligations.
Second, the European Parliament has important budgetary powers. Together
with the Council, it is responsible for the adoption of the annual budget of the
European Union. The Council cannot approve the annual budget against the
veto of the European Parliament. Third, and most important for the objective
of this book are the legislative powers of the European Parliament. On the basis
of a legislative proposal elaborated by the European Commission, the Council
and the European Parliament are responsible for the adoption of Community
legislation. Whereas the European Parliament has only limited powers under
the Consultation and the Cooperation procedure, its consent is required for the
adoption of proposals under the Codecision procedure. The Treaty of Lisbon
renamed the Codecision procedure the “ordinary legislative procedure” and
 Lobbying in Coalitions 35

almost doubled its reach by extending its scope from 44 policy areas under
Nice to 85 policy areas (European Parliament 2009, 5).
In terms of control mechanisms, the European Parliament also considerably
differs from the European Commission. Whereas the European Commission is
subject to various oversight mechanisms installed by member states, national
governments retain relatively few controls over the European Parliament (see
also Pollack 2003, 253–255). The Members of the European Parliament are
not appointed by member state governments, but are selected by national
parties and elected by national voters. Moreover, member states cannot remove
Members of the European Parliament. Similarly, the European Parliament is
not subject to active member state oversight as the European Commission
in its executive role. However, member states retain some informal control
through national parties and they formally oversee the legislative behavior
of the European Parliament since their consent is required for adopting
legislation. Member state governments are able to exercise some control
over individual MEPs belonging to the same national parties as these are
responsible for the nomination and selection of candidates (Hix 2002). In
addition, even though the legislative powers of the European Parliament have
increased considerably over time, it still requires the consent of the member
states in the Council for the adoption of legislative acts. Under Codecision,
both legislative bodies—the European Parliament and the Council—have to
approve a legislative proposal before it can enter into force. What is more,
under Cooperation and Consultation, it is ultimately the Council which
decides about the adoption of a legislative initiative.
I have so far discussed the emergence of the European Parliament, its
institutional role, and its relation with member states. In order to understand
the ability of interest groups to influence the behavior of the European
Parliament, it is necessary to understand its motivation. When discussing the
preferences of the European Commission, it was treated as a unitary actor
even though it is composed of a number of different bureaucratic subunits
and thousands of individuals (Nugent 2001). Even though it is unquestionably
correct that all these actors have their own preferences, we can attribute
shared organizational preferences that account for a coherent and predictable
behavior of the European Commission (March and Olsen 1984, 738–739). The
European Commission is subject to “collective responsibility” which obliges
Commissioners to follow the line of the majority in the public no matter
whether they supported or rejected a proposal in the College of Commissioners
(Hix and Høyland 2011, 35). Most of the time the College of Commissioners
decides by consensus and if a vote is actually taken, the results are confidential
and the Commissioners have to publicly follow the preference of the majority.
In addition, the Commission draws upon an extensive permanent bureaucracy
which ensures institutional stability. By contrast, the European Parliament is
composed of individual MEPs from all 27 member countries of the European
36 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 2.3 Objectives of Members of the European Parliament
Type of objective Objective of MEPs

1. Basic interest Survival

2. Role-specific interest Reelection
3. Means preference 1. Obtaining citizen support
2. Gaining support of actors with economic power
3. Acquisition of policy-relevant information
4. Policy preference Policy position concerning concrete policy initiative

Union. Every five years, the MEPs are elected by European citizens to whom
they are accountable. In contrast to the College of Commissioners, MEPs can
only draw on a small permanent bureaucracy which is mainly responsible
for procedural issues and MEPs are not bound by collective responsibility.
If they have a preference that differs from that of the majority, they can
vote accordingly and they are not expected to publicly support the majority
opinion. Due to the different make-up of the European Commission and the
European Parliament, I treat the European Commission as a unitary actor
whose preferences are theorized on the institutional level whereas I analyze
the European Parliament on the individual MEP level.
What motivates Members of the European Parliament? Drawing on
the classical rational choice literature, I assume that MEPs are rational,
goal-oriented, and purposeful political actors that aim at achieving a
hierarchically ordered set of objectives (Downs 1957; Coleman 1990). I assume
that MEPs are office-seeking actors whose basic interest is to ensure their
survival as parliamentary deputies (Downs 1957; Riker 1962) (see table 2.3).
More specifically, they want to keep their seat in the European Parliament.
In order to ensure their parliamentary survival, Members of the European
Parliament strive first and foremost for reelection. In order to achieve this
role-specific objective, MEPs have to satisfy the demands of national voters
who constitute their ultimate principals that delegate the representation of
their political interests on the European level to MEPs. In order to satisfy the
demands of voters and to thereby maintain their seat in the Parliament, MEPs
are in need of citizen support, policy-relevant information, and the support of
economically powerful actors. The ability of interest groups to influence the
behavior of the European Parliament thus depends on their ability to supply
these goods to MEPs. I will therefore explain the demand for these three goods
in further detail at a later stage in this chapter. Policy preferences constitute the

Hix (2002) additionally considers national parties and the party groups in the European
Parliament as principals whose interests individual MEPs have to take into account. However,
national parties and European party groups are also driven by the desire to maximize votes and
therefore also seek to satisfy the demands of voters (Downs 1957). For the sake of analytical
parsimony, I therefore only consider voters as ultimate principals of MEPs.
 Lobbying in Coalitions 37

positions that MEPs adopt concerning specific policy initiatives. MEPs choose
their policy preferences in such a way that they advance their role-specific and
basic interests.

2.2.3 The Council

The member state governments have delegated important competences to

supranational institutions, most notably to the European Commission and
the European Parliament. The rationale for granting powers to these two
institutions, however, differs as discussed in the previous sections. Whereas
member states allocated powers to the European Commission in order to
reduce transaction costs and to enhance the problem-solving capacity of
supranational policy-making, they empowered the European Parliament in
order to decrease the democratic deficit of the European Union. At the
same time, member states have established several oversight mechanisms
to monitor and control the behavior of the European Commission and the
European Parliament. Above all, the member state governments have assigned
to themselves the dominant role in the supranational polity as members of the
European Council and the Council of the European Union to retain control
over and to actively shape European policy-making (Pollack 2003, 3).
The European Council was established in 1974 as an informal coordination
forum for the heads of state. It only obtained a formal status in the Treaty of
Maastricht; the Treaty of Lisbon finally turned the European Council into one
of the seven official EU institutions. The European Council provides general
political guidelines and impetus for the activities of the European Union. In
addition, it has an important appointment function: It proposes a candidate
for the post of President of the European Commission and in accordance
with the designated president, it suggests a list of candidates for the College
of Commissioners including the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and
Security Policy who is at the same time the Vice-President of the European
Commission. As the European Council, however, does not have any legislative
responsibilities that are of analytical interest in this study, I focus in the
following on the Council of the European Union.
The origin of the Council of the European Union dates back to the
foundation of the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951. In order to
control the behavior of the High Authority which later developed into the
European Commission, the member states established the (Special) Council of
Ministers (Hayes-Renshaw 2006, 61). As member states have shifted ever more
competences to the European level and have therefore extended the powers
of the European Commission and the European Parliament, the competences
of the Council have simultaneously been increased in order to effectively
control supranational governance (Hayes-Renshaw 2006, 62). The Council of
38 Lobbying in the European Union

the European Union is composed of national ministers and comes together

in ten different formations depending on the subject under discussion. For
instance, the agricultural ministers come together in the Council of Agriculture
and Fisheries whereas the environment ministers assemble in the Council of
Environment.
The Council of the European Union exercises important executive,
budgetary, and legislative functions. In executive terms, the Council is
responsible for coordinating broad economic goals among member states,
it concludes international agreements, it coordinates the Common Foreign
and Security Policy, and it organizes police and judicial cooperation. In
budgetary terms, the Council adopts the annual EU budget together with the
European Parliament. Finally, in legislative terms the Council is responsible
for adopting legislation. Under the Consultation procedure, the Council
can decide autonomously about a legislative proposal after consulting the
European Parliament whose opinion is not binding on the Council. Under
the Cooperation procedure, the Council can only override an objection by the
European Parliament if it decides unanimously. Finally, under Codecision the
Council cannot adopt a legislative act without the consent of the European
Parliament. Even though the legislative competences of the European
Parliament have been considerably increased over time, no legislative act
can enter into force without the approval of the Council of the European
Union. This requirement is a very powerful oversight mechanism which allows
member states to ultimately control the legislative activities of the European
Commission and the European Parliament. Due to its extensive legislative
responsibilities, the Council is a promising lobbying target for interest groups
(Hayes-Renshaw 2009, 80; Saurugger 2009, 105). Particularly domestic interest
groups lobby their national governments in an effort to influence European
policy-making through the Council (Eising 2004; Schneider and Baltz 2004;
Schneider, Finke, and Baltz 2007; Klüver 2010).
In order to explain why interest groups are able to influence policy decisions
taken by the Council, it is important to understand its motivation and its
preferences. In contrast to the European Commission and the European
Parliament, the members of the Council of the European Union are not
elected or appointed on the supranational level, but membership depends on
governmental responsibility at home. Its composition is therefore not fixed by
a supranational legislative term, but it is altered whenever elections in one of
the 27 member states take place that lead to changes in the configuration of
domestic governments. The central actors within the Council of the European
Union are national governments and their ministers respectively who are
bound to represent the interests of their home countries. Unlike the European
Commission, I therefore do not consider the Council as a unitary actor, but
I analyze the Council at the level of the national government and therefore
 Lobbying in Coalitions 39
Table 2.4 Objectives of national governments in the Council
Type of objective Objective of national governments in the Council

1. Basic interest Survival

2. Role-specific interest Reelection
3. Means preference 1. Obtaining citizen support
2. Gaining support of actors with economic power
3. Acquisition of policy-relevant information
4. Policy preference Policy position concerning concrete policy initiative

follow the tradition of the Council voting behavior literature that investigates
decision-making processes in the Council of the European Union (e.g. Mattila
2004; Zimmer, Schneider, and Dobbins 2005; Hagemann and Høyland 2008).
What motivates national governments in the Council of the European
Union? Drawing on classical rational choice theories, I assume that national
governments are rational, goal-oriented, and purposeful collective actors that
aim at achieving a set of hierarchically ordered objectives (Downs 1957;
Coleman 1990). The basic interest of national governments is survival (Downs
1957; Riker 1962) (see table 2.4). More specifically, I assume that they are
office-seeking actors who aim at maintaining their mandate. Accordingly,
Moravcsik (1993, 483) states “the primary interest of governments is to
maintain themselves in office.” As member state governments have to compete
in regular national elections that decide about the composition of domestic
governments, their role-specific interest is therefore reelection. In order to
secure their reelection, national governments have to obtain three goods:
policy-relevant information, citizen support, and economic power. National
governments need technical expertise in order to adopt legislation that
constitutes a technically appropriate solution to a given policy problem.
They furthermore need citizen support as they aim at finding political
solutions that are favored by a majority of their electorate. Finally, national
governments also require the backing of economically powerful actors as
their behavior has an important impact on the economy. Economic crisis
can lead to major opposition of domestic voters and national governments
therefore accommodate the demands raised by important economic players.
Interest groups which are able to supply national governments with the
required goods are in a good position to influence European policy-making
through the Council. I will therefore explain the need for policy-relevant
information, citizen support, and economic power in further detail below.
Policy preferences are the policy positions that national governments adopt
with regard to a concrete policy initiative that advance their role-specific and
basic interests.
40 Lobbying in the European Union

2.3 EXCHANGE GO ODS

In the previous sections, I have thoroughly analyzed the institutional role of

the European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council. Based
on assumptions about the underlying logic of action and the institutional
constraints in which the European institutions are embedded, I have deduced
a set of hierarchically ordered preferences that guide their behavior. I have
argued that the basic interest of the European Commission, the Members of
the European Parliament, and the governments in the Council is survival.
This common survival objective translates into different role-specific interests
depending on the institutional role of the European institutions. In order
to ensure its survival, the European Commission aims at presenting policy
proposals that successfully pass the legislative process by gaining the approval
of the Council and the European Parliament. In order to ensure their survival
as deputies in the European Parliament, Members of the European Parliament
strive for reelection. Similarly, the survival interest of national governments
translates in the role-specific interest to gain reelection in their home country.
In order to achieve their role-specific and ultimately their basic interests,
the European Commission, the MEPs, and national governments in the
Council need three goods: policy-relevant information, citizen support, and
economic power. The ability of interest groups to influence policy-making
in the European Union depends on their capacity to provide these goods
to the European institutions. In the ensuing sections, I therefore discuss the
institutional demands for these goods in further detail.

2.3.1 The need for information

In order to pursue their objectives, I have argued that the European

Commission, the Members of the European Parliament, and the national
governments in the Council are in need of policy-relevant information. The
importance of information supply for policy-making in general has been
highlighted by an extensive body of formal theoretical literature (e.g. Potters
and van Winden 1990, 1992; Austen-Smith 1993; Lohmann 1995, 1998;
Grossman and Helpman 2001; Crombez 2002). I will explain the need for
information in greater detail in this section.
The European Commission enjoys the monopoly of legislative initiative and
is therefore solely responsible for drafting new proposals. Drafting legislation
is a highly complex and challenging process. The European Commission
therefore needs to gather expertise in order to elaborate a policy proposal
that provides a technically appropriate solution to the policy problem at
hand. In addition, the Commission has to acquire information about the
policy positions of the member state governments and in case of Codecision
 Lobbying in Coalitions 41

also of the European Parliament since the success of its legislative proposals
depends on their consent. However, despite the increasing competences of
the European Union and the high complexity of European policy-making,
the European Commission is notoriously understaffed (McLaughlin, Jordan,
and Maloney 1993, 201; Marks and McAdam 1999, 105; Bouwen 2009, 20). In
2000, the European Commission employed only 16,409 people which merely
corresponds to the size of a larger city administration (Nugent 2001, 163).
The administrative staff of the European Commission is for instance much
smaller than the administrative staff of the local government of the city of
Rotterdam (Bouwen 2009, 20). In order to gather policy-relevant information,
the European Commission therefore widely consults among interest groups
(Majone 1996a, 72–74). The Commission is eager to interact with interest
groups since it needs their information in order to fulfill its institutional role
(Bouwen 2009, 22). Hence, the European Commission demands information
from private actors and by supplying this information, interest groups are able
to influence the content of the policy proposal (Aspinwall and Greenwood
1998, 7).
Once the European Commission adopts its legislative proposal, it is
forwarded to the Council and the European Parliament. In order to assess the
often very detailed and highly technical proposal, MEPs need information that
allows them to asses the legislative initiative (Kohler-Koch 1997; Bouwen 2002;
Kluger Rasmussen 2011). To understand the consequences that a proposal has
for their constituents, MEPs need information in order to evaluate the impact
of the proposed legislative framework. The parliamentarians are, however, not
well-staffed and they have an extremely busy agenda. They travel between
Brussels, Strasbourg, and their electoral district at home and usually rely on
one or two policy advisers, a secretary, and an intern to deal with the flood
of legislative proposals. Interest groups are therefore a welcome source of
information for MEPs (Kohler-Koch 1997, 6). Accordingly, a policy adviser
stated:
We cannot do our work without the information from interest groups. They
send us amendments and voting lists prior to the committee and plenary vote.
Sometimes it is very tempting to copy and paste their amendments and voting
lists. I mean we are all so busy in Parliament. (Kluger Rasmussen 2011, 8)
Whereas the European Commission takes a couple of years to prepare a
legislative initiative, the rapporteur who issues a report on the Commission
proposal on which basis the EP takes its decision only has a few months to draft
his report (Kluger Rasmussen 2011, 8). In order to fulfill their institutional
role and present a thorough and well-prepared report, particularly rapporteurs
rely on information provided by interest groups. Accordingly, a representative
from BUSINESSEUROPE, which is the general European umbrella association
of business interests, explained “the Parliament’s lack of in-house expertise
42 Lobbying in the European Union

leaves a huge space for interest group influence. Especially the rapporteurs are
starving for our advice” (Kluger Rasmussen 2011, 8). In conclusion, MEPs and
particularly rapporteurs require external information in order to assess the
impact of legislative proposals tabled by the European Commission. Interest
groups are therefore welcome guests who facilitate their parliamentary work
in providing the desperately required information.
National governments in the Council also need policy-relevant information
in order to decide about policy proposals presented by the European
Commission. Accordingly, Saurugger (2009, 122) notes “member state
governments call upon national interest groups for information and expertise.”
They require information in order to evaluate the technical quality and
to foresee the impact of a legislative initiative on their constituents. In
contrast to the European Commission and MEPs, national governments can
draw on national ministries as an important source of technical expertise
(Franchino 2007, 21). However, national ministries also rely to a large extent
on information provided by external actors in particular when it comes to
the position of major stakeholders who are affected by legislative proposals
(Pappi and Henning 1999, 279). An important channel through which interest
groups can influence the policy positions of their national governments
in the Council are therefore national ministries which regularly consult
domestic interest groups (Saurugger 2009, 106–112). The most important
access points for lobbying the Council on the European level are the permanent
representations and the sophisticated system of preparatory bodies (Coen and
Richardson 2009a, 10; Saurugger 2009, 112–118). Permanent representations
coordinate and organize the activities of their member states on the European
level. Council meetings are furthermore prepared by working groups and
committees to facilitate the work of the national ministers. These bodies are
composed of national officials from each member state and representatives
from the European Commission. Coreper, the most senior preparatory
body that is composed of the heads or deputy heads of the permanent
representations, filters the Council agenda in A and B points of which the
former have already been settled by the preparatory bodies while the latter
could not be resolved and therefore need to be discussed and negotiated by
national ministers. Hayes-Renshaw (2006, 50) reports that insiders estimate
that the preparatory bodies have already reached an agreement for about 85
percent of all the Council decisions so that the national ministers are largely
only approving decisions that already have been taken by working groups
or Coreper. Even though members of the preparatory bodies are generally
well-informed, they also rely on the expertise provided by interest groups
(Saurugger 2009, 120). Interest groups can therefore transmit information
to the Council at the domestic level through national ministries or at the
European level by lobbying permanent representations or members of the
preparatory bodies.
 Lobbying in Coalitions 43

I expect that the European institutions demand two different types of

information (see also Broscheid and Coen 2003, 170): First, the European
institutions require policy expertise and second, they are in need of
information on the preferences of major stakeholders. First, every policy
initiative starts with a policy problem defined as a need for legislation. In
order to be able to develop a policy proposal that addresses the problem,
the Commission requires expertise to provide an appropriate solution to the
policy problem at hand (Buholzer 1998; Pappi and Henning 1999; Radaelli
1999; Bouwen 2002). Similarly, in order to be able to assess a legislative
proposal tabled by the Commission, MEPs and national governments require
information about the technical details of the legislative initiative. When the
European institutions for instance deal with a legislative initiative on financial
services, they need information on how the market is functioning, who are
the players, what is the latest technological development, and so forth. Hence,
in order to produce legislation, the European institutions require expertise
provided by external actors (Mazey and Richardson 1992; Balme and Chabanet
2002; Saurugger 2002, 2003).
Interest groups by contrast are specialists that are only concerned with
very specific issues and are in close contact with the market or their
members who are directly affected by policies. They therefore dispose
of specialized issue-relevant expertise and enjoy informational advantages
vis-à-vis policy-makers (Hall and Deardorff 2006, 73). For instance, the
European Lamp Companies Federation is only concerned with policy issues
affecting lamp manufacturers and is very well informed about the functioning
and the developments of the lamp market. The Coalition Clean Baltic by
contrast only works on policies which affect the Baltic Sea and is therefore a
specialist on its environmental conditions and natural resources. The European
institutions are, however, dealing with multiple issues at the same time and lack
resources to gather sufficient expert knowledge. Accordingly, the European
Commission declared in a discussion paper on the partnership with civil
society organizations that interest groups can provide important expertise for
EU policy-making
through their links at local, regional, national and European level. . . . In particular,
they can provide feedback on the success or otherwise of specific policies thereby
contributing to the Commission’s task of defining and implementing policies
by fully taking into account its overall public policy responsibility. (European
Commission 2000, 5)
In this vein, Sandholtz (1992, 16) demonstrated in an analysis of the emergence
of the ESPRIT program that member states settled on the Commission


Similarly, Hall and Deardorff (2006, 74) distinguish between policy expertise and legislative
intelligence.
44 Lobbying in the European Union

proposal since they lacked information about policy alternatives. He argues

that the European Commission was successful in gaining member states’
approval because by widely consulting among industry groups “it had ‘done
its homework’ and understood in detail the condition of the IT industries and
their future prospects” (Sandholtz 1992, 5). Thus, when preparing a policy
proposal the European institutions consult interest groups to benefit from their
highly specialized policy expertise in order to develop policy proposals of high
technical quality.
The European institutions, however, not only require policy expertise,
but also need information about the preferences of major stakeholders and
constituents. Even though the European Commission has the sole right of
initiative, all proposals require the consent of the Council and for proposals
subject to Codecision also the approval of the European Parliament. Hence,
the European Commission needs to take into account their policy positions
when preparing a legislative initiative. Policy-making is, however, a lengthy
process and the Council and the European Parliament have often not arrived
on a clear policy position concerning a Commission initiative during the
policy formulation stage. National governments and Members of the European
Parliament in turn aim at adopting policy proposals which are preferred
by a majority of their voters (Lohmann 1993, 320). Hence, they try to find
policy solutions that have a low negative impact on their electorate. However,
decision-makers operate in highly uncertain environments (Hansen 1991, 5):
They have a broad idea about the policy preferences of their electorates, but
they are not entirely sure. Opinion polls are only of minor use since they only
cover very general trends and do not supply information about preferences
of voters on specific policy issues. Interest groups, however, offer help by
providing information about their constituents’ preferences on specific policy
decisions. Correspondingly, Bouwen (2002, 381) argues that
MEPs need information about their national electorate. This access good
provides them with information about the needs and preferences of their voters.
Furthermore, the MEPs are eager to deal with interest groups that provide this
good because they might also be able to mobilize their constituents.
The European Commission can therefore use interest groups as an indicator for
the policy positions of the European Parliament and the Council. Accordingly,
Butt Philip (1985, 42) already noted in 1985 that the European Commission
“both wants and needs contact with the many interest groups in Europe.
It too needs information about the variety of positions and aspirations of
Euro-groups and national pressure groups.” Similarly, Richardson and Coen
(2009, 339) point out, “it would be very odd indeed (and certainly foolish)
for any policy-maker to plough ahead with a proposal in total ignorance

ESPRIT stands for European Strategic Programme for Research and Development in
Information Technologies.
 Lobbying in Coalitions 45

of how the affected interests might react or of whether there might be

some practical/technical difficulties which could make the desired policy
unworkable.” Hence, since the support of interest groups is important for their
reelection, national governments and Members of the European Parliament
have to take their demands into account when making policy decisions.
Since the European Commission requires the consent of the Council and the
European Parliament, it therefore anticipates their policy positions by relying
on interest group information. In this vein, McCubbins, Noll, and Weingast
(1987, 173–175) argue that the consultation of interest groups which are
politically relevant to the principals enables agents to define politically safe
ground and to thereby avoid costly sanctions from the principals.
In conclusion, the European institutions aim at presenting a technically
appropriate solution to a given policy problem, but also want to make sure
that they avoid the opposition of major societal interests. Hence, the European
institutions require technical expertise as well as information about the policy
positions of major stakeholders. The following proposition can be derived:
Propositon 2: The European institutions demand information from interest
groups.

2.3.2 The need for citizen support

In order to advance their individual objectives, the European Commission, the

Council, and the European Parliament not only need information, but they
also require citizen support. Citizen support is needed for two reasons: First,
the European institutions require electoral support and second, citizen support
enhances the legitimacy of European policy initiatives.
The importance of electoral support for influencing public policy has been
discussed extensively in the public choice literature (e.g. Stigler 1971; Kau
and Rubin 1979; Plotnick 1986; Grossman and Helpman 2001). National
governments as well as Members of the European Parliament are subject to
electoral scrutiny. As discussed previously, I assume that they are office-seeking
actors who strive for reelection and therefore aim at maximizing votes (Downs
1957; Riker 1962; Mayhew 1974). If a large majority of citizens supports a
policy proposal which decision-makers do not approve, they could pay for
it in the next election (Mayhew 1974). Decision-makers therefore attempt to
adopt policy proposals which are supported by a majority of their electorate to
avoid electoral punishment (Lohmann 1993, 320). As Peltzman, Levine, and
Noll (1989, 6–7) put it, citizens that are affected by a political decision “will be
moved to vote for or against the representative politician. Because his ultimate
goal is securing and enhancing his power, the politician prefers decisions that
directly elicit favorable votes.”
46 Lobbying in the European Union

In order to gain reelection, national governments in the Council as well as

Members of the European Parliament therefore seek to adopt policy proposals
that are favored by their electorate. Accordingly, Moravcsik (1993, 483, 1997,
531) argued that national governments are responsive to the demands of
voters and interest groups which represent their voters in order to gain their
support for staying in office. National governments carefully examine the
consequences of legislative initiatives for their constituencies and aim to adopt
proposals that have a low negative impact on their domestic voters (Hix and
Høyland 2011, 61–62). Similarly, Members of the European Parliament have
to compete in elections every five years to secure their seat in the Parliament.
In order to gain enough electoral support from citizens, MEPs are responsive
to the concerns of national voters when evaluating legislative proposals. MEPs
and national governments therefore particularly take into account demands
raised by interest groups with a large membership base since they represent
a large number of voters (Kohler-Koch 1997, 11). For instance, the likelihood
that national governments and MEPs take into account the preferences of a
trade union rises with the number of its members. The higher the number of
members of an interest group, the more relevant is this group to elected officials
since it can mobilize a large number of voters. Thus, national governments and
Members of the European Parliament are therefore particularly attentive to
requests voiced by large associations which is reflected in their voting behavior
on policy proposals tabled by the European Commission.
The European Commission can exploit the electoral dependence of MEPs
and national governments. In order to make sure that the Council and the
European Parliament approve a new legislative initiative, it can strategically
rally the support of interest groups with a broad membership base. If interest
groups represent a big share of their electorate, national governments and
MEPs are eager to accommodate their interests as these groups are able to
mobilize a large number of voters. In order to avoid electoral punishment
induced by interest groups whose demands were ignored, the Council and the
European Parliament therefore approve Commission proposals that enjoy the
support of interest groups that speak for a large number of citizens.
Citizen support is also important to add legitimacy to European policy
initiatives. Following Schimmelfennig (2001, 2003), I expect that the European
institutions engage in “rhetorical action” by strategically using citizen support
as a source of legitimacy and by employing legitimacy-based arguments
instrumentally to promote favored proposals. I assume that the European
Commission, Members of the European Parliament, and member state
governments are rational actors who pursue their own personal interests, but
who belong to a political community whose constitutive values and norms they
share (Schimmelfennig 2001, 62). They have institutionalized a standard of
political legitimacy which is based on the norms and values of the community
(Schimmelfennig 2001, 62). This standard of legitimacy defines which political
 Lobbying in Coalitions 47

actions are desirable and permissible. These community norms, however, do

not determine the preferences of the European institutions, but they constitute
an institutional constraint which the institutions have to take into account
when pursuing their own interests (Schimmelfennig 2001, 63). They have to
justify their actions on the ground of common norms and values.
I argue that the most fundamental value of the political community that
structures political action is democratic governance. Since all EU member
states are liberal democracies, the European institutions are committed to
democratically organized political institutions that are accountable to citizens
(Rittberger 2005, 62–63). The delegation of competences to the European
institutions has, however, resulted in an asymmetry between “consequentialist”
and “procedural” legitimacy which represents the legitimacy deficit (Rittberger
2003, 2005). Whereas consequentialist legitimacy is based on the efficiency
of institutions in producing policy outputs, procedural legitimacy is based
on the acceptance of rules and procedures whereby political decisions are
taken. The European institutions are well aware of this legitimacy deficit:
Ever since the Maastricht treaty was signed, the media and academics have
devoted considerable attention to the lack of legitimacy of the European polity
(Rittberger 2005, 28–34). The democratic deficit of the European Union is
therefore a particularly salient problem that attracts wide attention and so
facilitates the use of rhetorical action (Rittberger and Schimmelfennig 2006;
Schimmelfennig et al. 2006). Since the vibrant debate on the democratic deficit
of the European Union threatens the stance of the European institutions,
they strategically use interest group inclusion as a means to increase their
procedural legitimacy, thereby strengthening their position in the light of the
perceived democratic deficit. Bouwen (2009, 22–23) reasons accordingly that
“through wide consultation of private interests with a particular emphasis on
consulting representative interests with broad constituencies, the Commission
aims at enhancing its legitimacy and securing support for its proposals during
the later stages of the legislative process.”
Why should the consultation and inclusion of interest groups have an
effect on the behavior of the European institutions? Following Schimmelfennig
(2001, 2003), I argue that shaming plays a fundamental role in binding
political actors to the norms and values of the political community. Member
state governments, MEPs, and the European Commission have committed
themselves to the principles of democratic governance according to which
political institutions represent the interests of citizens to which they are
accountable. If they choose to deviate from these values, other actors of the
community can publicly blame them for not adhering to their commitments.
Thus, if MEPs and national governments resist giving their consent to a


Similarly, Scharpf (1970, 1999) distinguishes between “input legitimacy” and “output
legitimacy.”
48 Lobbying in the European Union

policy proposal that is supported by a large number of citizens, the European

Commission can publicly blame them for not conforming with the principle
of democratic governance.
As deliberations in the European Parliament are open to the public
and as more and more voting records of MEPs and national ministers
in the Council are publicly available, the publicity of the EU legislative
process facilitates the use of rhetorical action (Rittberger and Schimmelfennig
2006; Schimmelfennig et al. 2006). For instance, a public website called
“Votewatch.eu” monitors MEPs and national ministers and makes information
about their legislative behavior easily accessible to citizens. Hence, by not
behaving in accordance with the common norms and values, political actors
risk their standing, their reputation, and their credibility in the political
community. As Schimmelfennig (2001, 65) points out, the community values
even constrain members that have only used the standard of legitimacy
strategically to pursue their self-interest since “they can become entrapped by
their arguments and obliged to behave as if they had taken them seriously.”
In order to avoid being publicly blamed for not representing citizen demands
and not being reelected due to deviation from the standard of legitimacy,
national governments and Members of the European Parliament therefore give
their consent to policy initiatives that are supported by a large number of
citizens.
However, despite the increasing transparency of EU decision-making,
shaming only works for policy issues that are highly salient such as the
Services Directive which has raised considerable public attention. While
citizen attention to policy issues dealt with at the European level is usually fairly
low, other political actors such as interest groups or the European Commission
can strategically increase the salience of an issue to mobilize public opinion for
their cause. An interest group which is supported by a large number of citizens
can therefore strategically mobilize its constituents to pressure the European
institutions.
Since the European Commission strives to present policy proposals that
successfully pass the legislative process and since the Council and the European
Parliament have committed themselves to represent the interests of their
citizens, the European Commission attempts to introduce policy proposals that
enjoy wide support among the public. The European Commission is therefore
more responsive to demands raised by interest groups which represent a large
number of citizens (see also Bouwen 2002). With the backing of these groups,
the European Commission can signal broad citizen support for its policy
initiative and thereby appeal to the principle of democracy and accountability
which constrains the behavior of the Council and the European Parliament.


This website can be accessed on http://www.votewatch.eu.
 Lobbying in Coalitions 49

In conclusion, the European Commission, the Council, and the European

Parliament need citizen support to pursue their individual objectives. In order
to guarantee the success of its policy proposals, the European Commission
strategically uses citizen support in order to signal electoral support to the
Members of the European Parliament and national governments. They in turn
aim at adopting policy proposals that are supported by a majority of their voters
to secure their reelection. Citizen support is also a means for the European
institutions to add legitimacy to policy initiatives as they are constrained by the
principles of democratic governance and want to avoid being publicly blamed
for adopting policies without the support of European citizens. In conclusion,
the following proposition can be derived:
Propositon 3: The European institutions demand citizen support from
interest groups.

2.3.3 The need for economic power

I have theorized that the primary goal of national governments and Members
of the European Parliament is reelection. In order to attain this goal, they
need policy-relevant information and citizen support to adopt legislation
that is technically appropriate and that is supported by a majority of their
electorate. To obtain the support of voters, national governments and MEPs
have to accommodate their interests. Drawing on models of economic voting,
I furthermore assume that vote choices of citizens are primarily driven by
economic motives. As a consequence, national governments and MEPs have to
secure the support of economically powerful actors as their behavior crucially
affects economic performance. It is therefore argued in this section that the
European institutions demand economic power from interest groups in the
sense that they are more responsive to concerns raised by interest groups that
control an important economic sector than to interest groups that do not have
an impact on business investment or employment.
Economic power is defined as the ability of an actor to control business
investment and job creation. It describes the economic weight of an actor
in terms of generating growth and controlling jobs. Following the structural
power argument put forward by Lindblom (1977) and Przeworski and
Wallerstein (1988), it is argued that economic actors enjoy a structurally
powerful position that enables them to achieve favored policy outcomes
without even having to lobby for their cause. The structural power of business


It is not the case that interest groups directly provide economic resources such as assets
in European companies to the European institutions. What is decisive is that the European
institutions can draw on the political support of economic actors that control business
investments and job creation in the European Union when drafting and implementing legislation.
50 Lobbying in the European Union

is based on its central role for the functioning of the economy. The behavior
and performance of firms has a major impact on politics and society. It
affects economic growth, the number of jobs, and the economic security of
employees. Policies that have a negative effect on the profits of companies
may therefore result in disincentives for investment, a slowdown of economic
growth, increasing unemployment, and decreasing tax revenues (Przeworski
and Wallerstein 1988, 12).
A loss of jobs, inflation, or other economic distress can lead to major
opposition from citizens who might punish decision-makers at the next
election. Accordingly, Przeworski and Wallerstein (1988, 12) state that
reelection-seeking politicians must anticipate the impact of their policies on
business decisions as these affect inflation, employment, and the personal
income of voters. One can accordingly observe that fighting unemployment
and avoiding inflation are major issues in electoral campaigns. The importance
of economic performance for the popularity and electoral success of politicians
has been famously acknowledged by Bill Clinton’s strategic adviser, James
Carville, who placed a sign in the Little Rock headquarters of the 1992
presidential campaign displaying the famous phrase (Safire 1993, 376): “It’s the
economy, Stupid!” In a similar vein, Duch and Stevenson (2005b, 1) describe
the importance of the economy for the outcome of elections as follows:
It is virtually a universal belief among politicians, political commentators,
and even voters that elections are referenda on the economy. Politicians fill
their speeches with economic rhetoric; political commentators generate endless
streams of economic analysis, and high-paid consultants base their statistical
predictions on little else.
Accordingly, an entire strand of the voting behavior literature explains the vote
choice of citizens with “economic voting” (e.g. Lewis-Beck and Stegmaier 2000;
Duch and Stevenson 2005a,b). Models of economic voting consider voters as
primarily driven by economic motives. Voters are conceptualized as principals
who delegate competences to policy-makers (agents) to provide future
economic benefits. In order to prevent politicians from shirking, they provide
disincentives via electoral punishments (Duch and Stevenson 2005a, 389). As
voters cannot directly observe the behavior of their agents, they condition
their vote choice on the overall macroeconomic performance (Duch and
Stevenson 2005a, 389). Empirical research across a wide variety of established
democracies has confirmed the expectations of the economic voting model:
Economic indicators such as unemployment, income, inflation, and gross
national product can account for much of the variation in government support
(Lewis-Beck and Stegmaier 2000). The importance of the economy for the
reelection of politicians is summarized by Lewis-Beck and Stegmaier (2000,
211) as follows:
 Lobbying in Coalitions 51

The powerful relationship between the economy and the electorate in democracies
the world over comes from the economic responsiveness of the electors, the
individual voters. Among the issues on the typical voter’s agenda, none is more
consistently present, nor generally has a stronger impact, than the economy.
Citizen dissatisfaction with economic performance substantially increases the
probability of a vote against the incumbent.
Similarly, Bernhagen (2007, 44) reasons that “economic voting is the
mechanism through which the structural power of business unfolds.” Thus,
national governments and MEPs accommodate the interests of important
economic actors as they have a major impact on the economy and can therefore
ultimately affect the vote choice of citizens. Interest groups representing
important economic actors can therefore yield influence on decision-makers
simply because of the impact that business decisions can have on whether or
not to invest in a specific area (Bernhagen and Bräuninger 2005; Bernhagen
2007). For instance, the likelihood that national governments and MEPs
give their consent to a policy proposal which is supported by the European
Automobile Manufacturer’s Association is extremely high since it represents
one of the most important industries if not the most important industry
in Europe. A prominent example of the effect of economic power on
governmental decision-making is the recent crisis of General Motors in which
the affected national governments were trying to accommodate the demands of
General Motors to keep as many jobs as possible in their country. Hence, when
policy issues are much contested and many interest groups try to influence
the decision-making process, it is likely that those interest groups that dispose
of the highest economic power will prevail. Moravcsik (1998, 18) similarly
states that “European integration can best be explained as a series of rational
choices made by national leaders. These choices responded to constraints and
opportunities stemming from the economic interests of powerful domestic
constituents.”
The European Commission is well aware of the dependence of national
governments and MEPs on economically powerful actors. If a Commission
proposal has the backing of major companies and entire industries as in
the case of the Single Market Program, national governments and Members
of the European Parliament will most likely approve the Commission’s
initiative. In order to promote its policy proposals and to ensure the consent
of the Council and the European Parliament, the European Commission
therefore strategically forms alliances with private business actors who lobby
member state governments and MEPs to accept its initiatives (Coen 1997, 96,
1998, 79).
Several studies have documented the impact of industry groups on
European policy: Sandholtz (1992, 16) has demonstrated in an analysis of the
emergence of the ESPRIT program that the key to winning the approval of the
52 Lobbying in the European Union

national governments was the alliance that the European Commission formed
with industry. Similarly, Peterson (1991) analyzed the emergence of technology
policy at the European level and came to the conclusion that the support of
important industry groups was essential for the success of the Commission
initiatives in this field. Finally, Sandholtz and Zysman (1989) and Cowles
(1995) investigated the creation of the 1992 Single Market Program and argued
that the European Commission formed an alliance with powerful industry
groups in order to promote its initiative. Shortly after the newly installed
Commission president, Jacques Delors, announced the new Commission’s
intention to create a fully unified single market by 1992 in January 1985,
leading CEOs (chief executive officers) of multinational firms declared on
the front page of the Financial Times that they would take their companies
overseas if member state governments did not follow the Commission’s
proposal for a united Europe (Cowles 1995, 515–516). The CEO of Philips
furthermore threatened the national governments in a public speech by saying
“if Europe is neither able nor willing to develop its economic structure, then the
consequences of that must be drawn” (Cowles 1995, 516). In order to pressure
national governments to quickly realize the common market, the European
Round Table of Industrialists furthermore published the following press release
in January 1986:
If progress towards the implementation of the European market is as slow as at
present, it is unavoidable that European industries might have to reconsider their
long-term strategies in order to stay competitive, with the possibility of redirecting
investments to other parts of the world outside Europe. This could lead to a serious
setback in Europe’s industrial development with grave consequences for economic
activity, employment and general welfare in Europe. (European Round Table of
Industrialists 1987, cited in Cowles 1995, 519)
To sum up, the primary concern of national governments in the Council
and Members of the European Parliament is reelection. In order to win their
voters’ approval, national governments and MEPs need to take into account
their preferences. Drawing on models of economic voting, I have argued that
voters are primarily driven by economic considerations when making their
vote choice. In order to guarantee a smooth functioning of the economy,
national governments and MEPs therefore have to accommodate the interests
of economically powerful actors as their behavior crucially determines
economic performance. National governments and MEPs therefore listen to
the demands raised by interest groups with a high degree of economic power
to avoid opposition from major economic players. The European Commission
strategically exploits this dependence: In order to acquire the consent of the
Council and the European Parliament for its policy proposals, the European
Commission attempts to build alliances with economically powerful actors.
Hence, the following proposition can be derived:
 Lobbying in Coalitions 53

Propositon 4: The European institutions demand economic power from

interest groups.

2.4 LOBBYING COALITIONS

In the preceding sections, I have developed an exchange model that

conceptualizes lobbying as an exchange relationship between interest groups
and the European Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament.
Drawing on theoretical assumptions about the logic of action and the
preferences of interest groups and the European institutions, I have derived
propositions about goods that are exchanged. I theorized that interest
groups demand influence from the European institutions and that these in
turn demand three goods from interest groups to pursue their individual
objectives: policy-relevant information, citizen support, and economic power.
The ability of interest groups to influence policy-making in the European
Union thus depends on their capacity to supply these goods to the European
institutions.
However, it is misleading to simply look at the amount of goods that
are provided by individual interest groups to draw conclusions about their
influence on European policy-making. Policy issues raise the attention of
multiple interest groups at the same time. Lobbying is therefore not an
individual endeavor, but a complex collective process of multiple interest
groups simultaneously trying to shift the policy outcome towards their ideal
point. Hence, interest groups are not lobbying individually, they are lobbying
together (Hula 1999). Correspondingly, Baumgartner et al. (2009, 22) assert
in spite of journalistic accounts suggesting that much lobbying involves a
single corporation attempting to get a single favor or contract with no broader
implications for others, such “lone ranger” lobbying is far from the norm.
It is therefore necessary to take into account how interest groups come together
in lobbying coalitions on any given policy issue in order to understand what
makes an interest group a winner or a loser (Sabatier 1988).
Accordingly, several scholars have studied interest group coalitions
(Salisbury et al. 1987; Hojnacki 1997, 1998; Gray and Lowery 1998; Pijnenburg
1998; Hula 1999; Mahoney 2007b). These studies, however, focused mainly
on explaining the establishment of formal, long-term coalitions and did
not analyze the effect of issue-specific lobbying coalitions on interest group
influence. I argue instead that issue-specific lobbying coalitions play a major
role in understanding interest group influence and policy change (see also
Sabatier 1988; Leech et al. 2007; Baumgartner et al. 2009). Moreover, I go
beyond earlier studies on lobbying coalitions by not focusing solely on formal
54 Lobbying in the European Union

Lobbying Coalition A Lobbying Coalition B

Issue Dimension
IG1 IG2 IG3 IG4 LEG2 LEG1 IG5 IG6
IG = Interest Group, LEG = Legislator

Fig. 2.1 Lobbying coalitions

coalitions which interest groups officially join. By contrast, I expect that

the alignment of interest groups in the policy space is the decisive point
in understanding the importance of lobbying coalitions for policy-making.
Following Baumgartner et al. (2009, 6), I therefore define a lobbying coalition
as a “set of actors who share the same policy goal.” Thus, interest groups which
are located on the same side of the policy space on a given issue form one
lobbying coalition.
It has to be noted that the term lobbying coalition employed in this book
differs from the use of the term “coalition” in the literature on coalition
governments (e.g. Müller and Strøm 2000; Martin and Vanberg 2011).
Coalition government scholars use the coalition term to denote alliances that
political parties deliberately form for the purpose of governing together. In
order to effectively pursue a common government agenda, coalition parties
coordinate their activities and exchange information. By contrast, lobbying
coalitions as defined in this book are solely based on the idea that interest
groups pursue the same policy objective. There is no need for officially joining
an alliance or coordinating lobbying strategies. As long as interest groups fight
for the same policy goal, they pull decision-makers in the same direction and
therefore form a common lobbying team. From a policy-maker’s perspective
it is not important whether interest groups formally cooperate or not. As long
as they share the same policy objective and lobby for their cause, they are part
of the same camp.
The role of lobbying coalitions is demonstrated in figure 2.1. A legislator
at two different time points and six interest groups are indicated in a
unidimensional policy space. In order to determine issue-specific lobbying
coalitions, the decisive reference is the location of the legislator in the policy
space (LEG1). Interest groups which are positioned on the same side of the

A lobbying coalition shares some similarities with an issue network defined as “a
shared-knowledge group having to do with some aspect. . . of public policy” (Heclo 1978, 103).
Lobbying coalitions revolve around specific policy issues just like issue networks. However, issue
networks are not based on agreement, they only define a group of actors that are knowledgeable
and concerned about a certain policy issue. Issue networks may therefore be divided into several
lobbying coalitions of interest groups sharing knowledge and interest in a particular issue, but
pursing different policy objectives.
 Lobbying in Coalitions 55

initial legislator ideal point form a joint lobbying coalition as they share the
same policy preference. For instance, IG1, IG2, IG3, and IG4 all share a
common policy objective in the sense that they collectively pull the legislator
towards the left side of the policy space. They therefore constitute lobbying
coalition A. Similarly, IG5 and IG6 also pursue the same policy goal as they
simultaneously pull the decision-maker towards the right side of the policy
space and as a result form lobbying coalition B.
These lobbying coalitions are by definition issue-specific since the policy
preferences of interest groups on specific policy issues determine whether
they pull decision-makers in the same direction. I therefore do not focus on
permanent, formal coalitions which interest groups deliberately decide to join.
Instead, I argue that the location of interest groups in the issue-specific policy
space determines the grouping of interest groups into lobbying coalitions. It is
not necessary that interest groups formally cooperate or exchange information.
As long as they share the same policy objective, they push the European
institutions in the same direction and therefore form a lobbying coalition.
The composition of lobbying coalitions varies extensively across policy
issues as different actors are involved and interest groups that work together
on one issue can be opposed on another issue. Many lobbying coalitions
extend beyond a small circle of friends since policy issues can cut across
a wide variety of groups and policy domains. Consequently, Baumgartner
et al. (2009) found that lobbying coalitions (or “lobbying sides” as they call
them) are rarely homogeneous since policy issues are highly complex and
raise the attention of a wide variety of actors. Even interest groups that might
otherwise oppose each other can work together on a specific policy issue (see
also Beyers 2008, 1206–1207). For instance, Aguilar Fernández (1997, 105)
pointed out that German car manufacturers strongly rejected the introduction
of speed limits and thus opposed environmental groups on this issue whereas
German manufacturers supported environmental NGOs in demanding the
mandatory imposition of catalytic converters throughout Europe in which they
had invested in order to export to the US.
Baumgartner et al. (2009) have made an important contribution by pointing
out the role of issue-specific lobbying coalitions. However, they have limited
their focus to examining the composition of lobbying coalitions and to
analyzing the effect of aggregated coalition resources on lobbying success
without systematically embedding coalitions into an exchange framework
in order to identify the goods demanded by decision-makers. Baumgartner
et al. (2009) have only looked at several resource indicators such as lobbying
expenditures or campaign contributions, but not at the three goods identified
here, namely information, citizen support, and economic power. Drawing
on the propositions that were developed in the previous sections and going
beyond Baumgartner et al. (2009), I argue that it is necessary to take into
account the aggregated information supply, citizen support, and economic
56 Lobbying in the European Union

power of entire lobbying coalitions in order to understand lobbying success.

The European institutions are confronted with a wide variety of interest groups
which seek to shape the outcome of the legislative process. One individual
interest group is not very likely to determine the policy outcome. By contrast,
what matters is the strength of a coalition of interest groups that share the
same policy goal. The European institutions most likely take into account
the policy preferences of those interest groups which are members of the
strongest coalition since this lobbying team can supply them with a higher
amount of information, citizen support, and economic power than its opposing
coalition.
I therefore argue that information supply, citizen support, and economic
power have to be taken into account at the lobbying coalition level (see
also Baumgartner et al. 2009). To illustrate this point, imagine the following
example: IG1, IG2, IG3, IG4 individually supply only a medium amount of
information, citizen support, and economic power to the European institutions
while IG5 supplies a large amount and IG6 provides a small amount of
these goods to the European Commission, the Council, and the European
Parliament. Looking solely at individual interest groups would lead to the
expectation that IG5 should be able to influence European policy-making as
it provides the largest amount of exchange goods to the European institutions.
However, taking into account the issue-specific grouping of interest groups
into lobbying coalitions changes the picture. On the aggregate level, IG1,
IG2, IG3, and IG4 provide more information, citizen support, and economic
power to the European institutions than their opposing groups IG5 and IG6.
Consequently, the former are together able to pull the legislator towards
their ideal point while the latter fail in their lobbying attempts. Thus, when
trying to understand why some interest groups successfully shape European
policy-making while others do not, it is important to take into account the
aggregated characteristics of issue-specific lobbying coalitions rather than
focusing on individual interest group properties.
Hence, when trying to understand why some interest groups successfully
shape policy-making in the European Union while others do not, the
aggregated information supply, citizen support, and economic power of
issue-specific lobbying coalitions are decisive. What matters, however, are
not the values of absolute coalition characteristics, but information supply,
citizen support, and economic power of a lobbying coalition in relation to its
opposing coalition. To illustrate this point, imagine the following scenario:
There are two policy issues and on each issue, two lobbying coalitions are
trying to influence policy-making. On issue 1, lobbying coalition A might
represent 20,000 citizens and lobbying coalition B might represent 60,000
citizens. On issue 2, lobbying coalition C might only represent 8,000 citizens
and lobbying coalition D 2,000 citizens. A comparison of the absolute values
of citizen support would lead to the conclusion that lobbying coalition
 Lobbying in Coalitions 57

A and lobbying coalition B are stronger than lobbying coalition C and D.

This is, however, misleading since the relative citizen support as compared
to the opposing coalition on the same issue is decisive. According to this
measurement, lobbying coalition A supplies 25 percent, coalition B supplies
75 percent, coalition C provides 80 percent, and coalition D provides 20
percent of the overall citizen support to the European institutions. Hence, one
would conclude that lobbying coalition B and C should have higher chances to
influence policy-making.
In conclusion, bringing the propositions about the exchange goods together
with the lobbying coalition as the decisive level of analysis, the following
hypotheses can be formulated:
Hypothesis 1: The higher the relative information supply by a lobbying
coalition, the higher the probability that an interest group belonging to this
lobbying coalition influences policy-making in the European Union.
Hypothesis 2: The higher the relative citizen support of a lobbying coalition,
the higher the probability that an interest group belonging to this lobbying
coalition influences policy-making in the European Union.
Hypothesis 3: The higher the relative economic power of a lobbying
coalition, the higher the probability that an interest group belonging to this
lobbying coalition influences policy-making in the European Union.

2.5 ISSUE CONTEXT

I have so far argued that lobbying can be conceptualized as an exchange

relationship between the European institutions and lobbying coalitions in
which the Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament trade
influence for information supply, citizen support, and economic power. The
intensity of the exchange relationship, however, varies across policy issues
as the demand for information changes with the issue context. Every policy
issue is distinct as policy issues differ extensively in a variety of characteristics.
Some issues might be highly technical whereas the complexity of other issues
might be rather low. Hence, lobbying does not take place in a vacuum, rather
interest groups are embedded in an issue environment with which they have to
interact. The characteristics of the policy issue at hand therefore considerably
affect their ability to succeed in their lobbying attempts. Thus, the issue
context defines the environment in which interest groups are competing for
influence and it can facilitate or hamper their ability to influence European
policy-making.
More specifically, I hypothesize that the effect of information supply varies
with the complexity of the policy issue (Smith 2000; Dür and De Bièvre 2007b;
58 Lobbying in the European Union

Woll 2007; Dür 2008b). Complexity denotes the degree to which a given
policy problem is difficult to analyze, understand, or solve. Policy-making
is a very challenging task and decision-makers are increasingly lacking
sufficient information about the impact of specific policy measures. The
European Commission, the European Parliament, and the Council are
therefore gathering external information by widely consulting among interest
groups to compensate for their lack of information (Majone 1996a, 72–74;
Bouwen 2009, 22). Hence, decision-makers demand information from private
actors and by supplying this information, interest groups are able to influence
the outcome of policy-making processes. Correspondingly, Austen-Smith
(1993, 799–800) points out that
decision-makers are frequently choosing policies without complete information
on their consequences, in which case, information becomes valuable, and those
who possess it are accordingly in a position to influence policy.
However, the need for external expertise varies from policy proposal to policy
proposal: Some proposals may concern the entire internal market and may be
highly technical whereas other proposals may only affect a very small sector
and merely constitute a small modification to existing legislation. If policy
proposals are highly complex, the need for external expert knowledge is very
high and the European institutions are particularly open for an exchange
with interest groups. However, if a policy issue is very simple in nature, the
demand for information should be very low and interest groups should find
it more difficult to influence European policy-making through information
transmission.
I therefore expect that there is an interaction effect between the complexity
of policy issues and information supply by interest groups. If a policy issue is
highly complex, the European institutions need a high amount of information
from interest groups. Hence, interest groups which can supply the information
needed by the Commission, the Council and the European Parliament should
be in a good position to influence the policy-making process. However, if a
policy issue is hardly complex at all, the European institutions barely need
any information. Interest groups which rely mainly on providing information
to European decision-makers should thus find it very difficult to have an
impact on the legislative debate. I therefore expect that the positive effect of
information supply on interest group influence is moderated by the complexity
of the policy issue. The effect should be strong on highly complex issues and it
should be weak on issues of low complexity. Hence, the following conditional
hypothesis can be derived:
Hypothesis 4: The higher the complexity of a policy issue, the stronger
the positive effect of relative information supply by lobbying coalitions on
interest group influence on policy-making in the European Union.
 Lobbying in Coalitions 59

2.6 CONCLUSION

This chapter laid out the theoretical model guiding this study. It has
been argued that lobbying is an exchange relationship in which the
European institutions demand policy-relevant information, citizen support,
and economic power from interest groups. The ability of interest groups
to supply these goods to the Commission, the Council, and the European
Parliament explains why some interest groups are able to succeed in their
lobbying activities while others fail to shape the policy process. It has
furthermore been argued that lobbying is a collective enterprise. Policy
issues mobilize numerous interest groups which simultaneously lobby the
European institutions. Interest groups pursuing the same policy goal pull
the decision-makers in the same direction and therefore form a lobbying
coalition. What is decisive is therefore not the supply of exchange goods by
individual interest groups, but the aggregated provision of information, citizen
support, and economic power by entire lobbying coalitions. Finally, it has been
theorized that the information needs of the European institutions vary with the
complexity of policy issues. As a result, the effect of information supply should
increase with the complexity of policy proposals. The next chapter turns to the
empirical part of the book by laying the foundation for testing the specified
hypotheses.
 3

How to Measure Interest Group Influence

Analyzing interest group influence should be of central concern to scholars

of European policy-making. However, only few researchers have in fact
studied interest group influence, mainly owing to methodological difficulties
in operationalizing influence. This chapter therefore presents and tests a
new methodological approach to measure interest group influence that
draws on quantitative text analysis to analyze consultations of the European
Commission. By extracting policy positions from interest group consultation
submissions and comparing them with the Commission’s preliminary
consultation draft, the Commission’s final policy proposal, and the final
legislative act adopted by the Council and the European Parliament, I am able
to draw conclusions about the winners and the losers of the policy-making
process in the European Union. Since this is a novel approach and text
analysis has not been used before in interest group research, I demonstrate
the validity of this measurement approach by presenting a case study in which
I compare the results obtained by computerized text analysis with traditional
hand-coding. The results correlate highly and quantitative text analysis proves
to be a powerful tool to measure interest groups’ policy positions thus paving
the way for the large-scale analysis of interest group influence conducted in
this book.
The chapter proceeds as follows: I first present a review of methodological
approaches that have been suggested for the measurement of interest group
influence. I thoroughly discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each
approach and point out their shortcomings. I then propose a new approach
to influence measurement that draws on quantitative text analysis and enables
researchers to study interest group influence across a wide variety of policy
issues and interest groups. I present this new approach by first discussing
several text analysis techniques that could potentially be used for the study
of interest group influence and then comparing these approaches in a case
study in which I test the applicability of these techniques in interest group

This chapter constitutes a revised and much extended version of “Measuring Interest Group
Influence Using Quantitative Text Analysis” which was published in European Union Politics
(10, 4) in 2009.
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 61

research. Based on the results of the case study, I finally draw conclusions
for the applicability of text analysis in interest group influence research in
general and for the measurement of interest group influence in this study in
particular.

3.1 OVERVIEW OF APPROACHES TO INFLUENCE

MEASUREMENT

The lack of empirical studies on interest group influence is largely due to

methodological difficulties in operationalizing interest group influence. So far,
three different approaches to the empirical measurement of interest group
influence can be identified: process-tracing, assessing attributed influence, and
gauging the degree of preference attainment (Dür 2008c).
Process-tracing is the most frequently applied methodological approach
to interest group influence measurement (e.g. Cowles 1995; Long 1995;
Michalowitz 2007; Princen 2007). Process-tracing offers major strengths (Dür
2008c): Due to the small number of cases, scholars have a profound knowledge
of the examined cases and are able to include nearly all explanatory factors
in the analysis. These studies therefore provide high internal validity and are
well-suited for checking rival theories and for generating new hypotheses.
However, process-tracing also suffers from several shortcomings (Dür 2008c):
Case studies typically focus on one particular issue so that it is not possible
to examine the effect of the issue context since contextual variables are
held constant. Moreover, the concentration on one or just a few cases limits
the external validity, that is, the generalizability of the results. In addition,
process-tracing mostly relies on observable actions and since lobbying often
takes place behind closed doors or structural power is at work, important
channels of influence might not be covered.
The second methodological approach is the attributed influence method
which draws either on the self-evaluation of interest groups or on the
assessment of experts (e.g. Egdell and Thomson 1999; Pappi and Henning
1999; Dür and De Bièvre 2007a). This method has several advantages (Dür
2008c): It is relatively simple, it can be applied to a large number of cases, and
it captures all channels of influence. However, it is certainly debatable (Dür
2008c): Self-evaluation rests on the subjective assessment of the interest group
leaders and is subject to misleading incentives (e.g. Whiteley and Winyard
1987). On the one hand, groups might exaggerate their influence in order to
signal success to their members (Dür and De Bièvre 2007a). On the other hand,
groups might understate their influence in order to drive public authorities
to grant them more access and to avoid the creation of counterlobbies.
Expert assessment may be shaped by prominent cases or findings of other
62 Lobbying in the European Union

academic studies. A more general problem of the attributed influence method

is the fact that it measures perceived rather than actual influence (Polsby
1960).
The third methodological approach is assessing the degree of preference
attainment (see e.g. Schneider and Baltz 2003; Bailer 2004; Selck and
Steunenberg 2004; Schneider, Finke, and Baltz 2007; Dür 2008a; Bernhagen
2012). Political controversies are modeled spatially and each actor involved can
be placed on a point of a policy scale to represent the position that it favors. By
comparing the policy outcome with the policy preferences of interest groups,
one can draw conclusions about the winners and losers of the decision-making
process. This approach offers several advantages (Dür 2008c): It provides an
objective measurement of influence, it covers all channels of influence, and it
can be applied to a large number of cases.
First, in contrast to the attributed influence approach which relies on
the subjective evaluation of experts or interest groups themselves to assess
the degree of interest group influence, the preference attainment approach
provides an influence measurement which is not biased by subjective
perception. Comparing the policy preferences of interest groups with the
Commission’s preliminary draft proposal, the Commission’s final proposal,
and the final legislative act adopted by the Council and the European
Parliament allows one to objectively assess who was successful in shifting the
policy output over the course of the legislative process towards their ideal
points.
Second, the preference attainment approach captures interest group
influence which has been exercised through various channels. One can
distinguish four major ways in which interest groups can influence
policy-making: Interest groups can influence policies by employing an “inside
lobbying” strategy, that is, directly exchanging policy-relevant information
with decision-makers through formal or informal contacts (e.g. Hansen 1991;
Bouwen 2004b; Eising 2007a; Coen 2009). Interest groups can also employ an
“outside lobbying” strategy by conducting protests or demonstrations to exert
pressure on policy-makers via the public arena (e.g. Lipsky 1968; Kollman
1998; Imig and Tarrow 2000; Imig 2002). In addition, interest groups can
shape policy-making by influencing the selection of decision-makers (e.g.
Austen-Smith 1987; Fordham and McKeown 2003; Maniadis 2009). Finally,
interest groups can affect policy-making through structural power, that is,
interest groups simply have an impact on policy decisions since they control
business investments and job creation (e.g. Lindblom 1977; Bernhagen and
Bräuninger 2005). No matter through which of these channels interest group
influence is in fact exerted, the preference attainment method is able to capture
it since influence should by definition be observed in the policy outcome (see
section 1.1.2).
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 63

Third, in contrast to process-tracing, the preference attainment method

can be applied to a large number of cases which allows for generalizations
of the findings. In addition, analyzing a large number of interest groups
and policy issues implies that errors made in the evaluation of an actor’s
influence in specific cases should cancel out across the entire analysis (see also
Dür 2008c, 567).
The preference attainment approach, however, also suffers from several
problems, namely the black-boxing of the processes through which influence
is exercised, alternative explanatory factors accounting for the coincidence
between policy output and preferences, and the measurement of policy
positions (Dür 2008c).
While it is an advantage of the preference attainment approach that it covers
all paths to influence, it is not clear through which of these processes influence
is in fact exerted. However, the black-boxing of the processes through which
influence is exerted is not very problematic for this study since the goal of this
book is only to explain variation in influence, but not to account for different
channels or strategies. The objective is to explain why some interest groups
are more influential than others, but since the theoretical model does not
consider lobbying strategies or channels as important explanatory variables,
the black-boxing is not a severe problem for this study.
The problem of controlling for alternative explanatory factors refers to
the fact that if the policy output reflects the policy preference of an interest
group, it does not necessarily mean that the policy output can be attributed
to the lobbying activities of this particular group. The objectives of interest
groups and the policy preferences of decision-makers could, for instance,
just coincide in which case an interest group was just lucky (Barry 1980a,b).
To empirically disentangle influence and luck, I draw on the observable
implications illustrated in figure 1.1. The crucial point that distinguishes
influence from pure luck is a causal link between the policy preference of
the actor and the output of the policy-making process (Nagel 1975, 29).
If an interest group is able to influence a political decision, there must be
a causal connection between the attributes of this interest group and the
political decision. Hence, there should be a systematic association between
actor properties and the policy output. If an actor has indeed been able to
influence political decisions which brought about the policy output, one can
observe a systematic, that is, statistically significant effect of actor properties.
The third problem of the preference attainment approach is the measure-
ment of policy preferences. So far, two approaches can be distinguished:
Some researchers just assumed certain policy preferences a priori (e.g.
Frieden 2002; Dür 2008a). This approach is associated with the following
limitations: First, it is only applicable to a very general left–right dimension
such as business, as opposed to environmental groups or to importers versus
64 Lobbying in the European Union

exporters. Second, it cannot take into account differences within a certain

type of group, such as differences among various environmental associations.
Thus, policy preferences have to be measured empirically for each interest
group and each issue under analysis. So far, this has only been done by
asking interest groups themselves about their policy positions (e.g. Mahoney
2007a, 2008; Baumgartner et al. 2009). However, preferences may change
over time and thus policy positions cannot be measured at a precise time
point (Laver and Garry 2000, 622). Similarly, interviewees may have trouble
recollecting their positions and activities on issues that occurred a long
time ago and as a result, interviews can only be used to gather information
about interest group preferences on recent issues. What is needed is a more
objective measurement of interest groups’ policy preferences at a precise
point in time that allows measurement of issue-specific policy positions
of interest groups across a large number of cases and without any time
limitations.
To sum up, the preference attainment approach to interest group influence
is the most promising since it provides an objective measurement, covers
all channels of influence, and can be applied to a large number of cases. I
therefore draw on the preference attainment technique to measure interest
group influence in this book. However, as illustrated above, one of the major
problems associated with this approach is the measurement of policy positions.
In order to overcome this problem, I looked into other subfields of political
science and found that research on political parties has long been dealing
with the measurement of policy positions. Party scholars have developed
new promising research methods for extracting policy positions from party
manifestos by drawing on text analysis (Laver and Garry 2000; Budge et al.
2001; Laver, Benoit, and Garry 2003; Klingemann et al. 2006; Klemmensen,
Hobolt, and Hansen 2007; Slapin and Proksch 2008). Combined with the
increasing electronic availability of interest group documents, I expect that
interest group researchers can benefit enormously from crossing the borders
to party research and learn from its experiences. In particular, I argue that text
analysis can be a very helpful tool for measuring interest group influence since
it allows the large-scale measurement of policy positions as required by the


Two further techniques to measure policy positions are roll-call analysis (e.g. Clinton,
Jackman, and Rivers 2004; Poole 2005) and expert surveys (e.g. Huber and Inglehart 1995; Benoit
and Laver 2006; Marks et al. 2006). Whereas roll-call analysis could in principle be applied to
standardized consultations that consist of closed questions and answers in order to locate interest
groups in the policy space, the measurement of the position of the European institutions is
problematic since they do not complete questionnaires. The usefulness of expert surveys is equally
limited since these typically measure the general positioning of actors in the policy space, such as
a placement on the left–right dimension. Since the relative positioning of interest groups in the
policy space can, however, vary considerably across issues, an approach is needed that measures
the policy preferences of political actors regarding a specific policy proposal. As a result, roll-call
analysis and general expert surveys cannot be applied in this particular study.
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 65

preference attainment approach to influence measurement. Since quantitative

text analysis is a fairly recent technique which has not been applied to the study
of interest groups so far, I test the applicability of text analysis to interest group
research in the following sections. After a short summary of the development
of text analysis, I present an overview of three widely used and promising text
analysis techniques for the measurement of policy positions. I then conduct a
case study in which I test the applicability of these three approaches to interest
group research for one policy issue.

3.2 OVERVIEW OF TEXT ANALYSIS TECHNIQUES

Textual data are arguably the most widely available source of evidence on
political processes. Content analysis was developed to make systematic use of
this rich data source. It is a “research technique for making replicable and valid
inferences from texts . . . to the context of their use” (Krippendorff 2004, 19).
Berelson and Lazarsfeld (1948) were probably the most important pioneers of
systematic content analysis. They analyzed German media broadcasts during
World War II for the American government in order to understand and
predict events in Nazi Germany. After World War II and probably as a result
of their work, content analysis has spread to numerous disciplines. Content
analysis has been used for various purposes, such as analyzing media coverage,
propaganda analysis, or authorship studies (e.g. Mosteller and Wallace 1964).
As the development of computers progressed, so did the use of computer-aided
quantitative text analysis (Alexa and Züll 2000; Roberts 2000; Lowe 2003).
Political documents have a great potential to reveal information about the
policy positions of their authors: Texts can be analyzed as many times as
one wishes and they provide information about policy positions at a specific
point in time. By 1979, political scientists had therefore begun to use content
analysis for the measurement of policy positions of political parties. Ian Budge
and David Robertson initiated the Comparative Manifesto Project (CMP)
which analyzed party manifestos in Eastern Europe, the European Union, and
the OECD from 1945 until today by means of manual hand-coding. Since
the manual analysis of party manifestos is extremely time-consuming and
cost-intensive, computer-based text analysis approaches for the measurement
of policy positions have been developed in recent years (Laver and Garry 2000;
Budge et al. 2001; Laver, Benoit, and Garry 2003; Klingemann et al. 2006;
Klemmensen, Hobolt, and Hansen 2007; Slapin and Proksch 2008). The most
important advances for extracting policy positions from texts are Wordscores
(Laver, Benoit, and Garry 2003) and Wordfish (Proksch and Slapin 2008; Slapin
and Proksch 2008). Whereas the CMP draws on quasi-sentences as the unit
of analysis, Wordscores and Wordfish employ the so-called “bag of words”
66 Lobbying in the European Union

approach by using single words as the unit of analysis. Even though single word
usage ignores the contextual nature of language, Benoit and Laver (2003b) have
demonstrated that the results based on single words do not differ much from
the results obtained drawing on word pairs and triplets which capture the close
context of words.
The quality of a content analysis is evaluated according to its validity and its
reliability. Validity is “the extent to which a measuring procedure represents the
intended, and only the intended concept” (Neuendorf 2002, 112). Reliability is
“the extent to which a measuring procedure yields the same results on repeated
trials” (Neuendorf 2002, 112). Hand-coding is usually associated with a high
degree of validity but only low reliability. By contrast, the great advantage of
Wordscores and Wordfish is a high degree of reliability, but these are often
criticized for a lack of validity. Hence, in the ensuing sections, the validity of
Wordscores and Wordfish is tested by comparing them with hand-coding. In the
following sections, I illustrate the CMP as well as the Wordscores and Wordfish
approaches in more detail before turning to the actual comparison of the three
approaches.

3.2.1 Hand-coding

Manual hand-coding is probably the most widespread approach in text

analysis. A hand-coded content analysis involves the following steps: First,
the researcher develops a categorization scheme based either on theoretical
assumptions or on inductive reasoning. Second, the texts are divided into
smaller units of analysis, such as paragraphs, sentences, or words depending
on the research design. Third, the text units are assigned to the categories of the
coding scheme based on human judgment. The manual hand-coding analysis
results in a dataset which contains the number of text units per category of
the coding scheme. The Comparative Manifesto Project (Budge et al. 2001;
Klingemann et al. 2006) has probably produced the most well-known and
widely used dataset for party positions by manually coding party manifestos
(for applications, see e.g. Adams et al. 2006; Marks et al. 2007; Knill, Debus,
and Heichel 2010). The CMP has used trained human coders to analyze 3,018
party manifestos of 780 different parties in 54 countries over the postwar era
(Volkens 2005). The CMP developed a classification scheme with 56 categories
grouped into seven policy domains. Where possible, directly opposing pro and
contra categories were specified. However, in addition to bipolar issues which
are clearly positional (such as “social services expansion” positive or negative),
also unipolar issues were defined as “left” or “right” such as “nationalization,”
which is classified as a left-wing issue, or “law and order,” which is considered
to be an issue on the “right.” In total thirteen categories were defined as left and
thirteen categories were defined as right.
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 67

The unit of analysis is a quasi-sentence, defined as “an argument or phrase

which is the verbal expression of one idea or meaning” (Klingemann et al.
2006, xxiii). Human coders divided the party manifestos into quasi-sentences
and allocated them to one of the specified categories. In the end, the
number of quasi-sentences per category was obtained for every manifesto. The
construction of the left–right scale is based on saliency theory which assumes
that policy positions are revealed by the number of statements devoted to an
issue. The central idea is that parties compete with each other by emphasizing
different policy priorities rather than by directly opposing each other on the
same issues (Budge and Bara 2001, 6–7). The left–right scale is constructed
in the following way: First, the percentages of left and right categories of the
total number of coded quasi-sentences are computed. Then, the percentage of
left sentences is subtracted from the percentage of right sentences. Negative
scores represent left positions and positive scores represent right positions. At
the extreme, a party devoting its entire program to left-wing issues would score
−100; similarly a totally right-winged program would receive a score of +100.
An example: Imagine a party manifesto contained 200 quasi-sentences, out of
which 100 (50 percent) are allocated to left categories and 40 (20 percent) are
allocated to right categories. This manifesto would receive a score of −30 (i.e.
20−50).
The CMP developed the most comprehensive dataset on policy positions of
political parties across countries over time and it is accordingly widely used
among political scientists. While hand-coding claims validity as its central
advantage over computerized text analysis, the content analysis approach of the
CMP has been severely criticized for a number of reasons. The validity of the
CMP policy position estimates is questioned due to its theoretical foundation.
Scholars argue that parties do not compete by placing emphasis on different
issues as assumed by salience theory, but that they seek direct confrontation
on the same issues (Riker 1996; Laver and Garry 2000). Furthermore, the
manifestos have been coded only once so that there is no measure of
uncertainty for the policy position estimates based on the CMP (Bakker,
Edwards, and de Vries 2006; Mikhaylov, Laver, and Benoit 2012). Even though
Benoit, Laver, and Mikhaylov (2009) have developed a technique to measure
the uncertainty of CMP policy position estimates, the lack of reliability is still
a severe problem of manual hand-coding in general. In addition, hand-coding
is very time- and labor-intensive which makes it difficult to analyze large
amounts of texts.


This is the so-called rile scale procedure suggested by the CMP researchers. In addition,
several other scholars have suggested alternative ways to compute policy positions based on the
CMP dataset (see for instance Gabel and Huber 2000; Linhart and Shikano 2007; Lowe et al.
2011).
68 Lobbying in the European Union

3.2.2 Wordscores

Due to the lack of reliability and the amount of labor associated with manual
hand-coding, computer-based text analysis approaches have been developed in
recent years. A major step forward was undertaken by Laver, Benoit, and Garry
(2003): They developed a fully automated text analysis program for measuring
policy positions of texts (for applications, see e.g. Benoit and Laver 2003a;
Benoit et al. 2005; Hug and Schulz 2007). Instead of relying on dictionaries
as done earlier, this method uses reference texts and reference values in order
to predict policy positions. The basic idea is that one can estimate policy
positions by comparing two sets of texts: “Reference texts” and “virgin texts.”
“Reference texts” are documents whose policy positions are known to the
researcher (e.g. by relying on expert surveys). “Virgin texts” by contrast are
documents about which one does not know anything apart from the words they
contain. By comparing the relative frequencies of words in the reference texts
with the relative frequencies in the virgin texts one can calculate the probability
Pwr that one is reading a particular reference text r given a specific word w. So it
is assumed that each word provides a little piece of information about which of
the reference texts the virgin text most closely resembles. Thus, the more words
a document contains, the more confident one is in judging which reference text
is closest to the virgin text. Since the policy positions of the reference texts,
Ard , are known, one can use the probabilities, Pwr , together with the reference
values, Ard , to produce a score, Swd , for each word w on dimension d. This is the
expected policy position on dimension d of any text given a word w. Then the
relative frequency of each virgin text word as a proportion of the total number
of words in the text, Fwv , is computed. The policy position raw score, Svd , of
any virgin text is then the mean dimension score Swd of all the scored words
that it contains, weighted by the frequency of the scored words, Fwv . In order to
compare the scores of the virgin texts directly with those of the reference texts,
these raw scores are finally transformed into S*vd (for further details, see Laver,
Benoit, and Garry 2003). Confidence intervals are obtained by estimating the
variance, Vvd , of the individual word scores around the text’s mean score.
Wordscores is based on a number of assumptions: First, it assumes that
policy positions are reflected in the relative frequency of words used within and
across texts. Second, it is assumed that word meaning remains stable over time.
Time-series analysis of policy positions can therefore be problematic since

In an earlier article, Laver and Garry (2000) constructed a word-based dictionary drawing
on the categories defined by the CMP. They identified key words for predefined policy positions
and then ran a computer program to count the number of times each key word is mentioned
in a text. Even though this method decreases the problem of reliability of coding the texts, it is
still severely vulnerable to human error: As Laver, Benoit, and Garry (2003, 312) state, it relies
on heavy human input in order to develop and test coding dictionaries. Thus, even though it
enables reliable coding of texts, the creation of dictionaries imports the weaknesses of traditional
hand-coding.
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 69

new themes and accordingly also new words come up so that the vocabulary
changes over time. Third, Wordscores assigns all words the same weight in
the estimation process. Hence, words that occur frequently in all texts, such
as conjunctions and articles, are equally contributing to the policy position
estimates as words with high political connotation. Thus, frequent words that
occur in all texts without carrying substantial meaning pull the document
scores towards the center of the policy space which makes them incomparable
to the policy position values of the reference texts. In order to overcome
this problem, Laver, Benoit, and Garry (2003) standardize the raw scores by
stretching the variance of the virgin text scores to equal the variance of the
reference text scores. Fourth, Wordscores requires that all words of interest are
contained in the reference texts.
In practical terms, the following steps are necessary to conduct a Wordscores
analysis: First, one has to define the policy dimension to be investigated.
Second, one then has to choose a set of reference texts with known policy
position estimates. Choosing the reference texts is a crucial step and the
following guidelines should be followed: The reference texts should use the
same vocabulary as the virgin texts. For instance, one cannot compare speeches
with laws as the latter contain a very specialized legal terminology that is very
different from the words used in speeches. Furthermore, the texts should at
best reflect the extreme positions on the policy scale. Finally, the reference texts
should contain as many different words as possible. The requirement to choose
reference texts is the biggest disadvantage of Wordscores since one has to draw
on an independent source for the policy position estimates. Whereas this is
a rather easy task in party research due to the Comparative Manifesto Project
and several expert surveys, it might be very difficult to find reference values for
other fields of investigation. The last step in applying Wordscores is to run the
computer program which performs the above explained estimation procedure.

3.2.3 Wordfish

The most recent innovation in quantitative content analysis is Wordfish

(Proksch and Slapin 2008; Slapin and Proksch 2008). It is a statistical scaling
model that allows one to estimate policy positions of texts on a predefined
policy dimension simply by drawing on relative word frequencies in texts
(for applications, see Schmitt 2008; Pappi and Seher 2009; Proksch and Slapin
2010). Hence, in contrast to Wordscores, Wordfish does not require reference
documents and reference values. The model is based on the assumption that

Throughout this study, the standardization procedure suggested by Laver, Benoit, and Garry
(2003) is used. This standardization procedure, however, raised some criticism. Martin and
Vanberg (2008) for instance suggested another way of standardizing the raw scores. See Lowe
(2008) for a thorough discussion of Wordscores and its problems.
70 Lobbying in the European Union

words are distributed according to a Poisson distribution. This distribution

was selected since it resembles the highly skewed distribution of word usage
in natural language and since it is simpler than alternative distributions such
as the negative binomial distribution. The Poisson distribution has only one
parameter, λ, which is at the same time the mean and the variance. The model
underlying the estimation of policy positions is the following:

yij ∼ Poisson(λij )
λij = exp(αi + ψj + βj ∗ ωi )

yij is the count of word j in text i. α is a set of text effects that control for the
length of the documents. ψ is a set of word fixed effects that control for
the fact that some words, such as articles or prepositions, are generally used
more frequently than other words. β is an estimate of a word specific weight
capturing the importance of word j in discriminating between policy positions
and ω is the estimate of actor i’s policy position. The entire right-hand side of
the equation is estimated by an expectation maximization (EM) algorithm (for
further details see Slapin and Proksch 2008). In order to identify the model, the
first text effect α1 and the mean of all policy positions of actors are set to zero
and the standard deviation is set to one. Confidence intervals for the policy
position estimates are obtained drawing on a parametric bootstrap. The use
of a parametric bootstrap implies that the confidence intervals shrink as the
number of unique words increases since this model treats each unique word as
an independent observation. Thus, the higher the number of unique words, the
more data are available for estimating the policy positions and thus the higher
the confidence in the obtained policy position estimates.
Wordfish is based on a number of assumptions: First, it is assumed that policy
positions are reflected in the relative frequency of words used within and across
texts. Second, it is assumed that word meaning remains stable over time. Third,
the algorithm estimates the policy positions on a single dimension. Thus, it is
assumed that the documents used for the analysis are encyclopedic statements
of the actors’ policy positions. If one wants to calculate the policy position on
a specific issue that is only discussed in a particular section of a document,
only this particular section should be used for the analysis. For instance, if the
policy positions of political parties on environmental issues are to be extracted
from party manifestos, all text passages not directly referring to environmental
policy need to be removed from the document.
In practical terms, Wordfish requires the following steps. First, one has to
define the policy dimension that should be studied and select documents
that deal with this policy dimension and that use a comparable pool of
words. Second, one then has to remove all text passages that do not refer
to the policy dimension in question. Third, Proksch and Slapin (2009a,b)
in addition recommend various preprocessing steps, such as removing
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 71

stopwords, eliminating words that have only been mentioned very rarely, and
stemming, that is, reducing words to their roots. Fourth, one has to produce
a word frequency matrix, which contains words in rows and texts in columns
indicating the number of occurrences of words in the different texts, which
serves as input for the Wordfish program.

3.3 RESEARCH DESIGN OF THE CASE STUDY

In order to examine the applicability of the three previously discussed text

analysis approaches to the study of interest group influence, a case study
is presented that compares hand-coding, Wordscores, and Wordfish. In the
ensuing sections, I proceed as follows: I first illustrate the research design of the
case study by explaining in detail which policy issue I selected for the case study
and what texts I used to measure the policy positions of interest groups and the
European institutions. I then compare the results obtained by hand-coding,
Wordscores, and Wordfish before drawing conclusions for the applicability of
quantitative text analysis to the study of interest group influence.
In order to test the different quantitative content analysis approaches, I
selected the policy proposal concerning the reduction of CO2 emissions from
cars. On 7 February 2007, the European Commission published a communi-
cation in which it proposed a legislative framework to reduce CO2 emissions
from cars to 120g/km in 2012. The Commission called for improvements in
vehicle technology that should account for an emission reduction to 130g/km,
while efficiency improvements for tires and air conditioning systems as well
as a greater use of biofuels should contribute to further emissions cuts of
10g/km. Furthermore, the Commission suggested fiscal measures, improved
consumer information, and a code of good practice on car marketing to
decrease the popularity of cars with high CO2 emissions. The Commission
then launched a public online consultation which ran from 7 February until
15 July 2007 and was open to anyone interested in this issue. The Commission
adopted its legislative proposal in December 2007 and forwarded it to the
Council and the European Parliament, for legislative discussion under the
Codecision procedure. The Council and the European Parliament approved
the final legislative act after the first reading in April 2009. In order to study
interest group influence during the policy formulation stage in which the
Commission develops its final policy proposal based on the communication,
I will compare the policy preferences of interest groups with the position of
the Commission before the consultation as reflected in the communication
and after the consultation as reflected in the final policy proposal. In order
to evaluate interest group influence during the decision-making stage in
which the Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission
72 Lobbying in the European Union

negotiate the design of the final legislative act based on the proposal issued by
the European Commission, I will compare the policy preferences of the interest
groups with the final legislative act while taking into account the Commission
position expressed in the communication and the proposal.
The policy positions of the European institutions and the interest groups are
measured on a single “pro environmental control” and “anti environmental
control” policy dimension. Being located at the “pro environmental control”
end of the policy scale implies that interest groups support the framework
suggested by the Commission and might even go beyond the proposed
measures. Interest groups located at the “anti environmental control” end of
the policy scale are against the measures proposed by the Commission.
This policy issue was selected for various reasons. First, a wide variety of
actors took part in this consultation and one can therefore assume a broad
range of policy positions (see table 3.1). I classified the actors into five groups:
traditional automobile industry groups (n = 9); alternative industry groups
(n = 6), which promote the use of biofuels or electric vehicles; environmental
groups (n = 7); national authorities (n = 3); and other groups (n = 9).
Second, the number of submissions is not too high, so that a hand-coded
content analysis could be conducted. In total, 45 comments were submitted by
interest groups and national authorities. Ten submissions were not written in
English and were excluded since Wordscores and Wordfish can only be applied
to texts in the same language. One further submission was excluded since it
only consists of a PowerPoint presentation. Hence, 34 submissions remain for
the analysis.
In order to measure policy positions of interest groups, their submissions
to the public consultation preceding the adoption of the policy proposal
were analyzed. The European Commission introduced the online consultation
instrument in 2000. Interest groups are consulted on a preliminary proposal
before the final policy proposal is decided upon by the College of Commis-
sioners and passed on to the Council and the European Parliament.
Consultation submissions are usually published on the website of the European
Commission and thus provide researchers with a fruitful new data source.
The communication and a summary of the policy proposal issued by the
European Parliament will be used to measure the Commission position before
and after the consultation. The location of the final legislative act will be
extracted from a summary of the legislative act issued by the European
Parliament. In theory, one could also use the communication, the proposal,
and the regulation directly. This is, however, associated with a problem of
comparability: Whereas the communication is written as a continuous political
text, the proposal and the final legislative act consist of the explanatory
memorandum, the preamble, and the actual regulation and therefore use
very specific legal terminology. Thus, these texts employ a very different
vocabulary and cannot be compared directly using computer-based content
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 73
Table 3.1 Further information about actors and texts
Abbreviation Name of actor Words

ACEA European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association 2817

ADTS Associação per la Divulgação de les Tecnologies Sostenibles 403
AEGPL European Liquefied Petroleum Gas Association 2946
AVELE Spanish Association for the Promotion of Electric and 402
Non-Contaminant Vehicles
AVERE European Association for Battery, Hybrid and 466
Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles
BEUC European Consumer Organization 1570
BVRLA British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association 1225
COMM 1 Commission 1 (Communication February 2007) 3995
COMM 2 Commission 2 (Proposal December 2007) 658
DE Germany 3367
EBB European Biodiesel Board 2397
ENGVA European Natural Gas Vehicles Association 4966
EP, COU, COMM EP, Council and Commission (Regulation April 2009) 943
ETRMA European Tire and Rubber Manufacturers’ Association 653
ETSC European Transport Safety Council 290
ETUC European Trade Union Confederation 1016
FAEP European Federation of Magazine Publishers 626
FANC Finnish Association of Nature Conservation 611
FOEIT Friends of the Earth Italy 2799
FOEUK Friends of the Earth UK 1258
GM General Motors 5321
GREENPEACE Greenpeace 550
JAMA Japan Automobile Manufacturers’ Association 1214
KAMA Korea Automobile Manufacturers’ Association 1016
LTI LTI Vehicles 671
MICHELIN Michelin 1431
NL Netherlands 664
RAI RAI Vereniging – Rijwel and Automobiel Industrie 466
RSPB Royal Society for the Protection of Birds 1017
SHECCO Shecco 769
SMMT Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders 2264
T&E Transport and Environment 6791
UK United Kingdom 1249
UKAA UK Advertising Association 759
VDA Verband der Automobilindustrie 7272
VW Volkswagen 7233
WWF World Wide Fund for Nature 2009

analysis (Laver, Benoit, and Garry 2003, 315). In order to test the validity of
the preference measurement based on the communication and the summaries
of the proposal and the final act, press releases accompanying the launch of the
consultation and the adoption of the policy proposal as well as the preamble
of the policy proposal and the final legislative act were also hand-coded. On a
pro/anti environmental control scale ranging from −100 (pro) to +100 (anti),
74 Lobbying in the European Union

the Commission communication receives a score of −61.33 whereas the press

release accompanying this communication receives a score of −58.70. The EP
summary of the final policy proposal receives a score of −30.43 whereas the
press release accompanying the proposal receives a score of −27.66 and the
preamble of the proposal itself scored −28.99. The policy position of the final
legislative act obtained by coding its EP summary is −31.48 whereas coding
the preamble of the final act lead to a policy position estimate of −28.05.
Hence, one can conclude that the different documents deliver nearly identical
results and hence the validity of the preference measurement based on the
communication and the EP summaries of the policy proposal and the final
legislative act has been demonstrated.

3.4 ANALYSIS

In this section, I present the analysis of the case study. More specifically,
I illustrate the policy position estimates obtained by hand-coding, Wordscores,
and Wordfish. I test the quality of these policy position estimates by sys-
tematically comparing the results obtained by the three techniques and by
conducting several reliability and validity checks. I start with the hand-coding
analysis and then proceed to Wordfish and Wordscores. In the light of the
findings of the case study, I finally draw conclusions about the applicability
of text analysis to the study of interest group influence.

3.4.1 Hand-coding

First, a hand-coded analysis largely based on the design of the CMP was
performed. I developed a coding scheme to systematically capture the content
of the texts. This coding scheme was developed inductively on the basis of
in-depth reading of the interest group submissions and the policy documents
of the European institutions. At first, I read all EU institution documents
and made a list of all issues that were discussed in these texts. Afterwards,
I carefully read all interest group submissions and added issues to the list that
were mentioned by interest groups while not being discussed by the European
institutions. I arrived at 20 different policy issues. In order to not only focus
on the varying emphasis of interest groups to these different issues, but to
also capture the direct confrontation of actors on the same issues, I developed
bipolar categories. All statements that could not be allocated to one of these
categories were grouped into an “others” category. The final coding scheme
therefore consists of 41 categories of which 20 categories were classified as “pro
environmental control” and 20 as “anti environmental control” (see table 3.2).
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 75
Table 3.2 Hand-coding classification scheme
Overall category Environmental control
Pro Anti

Reduction target positive negative

Appropriateness of measure positive negative
Inclusion of vans positive negative
Code of good practice on car advertising positive negative
Improved labeling to promote the purchase of fuel-efficient cars positive negative
Fiscal measures to promote the purchase of fuel-efficient cars positive negative
Penalties to enforce CO2 reductions positive negative
Efficiency improvements of tires positive negative
Efficiency improvements of air conditioning positive negative
Greater use of alternative fuels or automotive technology positive negative
Long-term reduction strategy positive negative
Averaging negative positive
Pooling negative positive
Banking negative positive
Individual targets for small-scale manufacturers negative positive
Exceptions for special-purpose vehicles negative positive
Weight as a parameter for calculating reduction targets negative positive
Inclusion of CO2 reduction from cars in general Emissions negative positive
Trading Regime
Monitoring positive negative
Crediting negative positive
Other − −

The units of analysis are natural sentences separated by full stops,

semicolons, or colons. Natural sentences were selected as units of analysis as
they provide equally valid content estimates as quasi-sentences while at the
same time performing better with regard to reliability (Däubler et al. 2012).
Each sentence was allocated to at least one of the specified categories. In the
end, for each coded document, the number of sentences per category has been
obtained. The pro/anti environmental control scale was produced according
to the CMP procedure. First, the percentages of pro and anti environmental
control categories of the total number of coded statements per text were
calculated. Then, the pro percentage was subtracted from the anti percentage.
Negative scores represent pro environmental control positions and positive
scores represent anti environmental control positions.
Figure 3.1 plots the policy position estimates obtained using this
classification scheme. In order to guarantee comparability with the other
content analysis approaches, the estimates were transformed so that they
are measured on the same scale as the Wordfish and Wordscores estimates.
All traditional industry actors are located closer to the “anti environmental
control” end of the policy scale than the Commission’s communication
(COMM 1), the Commission’s legislative proposal (COMM 2), and the final
76 Lobbying in the European Union
UKAA
SHECCO
MICHELIN
FAEP
ETUC
ETSC
ETRMA
BVRLA
BEUC
UK
NL
DE
WWE
T&E
RSPB
GREENPEACE
FOEUK
FOEIT
FANC
EP, COUNCIL, COMM VW
COMM 1 COMM 2 VDA
SMMT
ENGVA RAI
EBB LTI
AVERE KAMA
AVELE JAMA
AEGPL GM
ADTS ACEA

–2 –1 0 1 2
Pro Policy position Anti

Alternative Industry Traditional Industry Commission Others

National Authorities EP, Council, Commission Environmental Groups

Fig. 3.1 Hand-coding policy position estimates

legislative act (EP, COUNCIL, COMM). All alternative industry actors are
located closer to the “pro environmental control” side of the policy scale
than the European institutions. Four of the environmental groups (FANC,
T&E, FOEUK, GREENPEACE) are located closer to the “pro environmental
control” side of the policy scale than all European institution positions
and three (WWF, RSPB, FOEIT) are located in between the Commission’s
communication on the one hand and the legislative proposal and the final
legislative act on the other hand. The Netherlands and the UK are located
closer to the “pro environmental control” side of the policy scale than
the European institutions whereas Germany is located closer to the “anti
environmental control” end of the policy spectrum. Two of the remaining
actors, BEUC, which is a European consumer association, and ETSC, which
is an interest group promoting transport security, are located closer to the “pro
environmental control” spectrum of all three European institution positions
whereas SHECCO, which is a consultancy specialized in climate friendly
products, is located in between the Commission’s communication on the one
hand and the Commission’s proposal and the final legislative act adopted
by the Council and the European Parliament on the other hand. The rest
of the other actors (ETUC, ETRMA, BVRLA, UKAA, MICHELIN, FAEP)
are located closer to the “anti environmental control” end of the policy
scale than the European institutions. The Commission moved from a policy
position of –1.23 to a policy position of −0.61, so it clearly moved towards
Germany and the traditional automobile industry. The Council and the
European Parliament then adopted the final legislative act which received a
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 77

score of −0.63 and therefore hardly differs from the proposal presented by the
European Commission. Hence, drawing on hand-coding one would conclude
that Germany and the traditional automobile industry were successful in
shifting the European Commission during the policy formulation stage
towards their ideal points and were largely able to maintain this shift during
the decision-making stage in which the Council, the European Parliament, and
the European Commission negotiated the final legislative act. The alternative
industry associations, the environmental groups, as well as the Netherlands
and the UK could not influence the policy formulation process and were
hardly able to influence the Council and the European Parliament during the
decision-making stage as the final legislative act closely resembles the proposal.
As explained before, one major problem of manual hand-coding is the
low degree of reliability. I therefore conducted a reliability test to check the
robustness of the content analysis across different coders (see table 3.3).
Students of an undergraduate political science class recoded the first three
pages of 27 documents. Thus, for 27 of the 37 texts in the analysis, two
codings exist: one performed by myself and one conducted by a student. Due
to time constraints, students could not be trained before and the texts were
already divided into units of analysis in advance. The reliability measures
were computed in two different ways: According to the first procedure, the
calculation of reliability estimates was based on the entire 41 categories. Hence,
I tested whether the students allocated sentences to the exact same categories
out of the 41 possible options. Secondly, I based the calculation of reliability
measures on the difference between “pro,” “anti,” and “neutral” categories since
this distinction is decisive for the computation of policy position estimates.
Hence, I tested whether the students coded sentences as “pro,” “anti,” or
“neutral,” no matter whether they picked exactly the same category out of the
41 possible options. Thus, according to the first procedure, there are 41 possible
coding options and according to the second procedure, there are only three
coding options.
At first, the percent agreement between the students’ and my codings was
calculated for all 27 documents based on the coding of sentences to all 41
categories. Then, all coders whose mean percent agreement with my own
codings was less than 50 percent were excluded from the reliability analysis.
The remaining 16 codings were used to produce the final reliability estimates.
Overall reliability estimates were obtained by using the mean reliability
estimates across the 16 codings. Concerning the allocation of every single


The reliability check was conducted for the earlier version of this chapter as published in
European Union Politics (Klüver 2009). For this analysis, I only focused on 27 documents and
therefore reliability estimates are only available for these 27 texts. Since I used Commission
press releases to extract policy positions of the Commission in this earlier version of the
chapter, reliability estimates for the Commission texts refer to the press releases and not to the
communication and the EP summary.
78 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 3.3 Hand-coding reliability test
All categories Pro, Anti, Neutral
Coefficients Mean Min Max Mean Min Max

Percent agreement 64.16% 50.00% 82.09% 78.75% 56.25% 100%

Cohen’s kappa 0.47 0.06 0.71 0.53 0.14 1.00
Krippendorf ’s alpha 0.47 0.04 0.72 0.53 0.10 1.00
Correlation of policy estimates 0.97, p ≤ 0.001

sentence to one of the 41 possible categories, the average percent agreement

between the students’ and my codings is 64.16 percent. If one only considers
whether a sentence was allocated to a pro, anti, or the neutral category, the
average percent agreement amounts to 78.75 percent.
Furthermore, two reliability coefficients (Cohen’s kappa and Krippendorf ’s
alpha) were estimated which take into account that coder agreement can just
be due to chance. Both reliability measures range from 0.00 to 1.00 whereby
0.00 indicates agreement at chance level and 1.00 indicates perfect agreement.
A value of less than 0.00 indicates agreement less than chance. Cohen’s kappa
and Krippendorf ’s alpha are 0.47 for the allocation to all 41 possible categories.
If one only looks at the allocation of sentences to a pro, anti, or the neutral
category, Cohen’s kappa and Krippendorf ’s alpha are 0.53. According to Landis
and Koch (1977), an agreement above 0.41 constitutes a fair to good agreement
beyond chance. The reliability coefficients therefore indicate a reasonable
agreement across coders.
Since the most important result of the hand-coding is the estimation of
policy positions, it is necessary to also compare these estimates. The policy
position estimates based on the students’ coding and my coding correlate at
0.97. The reliability test has therefore demonstrated the robustness of the policy
position estimates across different coders. Despite differences in the coding
of single sentences, the general policy positions of the documents remain
stable across coders. Hence, one can conclude that even though there is no
perfect coding agreement for every single sentence, the very high correlation
between the policy position estimates indicates that my codings are by and
large confirmed by the students’ codings.
In order to check the validity of the results obtained by hand-coding,
the content of the communication, the proposal, and the final legislative
act were compared with the documents of the interest groups which are
located on the extremes of the policy scale. Table 3.4 summarizes the content
of the five texts based on the categorization scheme developed for the
hand-coding analysis. The content of the two Commission documents before
(communication) and after the consultation (proposal) differs considerably:
Whereas the communication contains “pro environmental control” sentences
Table 3.4 Hand-coding validity check
Commission 1 Commission 2 EP, Council, Commission ADTS VDA

Overall Category Pro Anti Pro Anti Pro Anti Pro Anti Pro Anti

Reduction target 7.3 17.4 18.52 11.11 5.3 0.3 10.9

Appropriateness of measure 28.0 2.0 26.1 8.7 11.11 5.3 0.3 55.8
Inclusion of vans 0.7 4.4 0.3
Code of good practice on car advertising 2.0
Improved labeling to promote the purchase of fuel-efficient cars 3.3 0.3
Fiscal measures to promote the purchase of fuel-efficient cars 10.0 5.3 0.3 0.3
Penalties to enforce CO2 reductions 0.7 13.04 11.11 0.3 3.3
Efficiency improvements of tires 1.3 1.85
Efficiency improvements of air conditioning 0.7 1.85
Greater use of alternative fuels or automotive technology 2.7 11.11 73.7
Long-term reduction strategy 5.3 5.56
Averaging 4.4 16.67 2.6
Pooling 8.7
Banking 2.0
Exceptions for small-scale manufacturers 1.85
Exceptions for special purpose vehicles
Weight as a parameter for calculating reduction targets 4.4 6.9
Inclusion of CO2 reduction from cars in general Emissions 2.0 0.7 4.4 1.6 1.3
Trading Regime
Monitoring 0.7
Crediting
Other 33.3 8.7 33.3 10.5 12.8

Total no. of sentences (unit of analysis) 150 23 54 19 305

Percentage of pro and anti sentences 64.0 2.7 60.9 30.4 61.11 29.63 89.5 0 3.9 83.3
80 Lobbying in the European Union

on the inclusion of vans, a code of good practice on car advertising,

improved labeling and fiscal measures to promote the purchase of fuel-efficient
cars, efficiency improvement of tires and air conditionings, greater use of
alternative fuels or technologies, and a long-term reduction strategy, the EP
summary of the policy proposal does not contain any of these statements.
By contrast, whereas the communication contains no “anti environmental
control” sentences on the inclusion of vans, averaging, pooling and weight as
a parameter for calculating reductions, the summary of the policy proposal
contains statements in all of these categories. In total, whereas only 2.7 percent
of the sentences in the communication were classified into “anti-environmental
control” categories, 30.4 percent of the sentences in the EP summary of the
policy proposal fall into the “anti environmental control” categories. Thus, just
by looking at the allocation of sentences to the categories, one can conclude
that the Commission moved towards the traditional automobile industry on
the “anti environmental control” end of the policy scale during the policy
formulation stage.
In terms of specific policy categories, the final legislative act somewhat
differs from the proposal. Whereas the proposal contains no “pro” sentences
on efficiency improvements for tires or air conditioning, on a greater use of
alternative fuels and technologies, and on a long-term reduction target, these
categories are all present in the final legislative act. By contrast, whereas the
proposal contains no “anti” sentences on the reduction target, 11.11 percent of
the sentences of the final act belong to this category. Similarly, only the proposal
contains supporting statements for pooling whereas only the final act contains
statements in favor of exceptions for small-scale manufacturers. When it
comes to the overall share of “pro” and “anti” sentences, the final legislative
act, however, closely resembles the policy proposal. While the proposal
contains 60.9 percent “pro” sentences and 30.4 percent “anti” sentences, the
final legislative act comprises 61.11 percent “pro” and 29.63 percent “anti”
sentences. Thus, even though the emphasis of specific issues slightly changed
over the course of bargaining process between the Council, the European
Parliament, and the European Commission, the overall location of the final
act in the policy space does not vary considerably from the location of
the proposal. The demands of the traditional industry groups were taken
up in terms of the timing of the reduction targets, but at the same time
long-term reduction targets, penalties for exceeding CO2 consumption, and
efficiency improvements for tires and air conditioning were taken up in the
final proposal as demanded by environmental groups and the alternative
automobile industry.
The most “pro” text by ADTS strongly emphasizes the superiority of electric
vehicles and, thus, devotes 73.7 percent of all sentences to the “pro” category
on greater use of alternative fuels and engine technologies. If the Commission
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 81

had taken into account the position of ADTS, one should observe a stronger
emphasis of this topic in the final policy proposal. However, the share of
sentences devoted to this category decreased from 2.7 percent in February to
0 percent in December. Hence, one can conclude that the Commission did not
move towards the ideal point of ADTS. However, during the decision-making
stage, the European institutions picked up this demand since 11.11 percent of
the sentences in the final legislative act are devoted to this issue.
The German Automotive Manufacturers’ Association, VDA, was success-
fully lobbying the European Commission during the policy formulation stage
in various aspects: The VDA promotes averaging, calls for using weight as a
parameter for calculating the reduction targets, and opts against the inclusion
of vans. All of these demands were taken up by the Commission: Whereas the
communication does not include any sentences on these topics, all categories
are represented in the EP summary of the policy proposal. Moreover, the
Commission not only changed the substance, but also its rhetoric: It devoted
more than four times as many sentences to the “anti environmental control”
category on the appropriateness of the suggested measures and, thereby,
responded to the argumentation of the VDA which devoted 55.8 percent of
all sentences to that category. During the decision-making stage, some of
the demands by the VDA were dropped such as the inclusion of vans, but
at the same time, the final legislative act introduces a transition period to
meet the reduction targets as advocated by the VDA. In addition, it devotes
about four times more sentences to the opportunity of averaging the reduction
targets across the entire car fleet of a manufacturer as demanded by the
VDA. In conclusion, one can ascertain that the policy proposal and the
final legislative act are clearly closer to the ideal point of the VDA than the
Commission communication and, thus, the policy position estimates obtained
by hand-coding are confirmed by this validity check.
The manual hand-coding analysis leads to the following conclusions:
Interest groups representing the traditional automobile industry are located on
the “anti” environmental control side of the policy space and therefore oppose
the Commission’s initiative to reduce CO2 emissions from cars. By contrast,
alternative industry associations as well as environmental groups are located
on the opposite end of the policy spectrum. They support the Commission
proposal and even demand further measures to reduce CO2 emissions from
cars. During the policy formulation stage, the European Commission moved
from the “pro” end to the “anti” end of the policy scale and thus towards
the traditional automobile industry. The Council, the European Parliament,
and the European Commission largely maintained this shift as the regulation
closely resembles the policy proposal. In terms of influence, one can therefore
conclude that whereas the traditional automobile industry was successful in
lobbying the European institutions, the alternative industry associations as
82 Lobbying in the European Union

well as the environmental groups did not manage to pull the policy outcome
towards their ideal points. Reliability and validity checks confirmed the policy
position estimates.

3.4.2 Wordfish

In a second step, I analyzed the documents using Wordfish. In order to employ

Wordfish, all the texts were preprocessed. The interest group and European
institution documents were all in portable document format (pdf ) and were
first transformed into txt files which are the basis for the quantitative text
analysis. I then removed symbols, unified British and American spelling,
and transformed all words to lowercase. Since the documents used for the
analysis need to be encyclopedic statements of the actors’ policy positions,
all text passages not directly referring to the policy issue in question were
removed from the documents. Accordingly, contact details or self-descriptions
of interest groups were eliminated manually from the texts. Then, interest
group names were removed from each submission and spelling errors were
corrected. As Wordfish requires a word frequency matrix as input for the
analysis, the program jfreq (Lowe 2009a) was used to produce such a matrix.
Using jfreq, stop words, numbers, and currencies were removed from the
documents and the words were stemmed (reduced to their root). At last,
following the recommendation of Proksch and Slapin (2009a,b), all stems
that were only mentioned in 15 percent or less of the texts per policy issue
were removed from the word matrix so that 675 unique stems remain for the
analysis. Figure 3.2 plots the policy position estimates obtained by Wordfish
together with a 95 percent confidence interval indicating the uncertainty of
the estimates.
All traditional automobile industry groups are located closer to the “anti
environmental control” end of the policy scale than the communication
(COMM 1) issued by the European Commission. Four of the traditional
automobile industry actors (ACEA, JAMA, VDA, VW) are also positioned
closer to the “anti environmental control” end of the scale than the proposal
(COMM 2) and the final legislative act (EP, COUNCIL, COMM). The
remaining five traditional automobile industry actors (RAI, SMMT, GM, LTI,
KAMA) are located between the communication on the one hand and the
proposal and the final regulation on the other hand. By contrast, all alternative
industry actors are located closer to the “pro environmental side” of the
policy scale than the European institution positions. Germany is located closer
to the “anti environmental control” side of the policy spectrum than the
communication, the proposal, and the final act. By contrast, the UK and the
Netherlands as well as the majority of the environmental groups are located
closer to the “pro environmental control” side of the policy spectrum than
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 83
UKAA
SHECCO
MICHELIN
FAEP
ETUC
ETSC
ETRMA
BVRLA
BEUC
UK
NL
DE
WWE
T&E
RSPB
GREENPEACE
FOEUK
FOEIT
FANC
VW
COMM 1 COMM 2
VDA
SMMT
ENGVA RAI EP, COUNCIL, COMM
EBB LTI
AVERE KAMA
AVELE JAMA
AEGPL GM
ADTS ACEA

–2 –1 0 1 2 3
Pro Policy position Anti

95% Conf. interval Alternative Industry Traditional Industry Commission

National Authorities EP, Council, Commission Environmental Groups Others

Fig. 3.2 Wordfish policy position estimates

the European institution positions. During the policy formulation stage, the
Commission moved from a policy position of −0.30 (communication) to
a policy position of 0.93 (proposal) towards Germany and the traditional
automobile industry at the “anti environmental control” end of the policy scale.
This shift is statistically significant since there is no overlap of confidence
intervals. During the decision-making stage, the European institutions only
marginally amended the proposal so that the final legislative act largely
resembles the proposal in terms of its location in the policy space (0.92).
This is confirmed by the overlap of confidence intervals of the proposal
and the final act which indicates that there is no statistically significant
difference between them. Thus, using Wordfish I also come to the conclusion
that Germany and the traditional automobile industry were successful in
pulling the European Commission towards their ideal point during the policy
formulation stage and in maintaining this shift during the decision-making
stage. By contrast, alternative industry associations, environmental groups, as
well as the Netherlands and the UK could neither exert any influence during
the policy formulation nor during the decision-making stage.
In order to check the validity of the Wordfish results, I examined the word
parameters as recommended by Proksch and Slapin (2009a,b). As illustrated
before, Wordfish estimates policy positions drawing on relative frequencies
of single words. More specifically, Wordfish discriminates between policy
positions of texts drawing on words weights (parameter β in the model). The
higher the word weight, the more a word is responsible for the estimation of
the text’s policy position. Word fixed effects, by contrast, capture the fact that
84 Lobbying in the European Union

some words are used very often in general such as articles or conjunctions
(parameter ψ in the model). Words with a high fixed effect should, thus, not
discriminate between policy positions since all actors use them very frequently.
By contrast, words which are mentioned very infrequently should carry more
politically relevant meaning. These words should, thus, have very low word
fixed effects and high positive or negative word weights. This expectation is
confirmed by Figure 3.3 which plots the estimated word fixed effects against
the word weights. The so-called “Eiffel Tower of Words” (Slapin and Proksch
2008) is approximately centered around a word weight of zero. Hence, words
with high word fixed effects have very low word weights. Examples for such
frequent stems with very high word fixed effects and low word weights are
“vehicle,” “car,” and “CO2 ” which are used very often in all 37 texts. Stems with
high political connotation, by contrast, have very low word fixed effects and
high positive or negative word weights. On the “pro environmental control”
side of the policy scale, stems such as “zero-emiss,” “batteri,” or “warm” have
very high negative word weights. On the “anti environmental control” side of
the policy scale, stems such as “tire” and “resist” and “disadvantage” have very
high positive word weights.
Using the keyword-in-context-function of the text analysis program
Yoshikoder (Lowe 2009b), I examined the context in which words with high
word weights are used (see table 3.5). The stem “zero-emiss” is employed
by alternative industry associations and environmental groups to emphasize
that hybrid vehicles and electric cars are much more environment-friendly
than traditional cars. Similarly, the stem “urban” is used to illustrate the

0
Word fixed effects

–2

–4

–6

–4 –2 0 2 4
Word weights

Fig. 3.3 Word weights vs. word fixed effects

 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 85
Table 3.5 Top ten word weights and word fixed effects
Top ten word weights: Pro Top ten word weights: Anti Top ten word fixed effects

zero-emiss tire vehicl

batteri resist car
urban roll co2
electr polit emiss
warm pressur by
immedi evalu not
clean segment fuel
hybrid basic target
so-cal disadvantag eu
perfect differenti manufactur

advantages of electric vehicles over petrol-based cars in urban areas in terms

of CO2 efficiency. “Warm” is mainly used by environmental groups in the
sense of “global warming” in order to point out the negative consequences of
CO2 emissions. “Electr” and “hybrid” are used mainly by alternative industry
actors to emphasize the superiority of electric vehicles in terms of energy
efficiency and CO2 emissions. These stems therefore clearly capture that
alternative industry associations and environmental groups support stricter
environmental emission regulation on the European level.
By contrast, “tire” was used almost exclusively by automobile and tire
manufactures when arguing against efficiency requirements for tires.
Especially tire manufactures point out that tires are already very energy
efficient and that only the mishandling of consumers causes higher energy
use related to tires. “Disadvantag” was used by automobile manufactures
to underline the negative repercussions of strict emission standards for the
competitiveness of the European automobile industry on the world market.
“Differenti” was used by ACEA as well as the VDA in order to argue for
flexible reduction targets. The VDA, for instance, calls for a “differentiated
approach that does justice to different vehicle classes.” Thus, stems with a
high word weight on the “anti” side of the environmental control scale clearly
capture the intention of the automobile industry to promote more flexible
reduction targets, thus allowing bigger cars to emit more CO2 than smaller
cars. In conclusion, words with high political connotation according to the
estimated word weights clearly indicate distinct ideological positions.
The top ten words with high fixed effects, thus hardly discriminating
between policy positions, also make sense substantially: The terms “vehicle,”
“car,” “co2,” and “emiss” clearly need to be employed by all actors, no matter
whether they support or oppose the legislative initiative on CO2 emission
reduction. In conclusion, word weights are highest for words with strong
political connotation and lowest for words with high word fixed effects. In
86 Lobbying in the European Union
ETRMA MICHELIN
Anti

2
VDA

COMM 2 DE
Wordfish estimates

1 FOEIT JAMA ACEA

KAMA
EP, COUNCIL, COMM
ETUC LTI
GM SMMT
0 BEUC FOEUK UKAA
T&E SHECCO RAI
VW COMM 1
FANC BVRLA FAEP
RSPB
AEGPL NL GREENPEACE
WWE
EBB UK
–1
ENGVA

ADTS AVELE
Pro

–2 AVERE

–2 –1 0 1 2
Pro Hand-coding estimates Anti

Alternative Industry Traditional Industry Commission EP, Council, Commission

National Authorities Environmental Groups Others Regression line

Fig. 3.4 Comparison of Wordfish and hand-coding policy position estimates

addition, stems with high word weights clearly indicate distinct ideological
positions. Thus, the analysis of word weights and word fixed effects has
demonstrated that Wordfish is correctly capturing the policy space.
In order to further check the validity of the Wordfish estimates,
I cross-checked them with the policy position estimates obtained by
hand-coding. Figure 3.4 plots the estimates together with a fitted regression
line. The estimates correlate highly (r = 0.68, p ≤ 0.001) and therefore largely
cross-validate each other. However, whereas both methods predict a clear move
towards the “anti environmental control” end of the policy scale, hand-coding
sees the communication, the legislative proposal, and the final regulation
closer to the “pro” end of the policy scale. This difference could be due to
the dichotomous categorization: A sentence is allocated either to a “pro” or
to an “anti” environmental control category. This leads to a certain loss of
information since ordinal differences cannot be captured. In theory, one could
also use a more fine-grained categorization scheme. This would, however,
increase the complexity and, thus, lead to lower reliability and higher coding
costs.
In conclusion, the Wordfish policy position estimates provide a similar
picture to the hand-coding analysis. Alternative industry associations as
well as environmental groups are located on the “pro” side of the policy
scale. By contrast, traditional industry associations are opponents of stricter


The results of the ordinary least squares (OLS) regression are: N = 37, R2 = 0.47, coefficient
= 0.79, p ≤ 0.001, standard error = 0.14.
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 87

environmental regulation which are located on the “anti” end of the policy
space. This general pattern confirms the findings of the hand-coding analysis
and the Wordfish and hand-coding estimates accordingly also correlate highly.
It can therefore be concluded that hand-coding and Wordfish indeed arrive
at essentially the same results even though hand-coding draws on human
judgment to manually analyze documents whereas Wordfish estimates the
policy positions based on relative word frequencies in texts.

3.4.3 Wordscores

As illustrated earlier, Wordscores requires the choice of reference texts as well

as reference values that denote the policy positions of these texts. Whereas
this is a rather easy task for party researchers since the CMP and numerous
expert surveys provide independent measures that could be used, interest
group research so far lacks empirical estimates of policy positions. There are
no large empirical datasets that could be used for reference values of interest
groups’ policy positions. Even if there were estimates, it is questionable whether
these would be useful: Interest groups usually represent very specific interests.
However, even though one would assume stable preferences, the policy
positioning of interest groups relative to others may vary from issue to issue.
For instance, as discussed in section 2.4, Aguilar Fernández (1997, 105) found
that German car manufacturers strongly rejected the introduction of speed
limits and thus opposed environmental groups on this issue. On another issue,
German manufacturers were, however, fighting for the mandatory imposition
of catalytic converters together with environmental groups. Hence, if one wants
to determine the degree of influence of an interest group, one has to estimate
the policy positions for every single issue under consideration. One can thus
already conclude that currently Wordscores constitutes no methodological tool
to measure policy positions of interest groups across a large number of policy
issues and interest groups.
However, what one can do using Wordscores is to cross-check the policy
positions estimated by other approaches. In order to check the hand-coding
and Wordfish estimates presented above, I used the documents with the most
extreme policy positions at the “pro” and “anti” environmental control ends
of the policy scale according to the hand-coding analysis as reference texts
and their policy position estimates produced by hand-coding and Wordfish as
reference values. However, the most “pro” environmental control document
from ADTS comprises only 403 words. Since reference texts should contain
as many words as possible (Laver, Benoit, and Garry 2003, 315), I collapsed
the five most “pro” documents (ADTS, AVERE, EBB, AEGPL, AVELE) into a
single document (6,614 words) and assigned the mean of their hand-coding
88 Lobbying in the European Union
Anti
2
ACEA
FAEP
MICHELIN
LTI KAMA
Hand-coding estimates

1 UKAA JAMA
SMMT

GM RAI

0 BVRLA
ETRMA DE
ETUC

FOEIT COMM 2
EP, COUNCIL, COMM
–1 RSPB SHECCO
WWF
COMM 1
UK GREENPEACE FOEUK
ENGVA NL FANC T&E
ETSC BEUC
Pro

–2
–5 0 5
Pro Wordscores estimates Anti
Alternative Industry Traditional Industry Commission EP, Council, Commission
National Authorities Environmental Groups Others Regression line

Fig. 3.5 Comparison of hand-coding and Wordscores policy position estimates

estimates weighted by the number of words of each text as its reference value.
The most “anti” environmental control text, by VDA, comprises 7,272 words.
In a first step, Wordscores was used to test the policy position estimates
obtained by hand-coding. Figure 3.5 plots the policy position estimates derived
from both methods together with a fitted regression line. The majority of the
traditional automobile industry organizations is again located on the “anti”
environmental control side of the policy scale. Most of the environmental
groups as well as the alternative industry associations are located on the “pro”
environmental control end of the policy space. The Netherlands and the UK
are also positioned closer to the “pro” environmental control than to the “anti”
environmental control side of the policy scale. By contrast, Germany is located
at the opposite side of the policy scale. Finally, as in the case of the preceding
hand-coding and Wordfish analysis, the Commission moves from the “pro”
end of the policy spectrum (COMM 1) to the “anti” side of the policy scale
(COMM 2). Similarly, the position of the final regulation (EP, COUNCIL,
COMM) that was adopted by the Council and the European Parliament
is very close to the proposal, indicating that the traditional automobile
industry was largely successful in maintaining their lobbying success during
the decision-making stage. The location of the major actors thus confirms
the results obtained by hand-coding and Wordfish. Accordingly, the policy


Since VDA and VW submitted identical comments to the consultation, I did not include the
VW text in the analysis because it would have received an extreme score.

The OLS regression produced the following results: N = 30, R2 = 0.23, coefficient = 0.22,
p ≤ 0.01, standard error = 0.08.
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 89
Anti
ETRMA MICHELIN
2

EP, COUNCIL,
DE
Wordfish estimates

COMM COMM 2
1 FOEIT
KAMA ACEAJAMA

LTI ETUC
GM SMMT
0 BEUC
COMM 1 UKAA SHECCO
RAI
BVRLA T&E
ETSC FAEP FANC
RSPB NL WWF
UK GREEN
PEACE
–1
ENGVA
Pro

–2
–4 –2 0 2 4
Pro Wordscores estimates Anti
Alternative Industry Traditional Industry Commission EP, Council, Commission
National Authorities Environmental Groups Others Regression line

Fig. 3.6 Comparison of Wordfish and Wordscores policy position estimates

position estimates obtained by hand-coding and Wordscores correlate to a

moderately high degree (r = 0.47, p ≤ 0.01). However, there is a lot of random
noise: Only 23 percent of the variance of the hand-coding estimates can be
explained by the Wordscores estimates.
In a second step, the policy position estimates derived by Wordfish were
checked using Wordscores. The Wordscores estimates highly correlate with
the Wordfish estimates (r = 0.78, p ≤ 0.001). To illustrate the comparison,
figure 3.6 plots the policy position estimates generated by both methods
together with a fitted regression line. If we look closer at the location
of the different actors, the Wordfish results are also largely confirmed by
the Wordscores analysis: Most of the traditional automobile industry actors
are located on the “anti” environmental control side of the policy scale.
By contrast, most of the environmental groups as well as the alternative
industry associations are positioned at the “pro” side of the policy space.
The Netherlands and the UK are also placed closer to the “pro” side whereas
Germany can be found at the “anti” side of the policy spectrum. During the
policy formulation stage, the European Commission moved from the “pro”
side of the policy scale towards the “anti” side of the scale. Thus, one can again
clearly observe a move towards the “anti” end of the policy scale. Similarly,
the final legislative act largely resembles the policy proposal which is indicated
by the proximity of their locations in the policy space. Hence, it can be


The OLS regression produced the following results: N = 30, R2 = 0.61, coefficient = 1.61,
p ≤ 0.001, standard error = 0.24.
90 Lobbying in the European Union

concluded that the Wordfish results are largely validated by the Wordscores
estimates.
In conclusion, the Wordscores analysis confirms the results of the
hand-coding and the Wordfish analysis. Whereas the traditional automobile
industry actors are located on the “anti” environmental control side of the
policy space, alternative industry associations as well as environmental groups
are located on the “pro” environmental control side. Similarly, whereas the
Netherlands and the UK support the initiative of the European Commission,
Germany opposes the enforcement of stricter CO2 emissions. During the
policy formulation stage, the European Commission moved from the “pro”
environmental control side of the policy scale towards the “anti” environmental
control side. This shift was maintained during the decision-making stage
since the regulation adopted by the Council and the European Parliament
largely resembles the policy proposal. It can therefore be concluded that
the traditional automobile industry was successfully lobbying the European
institutions. However, whereas the Wordscores results correlate to a high degree
with the Wordfish results, they only correlate to a medium degree with the
policy position estimates obtained by hand-coding.

3.5 CONCLUSION

The aim of this chapter was to introduce and test a new measurement
approach to interest group influence. I have started by discussing existing
approaches to interest group influence measurement of which the preference
attainment technique has turned out to be most promising for the large-scale
empirical analysis of interest group influence on European policy-making. The
preference attainment approach compares policy preferences of interest groups
with the policy output in order to draw conclusions about the winners and the
losers of the decision-making process.
The measurement of policy preferences, however, still constitutes a big
problem. Since party researchers have made great advances in preference
measurement drawing on text analysis, I have discussed several text analysis
approaches that could potentially be used for the measurement of interest
group influence. I have then conducted a case study in which I compared the
applicability of three widely used text analysis approaches for the measurement
of policy positions. More specifically, I compared manual hand-coding,
Wordscores, and Wordfish. The policy position estimates obtained by the three
techniques correlate highly and therefore largely cross-validate each other.


While the three text analysis results highly correlate, there is still a considerable degree
of noise given that ideal points are latent variables that are hard to quantify. In order to take
 How to Measure Interest Group Influence 91

Hence, in theory, all three approaches are applicable to the study of interest
group influence. However, one has to keep in mind that each approach has
advantages but also disadvantages.
The big advantage of hand-coding is the in-depth knowledge of the content
of the submissions and the high validity of the measurement. However, the
reliability of the results is relatively low compared to computerized content
analysis (Bakker, Edwards, and de Vries 2006; Mikhaylov, Laver, and Benoit
2012). Furthermore, hand-coding is very labor-intensive and time-consuming.
Finally, political issues may sometimes be highly technical so that it might
be difficult for researchers to understand the content, develop a classification
scheme, and allocate the text units to the appropriate categories.
Wordscores has the advantage of being 100 percent replicable and, thus,
reliability is not an issue. Furthermore, Wordscores allows for the analysis of
large amounts of text in short periods of time. However, the usefulness of
Wordscores for interest group research is limited: Independent policy position
estimates are needed as reference values and, unfortunately, no large empirical
datasets on the policy positions of interest groups are available yet.
Wordfish is also 100 percent replicable. So, again, reliability is not an
issue. Moreover, Wordfish also allows for the quick analysis of large amounts
of text without requiring reference values. This constitutes an enormous
advantage for interest group research owing to the lack of independent policy
position estimates. What is, however, often criticized is the lack of validity
of computerized content analysis. But, as the case study has shown, the
results obtained by Wordfish are largely confirmed by hand-coding, which is
associated with high validity. So, the validity of the Wordfish estimates has also
been demonstrated.
To sum up, all three methods offer certain advantages but also suffer from
disadvantages. In order to assess interest group influence, hand-coding is only
useful if one or just a few issues are studied since it is very time-consuming
and cost-intensive. Wordscores provides no opportunity to measure interest
group influence, at least currently, because reference values are not available.
Wordfish, by contrast, can be easily applied to the measurement of interest
group influence since it enables one to analyze large quantities of text without
relying on reference values. Hence, in order to measure interest group influence

into account the measurement error associated with these point estimates, uncertainty estimates
can be computed for all three techniques. However, while generalized linear measurement error
models include the measurement error associated with independent variables in the estimation
(e.g. using the STATA simex command), to my knowledge, there is currently no statistical package
that allows for taking into account measurement error associated with the dependent variable.
What is more, this book does not use the raw ideal point estimates for the dependent variable, but
the dependent variable is computed based on the differences between a set of ideal point estimates
(Interest group, Consultation draft, Proposal, Final act). Taking into account the uncertainty
around all these estimates simultaneously is at least, to my knowledge, so far not implemented in
any statistical package and it would also be extremely demanding in computational terms.
92 Lobbying in the European Union

on a large empirical scale, Wordfish is clearly the most useful content analysis
technique.
In the light of the findings of this case study, I will employ Wordfish to
measure policy positions of interest groups in this book since it produces valid
and reliable policy position estimates and since it allows one to quickly analyze
large amounts of texts. Wordfish therefore enables me to study interest group
influence across a wide variety of policy issues and interest groups. In the next
chapter, I illustrate the practical implementation of this measurement approach
across a large number of cases in further detail.
 4

Mapping European Union Lobbying

In order to explain why some interest groups succeed in influencing European

policy-making whereas others fail in their lobbying attempts, chapter 2 has
presented an exchange model that identified relative information supply,
citizen support, and economic power of lobbying coalitions as the central
determinants of interest group influence. As the lack of empirical studies on
interest group influence is largely caused by methodological difficulties in
measuring influence, chapter 3 has introduced and tested a new measurement
approach to interest group influence. Using this approach, a large new dataset
on interest group lobbying in the European Union has been constructed
which is illustrated in detail in this chapter. I first explain the practical
implementation of the new measurement approach to interest group influence
across a large number of policy issues and interest groups. I then discuss how
I selected the policy issues and interest groups for this study. Afterwards, the
operationalization of the explanatory and control variables is laid out and
summary statistics of all the variables used in this book are presented. Finally,
the statistical model that is estimated to test the theoretical expectations is
discussed.

4.1 MEASURING INTEREST GROUP INFLUENCE

Following the preference attainment approach discussed in section 3.1, interest

group influence on policy-making in the European Union is measured by
comparing the policy preferences of interest groups with the preliminary draft
proposal, the official Commission proposal, and the final legislative act in order
to draw conclusions about the winners and the losers of the policy-making
process. Based on the results of the case study presented in the previous chapter,
I decided to use Wordfish to measure policy preferences of interest groups. The
case study has shown that the policy position estimates obtained by Wordfish
highly correlate with the position estimates derived from hand-coding and
94 Lobbying in the European Union

Wordscores and these three approaches therefore largely cross-validate each

other. Due to the demonstrated validity of the Wordfish approach and its
ability to analyze large quantities of texts without any prior knowledge about
the documents, Wordfish provides an ideal opportunity for the large-scale
measurement of policy positions and ultimately interest group influence.
In order to measure policy positions of interest groups, their submissions
in online consultations of the European Commission were analyzed. Being
aware that the submissions may reflect “strategic” rather than “true” policy
positions (Frieden 2002; Thomson et al. 2006), this should not constitute a
problem for the analysis for two reasons: First, since this study focuses on the
policy positions that in fact have been transmitted to the European institutions,
only transmitted policy positions—even if they over- or understate the “true”
ideal policy positions—are taken into account by the legislators and therefore
constitute the basis for the influence measurement. Second, it is unlikely that
there is a systematic variation of strategically over- or understating preferences
across all interest groups in the sample so that the revealed policy position can
be taken as a proxy for the true policy position.
The Commission position before the consultation was extracted from the
preliminary draft proposal in which the European Commission sets out its
preliminary policy position on a given policy issue. The draft proposal can
take various forms such as a Green or White Paper, a Communication or a
Working Paper. It is a continuous political text which can be easily analyzed
with Wordfish. The official Commission proposal and the final legislative
act, however, have a predefined legal structure including an explanatory
memorandum, a preamble, and the actual regulation or directive and they
use very specific legal terminology. Due to this particular legal vocabulary, the
official legislative proposal and the final act cannot be analyzed directly using
Wordfish. I therefore draw on summaries of the proposal and the legislative act
that are issued by the European Parliament in order to measure their policy
positions. These summaries express the same policy position as the actual
proposal and legislative act as a hand-coded text analysis of official documents
referring to one policy issue demonstrated: On a scale ranging from −100 to
+100, the EP summary of the legislative proposal received a score of −30.43
whereas the preamble of the proposal scored −28.99. Similarly, the policy
position of the final legislative act obtained by coding its EP summary is −31.48
whereas coding the preamble of the final act lead to a policy position estimate
of −28.05 (see page 74). Since interest group submissions deal with the same
policy issue as the European institution documents on any given policy issue,
one can assume that all texts refer to the same policy dimension as required
by Wordfish. I accordingly assume that policy issues are unidimensional. This


These EP summaries can be downloaded from the European Parliament Legislative
Observatory database which is publicly accessible at http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/.
 Mapping European Union Lobbying 95

assumption should not constitute a problem for the analysis as the structure
of conflict concerning a policy proposal is largely unidimensional. Once a
draft proposal is on the table, the general outline of the legislative initiative is
defined. Interest groups therefore operate within a clear framework in which
they attempt to make the official legislative proposal and the final legislative act
even more aggressive or to dilute it. This unidimensional structure of conflict
is empirically supported by the findings of Baumgartner et al. (2009, 7) who
discovered in an empirical analysis of lobbying in the US that interest groups
are opposing each other on the same policy dimension.
Online consultations were introduced in 2000 and have become a regular
instrument of consultation for major policy initiatives (European Commission
2002; Quittkat and Finke 2008; Quittkat 2011). Between 2000 and 2008, 554
online consultations were carried out thus providing researchers with a fruitful
new data source (Quittkat 2011, 658). Based on a draft proposal which sets out
the preliminary Commission position, interest groups have the opportunity
to submit comments for an eight-week consultation period before the final
policy proposal is decided upon. Being aware that there are other channels for
influencing the policy-making process, most interest groups trying to influence
the policy outcome should be covered by the analysis since online consultations
constitute the easiest form of access. As empirical research accordingly shows, a
wide variety of actors indeed participates in online consultations, e.g. business
associations, individual companies, and NGOs of international, European,
national, and subnational origin (Quittkat and Finke 2008; Quittkat 2011).
This is confirmed by an analysis of the submissions received during the
consultations for the selected policy issues in this study which is presented
later in this chapter. The sample of consultation participants comprises a wide
variety of actors which is representative for the overall population of interest
groups on the European level as discussed in the following section.
Even though I use online consultations in order to extract interest group
preferences from their consultation submissions, I do not assume that
consultations are the only channel through which interest groups seek to
influence the policy-making process. They might additionally use a variety
of inside and outside lobbying tactics such as participation in hearings,
informal meetings with decision-makers, or protest activities. However, this
does not constitute a problem for the analysis presented in this book as
consultations merely serve as a data source for the measurement of interest
group preferences. I measure interest group influence by comparing interest
group preferences with the policy output without making any assumptions
about the lobbying tactics interest groups employ. As influence is, by definition,
observed by the convergence of the policy output with an interest group’s

Interest group comments are only published once the deadline for submissions has passed
so that interest groups are not aware of the comments submitted by other actors when submitting
their own response.
96 Lobbying in the European Union

policy preference, the measurement approach covers influence that is exercised

through a variety of channels. Thus, no matter which other strategies interest
groups might use in order to lobby the European institutions, their impact is
captured by the influence measurement as lobbying success is, by definition,
associated with a convergence of the policy output with an interest group’s
preference (Dür 2008c, 567) (see also figure 1.1).
It is essential for the quality of a quantitative text analysis that the texts
draw on a similar pool of words (Proksch and Slapin 2009a). It is for instance
not possible to simultaneously analyze speeches and laws as the latter use a
very specific legal terminology which is not comparable to the words used in
speeches. The results of such a Wordfish analysis would therefore be seriously
flawed. In order to check whether the vocabulary employed by the European
institutions is similar to the words used by interest groups, I compared the
vocabulary of the interest group and the European institution texts (see table
4.1). On average, 90.77 percent of the stems (words reduced to their roots)
that are used in the draft proposal, the legislative proposal, as well as in the
final legislative act also appear in the interest group documents. Hence, the
vocabulary of the European institution texts is very similar to the vocabulary
used in the interest group documents so that the two document types can be
compared without concerns. It is therefore not problematic to simultaneously
analyze interest group and official documents in the same Wordfish analysis.
In order to extract policy preferences from the interest group and official
EU documents, the texts had to be preprocessed before running the Wordfish
analysis. At first, all documents were transformed into txt files which is the
appropriate format for quantitative text analysis. In a second step, a PHP
script was applied to the texts in order to automatically remove symbols,
to unify British and American spelling, and to transform all words to
lowercase. Before the texts could be analyzed using Wordfish, several manual
modifications were moreover necessary: First, the documents used for the
estimation of policy positions need to be encyclopedic statements of the
actors’ policy positions on a given issue. Accordingly, I manually removed
all contact details and self-descriptions of interest groups as they do not
express an interest group’s policy position on a given policy issue. Second, in
semi-standardized consultations interest groups sometimes repeat questions
posed by the Commission word-by-word. Without removing these repetitions,
these texts would automatically score closer to the Commission position
than texts not repeating these questions. I therefore manually eliminated
all word-by-word citations of the Commission’s consultation paper from the
interest group submissions. Third, interest group names were removed from
their submissions as recommended by Proksch and Slapin (2009b) and all
spelling errors were corrected. Fourth, drawing on the computer program jfreq,


I thank Malte Klüver for assistance in writing the PHP script.
Table 4.1 Vocabulary used by European institutions and interest groups
Policy issue All stems Interest group stems EU institution stems Common stems
1 1757 1664 682 86.4%
2 1956 1892 519 87.7%
3 2150 2055 774 87.7%
4 2697 2660 423 91.3%
5 1006 975 213 85.5%
6 1351 1312 263 85.2%
7 1495 1361 668 79.9%
8 2268 2183 757 88.8%
9 950 903 271 82.7%
10 2172 2110 641 90.3%
11 3154 3143 400 97.3%
12 2985 2969 514 96.9%
13 3850 3840 611 98.4%
14 4086 4016 1462 95.2%
15 2943 2925 714 97.5%
16 1876 1793 641 87.1%
17 2887 2873 727 98.1%
18 3163 3034 1575 91.8%
19 3383 3348 867 96.0%
20 3290 3183 1229 91.3%
21 3823 3778 984 95.4%
22 2760 2733 654 95.9%
23 3020 2926 1033 90.9%
24 4071 4059 766 98.4%
25 4311 4303 926 99.1%
26 3138 3084 987 99.2%
27 2346 2314 480 93.3%
28 2514 2484 384 92.2%
29 4990 4948 1275 96.7%
30 2516 2240 1298 78.7%
31 3108 2830 1440 80.7%
32 2704 2662 687 93.9%
33 2501 2438 808 92.2%
34 3414 3400 575 97.6%
35 2315 2108 1161 82.2%
36 1849 1811 496 92.3%
37 1123 1028 457 79.2%
38 2512 2417 975 90.3%
39 2279 2136 947 84.9%
40 1926 1805 783 84.6%
41 1982 1922 580 89.7%
42 1255 1128 544 76.7%
43 1988 1917 667 89.4%
44 2262 2183 781 89.9%
45 2557 2539 434 81.8%
46 5366 5327 1333 97.1%
47 1287 1204 507 83.6%
48 2351 2318 525 93.7%
49 2624 2602 465 95.3%
50 2743 2579 1231 86.7%
51 2198 2173 466 94.6%
52 3332 3307 783 96.8%
53 3843 3917 881 97.1%
54 2483 2410 852 91.4%
55 3219 3178 830 95.1%
56 2000 1962 461 91.7%
Mean 2645 2579 757 90.8%
98 Lobbying in the European Union

56 issue-specific word frequency matrices were created which are required

as input for the Wordfish analysis (Lowe 2009a). Using jfreq, stop words,
numbers, and currencies were additionally removed from the documents and
the words were stemmed (reduced to their root). At last, all stems that were
only mentioned in 15 percent or less of the texts per policy issue were removed
from the word frequency matrices as advised by Proksch and Slapin (2009a).
Since identification in Wordfish is guaranteed by setting the mean of all
policy positions to zero and the standard deviation to one, the total variance
of policy positions is fixed so that absolute distances cannot be compared
across different issues (see the detailed description of the Wordfish procedure
in section 3.2.3). The absolute distance between interest groups automatically
changes with the number of interest group submissions due to the Wordfish
identification procedure. Hence, interest group influence cannot be measured
by looking at the change in absolute distances between interest groups and the
European institutions across different policy issues. However, one can simply
circumvent this problem by drawing on a dichotomous coding of interest
group influence: In line with the preference attainment approach, interest
group influence is measured by assessing whether the distance between the
policy positions of interest groups and the European institutions decreased
over time.
Figure 4.1 illustrates the measurement approach. This book analyzes interest
group influence during the policy formulation and the decision-making stage
of the European policy-making process. The policy formulation stage begins
with the preliminary draft proposal on which basis the European Commission
launches a public consultation. This stage ends with the adoption of the
official legislative proposal which at the same time marks the beginning of
the decision-making stage. During this stage, the Council, the European
Parliament, and the European Commission negotiate the design of the final
legislative act. The numerical values indicate the policy positions of the draft
STAGE

POLICY FORMULATION DECISION-MAKING

a b c

1 2 4.5 5
Draft Commission Interest Legislative
Proposal Proposal Group Act
ACTORS

COMM COUNCIL, EP, COMM

Fig. 4.1 Influence measurement

 Mapping European Union Lobbying 99

proposal, the Commission proposal, and the legislative act as well as the policy
preferences of the interest group on a given policy dimension. The reference
point for the assessment of interest group influence is the preliminary draft
proposal as it marks the beginning of the legislative process and therefore sets
the agenda for the legislative debate. Interest groups would prefer every policy
outcome that is closer to their ideal point than the preliminary draft proposal.
The interest group in figure 4.1 is considered to be influential during the
policy formulation stage as it was successful in pulling the official Commission
proposal closer to its ideal point than the preliminary draft proposal since b is
smaller than a + b. As the final legislative act is also located closer to the policy
preference of the interest group than the preliminary draft proposal since c is
smaller than a + b, the interest group is also regarded to be influential during
the decision-making stage. If one is only interested in the impact of interest
group pressure during the decision-making stage, one could potentially choose
the Commission proposal as the reference point for the influence analysis.
Using this reference point, the interest group would be considered influential
during the decision-making stage as c is smaller than b. The results of the
empirical analysis are substantially the same no matter whether the draft
proposal or the legislative proposal are taken as the reference point. I therefore
only present the results based on the draft proposal as the reference point for
the influence assessment.
In addition to the validity test of the position measurement conducted in
the case study in the previous chapter, I further examined the validity of the
Wordfish analysis by cross-checking it with information provided by interest
groups. One common approach to measure interest group influence is to
ask interest groups themselves to report how influential they have been on
a specific policy issue (e.g. Dür and De Bièvre 2007a; Mahoney 2007a, 2008;
Baumgartner et al. 2009). However, self-reported influence is problematic since
it rests on the subjective assessment of interest group leaders and is subject
to misleading incentives. I therefore opted not to draw on self-evaluation of
interest group influence as a means to cross-validate the results. By contrast,
I asked interest groups to name one major opponent and the five most
important cooperation partners on the policy issue in question. The
information on opponents and cooperation partners was used to check the
location of interest groups in the policy space as estimated by Wordfish.
As the questions referred to the policy formulation stage, the reference
point for the location of cooperation partners and opponents is the initial
Commission position as reflected in the preliminary draft proposal. If the
Wordfish estimation is correct, the cooperation partners should be located
on the same side of the initial policy position of the European Commission

The actual survey questions were: “Was there any interest group or company that had
opposing views to you?” and “Could you please provide the names of your five most important
cooperation partners on this policy issue?”
100 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 4.2 Wordfish validity test
Wordfish Estimation Frequency Percent

Correct 276 79.54

Incorrect 56 16.14
Ambiguous 15 4.32

Total 347 100.00

whereas the opponents should be located on the opposing side. If the majority
of the cooperation partners and opponents is positioned on the correct side
of the initial policy position of the European Commission, the Wordfish
estimation was coded as being correct. If the same number of actors is located
on the right and wrong side of the European Commission, the Wordfish
estimation was coded as being ambiguous. If the majority of actors is located
on the wrong side of the European Commission, the Wordfish estimation
was coded as being incorrect. Out of 347 cases in which opponents and
cooperation partners were reported, 79.54 percent were estimated correctly
and only 16.14 percent were coded incorrectly (see table 4.2). Hence, the survey
data on cooperation partners and opponents strongly support the validity of
the Wordfish measurement.
In order to check the robustness of the policy position estimation, I
conducted further Wordfish analyses for word matrices after removing stems
that were only mentioned in 10 percent of the texts per issue and for word
matrices after removing stems that were only mentioned in 20 percent of the
texts per issue. In addition, I performed further analyses after the two most
extreme texts at both ends of the policy scale per issue were dropped from the
word frequency matrix. The results correlate highly and the policy position
estimation is therefore robust to changes in the word frequency matrix.

4.2 SELECTION OF POLICY ISSUES

AND INTEREST GROUPS

After having illustrated in detail how interest group influence was

operationalized, this section explains how the policy issues and interest
groups were selected for this study. The selection of policy issues and
interest groups follows a two-stage procedure: I first selected a number of
policy proposals and then selected interest groups which participated in
Commission consultations preceding the adoption of the selected proposals.
The unit of analysis is the lobbying event, defined as the lobbying activity of an
interest group concerning a specific policy issue. Hence, an interest group that
 Mapping European Union Lobbying 101

lobbies on more than one of the selected policy issues appears several times
in the dataset. In the following, I first explain how I arrived at the sample of
policy issues and I then illustrate the selection of interest groups.

4.2.1 Selection of policy issues

In order to examine possible variation in interest group influence across

issues, this book analyzes interest group influence across a wide variety of
policy issues. Previous studies on interest group influence on policy-making
in the European Union typically focused on one or just a few policy issues
(e.g. Cowles 1995; Pollack 1997b; Warleigh 2000; Michalowitz 2007; Woll
2007, 2008). Although case studies provide high internal validity and are
well suited for checking rival theories and for generating new hypotheses, the
generalizability of the findings is limited. Partly as a result of analyzing one or
just a few distinct policy issues, these studies offer a multitude of hypotheses
and are characterized by contradictory findings (see also Dür 2008b). Focusing
on one or just a few policy issues particularly does not allow for taking
into account the effect of issue-related factors such as salience, conflict, or
complexity of the policy issue (for an exception, see Mahoney 2007a, 2008;
Klüver 2011). To overcome these shortcomings of the literature and to test the
hypotheses derived from the theoretical model, this book therefore analyzes
interest group influence across a wide variety of policy issues.
In order to select policy issues for a policy-making analysis, one can choose
from two different selection procedures. The first procedure is selecting policy
issues according to specific criteria (e.g. Thomson et al. 2006; Thomson 2011).
This procedure allows one to pick policy issues that meet certain requirements
which are of interest for the purpose of the study. The second procedure is
randomly selecting a number of policy issues from the entire population of
proposals. Even though this strategy leads to a representative subsample of
policy proposals, random sampling has several disadvantages: Taking a simple
random sample of EU level legislation results in a lot of highly technical policy
proposals of minor political importance that caused only little controversy
among interest groups. Moreover, simply randomly sampling from the entire
population of policy proposals leads to the inclusion of a lot of proposals for
legislation which are not legally binding.
In order to avoid the above-mentioned problems, the selection of policy
issues is based on four criteria: time period, type of legislation, type of
legislative procedure, and whether a consultation was conducted prior to the
adoption of the policy proposal. First, in terms of time period, I selected
policy proposals that were adopted between 01.01.2000 and 31.12.2008
(Quittkat 2011). I chose this time period since online consultations were
introduced in 2000 and since this relatively short period allows interest group
representatives to recall their lobbying activities surrounding specific policy
102 Lobbying in the European Union

issues. This is important in order to be able to question interest groups

about their cooperation partners and opponents concerning a policy initiative
(see page 99).
Second, in order to control for the impact of policy issues, I only focused on
general binding legislation and therefore only directives and regulations were
selected for the study. Directives are binding on the member states as to the
result to be achieved, but member states can choose the form and method they
adopt to realize the objective of the directive. Hence, member states have to
transpose the directive into national law. Regulations by contrast are directly
applicable which means that they create legislation that takes immediate effect
in all the member states. Regulations therefore do not require transposition
into national law. Proposals for decisions and recommendations were not
included in the analysis as the former are directed at very specific recipients
and the latter are not legally binding.
Third, in order to control for the mode of decision-making, I only
selected policy proposals which are subject to the Codecision or Consultation
procedure. These are the most important legislative procedures in the
European Union. The Consultation procedure requires that the European
Parliament is consulted before the Council votes on the Commission proposal.
The Council is, however, not bound by the Parliament’s opinion. By contrast,
the Codecision procedure, which was introduced by the Treaty of Maastricht,
puts the Council and the European Parliament on an equal footing. If
the Council and the Parliament disagree about a Commission proposal, a
Conciliation Committee made up of representatives of the two institutions
has to arrive at a consensus. The Council cannot adopt legislation without the
consent of the European Parliament.
Fourth, I only selected policy proposals for which the European
Commission has carried out a consultation. Using consultations as a
selection criterion offers two major advantages: First, as the Communication
on minimum standards on consultation states, the Commission only consults
on “major” policy initiatives (European Commission 2002). The European
Commission considers policy issues as “major” if “the proposal will result in
substantial economic, environmental and/or social impact on a specific sector,”
if “the proposal will have a significant impact on major interested parties,” and
if “the proposal represents a major policy reform in one or several sectors”
(European Commission 2002, 15). By drawing solely on policy issues for which
the Commission has conducted a consultation, one can therefore focus on
policy issues that are politically important and that raised a minimum amount
of attention and controversy (for proposal selection according to political
importance, see also Thomson et al. 2006). Highly technical issues that are only
of minor political importance and that raised little controversy could therefore
be avoided. Focusing on policy issues that were preceded by consultations,
however, still allows for extensive variance in terms of scope, importance,
 Mapping European Union Lobbying 103

salience, and conflict of policy issues. For instance, the sample contains highly
politically important and far-reaching proposals such as the so-called “health
check” proposal that reforms the entire common agricultural policy, but it
also contains issues of minor political importance such as the proposal on
blind spot mirrors for trucks (see pages 119–122 and section 5.1. for further
information about variation across issues). The second major advantage of
only choosing policy proposals which have been preceded by stakeholder
consultations is the availability of textual data for the influence measurement.
I used the European Union database PreLex to produce a list of all
Commission proposals for regulations and directives adopted under the
Codecision and Consultation procedure between 01.01.2000 and 31.12.2008.
Since not every Directorate General (DG) conducted online consultations,
I only focused on those having used consultations and whose competence
concerns a substantial policy field (n = 19). Due to a lack of competence
in a substantial policy field, policy proposals by the Secretariat General
were therefore excluded. Between 01.01.2000 and 31.12.2008 these DGs
proposed 991 regulations and directives subject to the Consultation and the
Codecision procedure. I looked at all these proposals to determine whether
an online consultation was conducted during its elaboration by drawing on
internet research and the DemoCiv (Democratic Legitimacy via Civil Society
Involvement) database kindly provided by Beate Kohler, Christine Quittkat,
and Barbara Finke.
In total I identified 162 policy proposals which meet the above-mentioned
selection criteria. However, not all of these can be used for the analysis: 41
policy proposals were excluded since the consultations were conducted in a
standardized format with given questions and answers and thus textual data
are not available. Moreover, 51 policy proposals had to be excluded since the
interest group submissions to the preceding consultations were not publicly
accessible. I excluded two further policy issues since less than ten submissions
were received during the consultations. These two policy issues were excluded
for substantial and methodological reasons. Substantially, these issues are not
particularly interesting since they raised hardly any response or controversy
among interest groups. Methodologically, these issues are problematic since
the reliability of Wordfish estimates diminishes as the number of texts decreases
(Proksch and Slapin 2009a). Furthermore, six policy proposals had to be
excluded since the Commission did not release any prior position paper and

The DemoCiv database was constructed by the research project on “Democratic Legitimacy
via Civil Society Involvement? The Role of the European Commission” conducted by Beate
Kohler, Christine Quittkat, and Barbara Finke at the Mannheim Centre for European Social
Research.

I submitted an official request to access the unpublished consultation submissions from the
European Commission. My request was, however, treated very slowly and the Commission was
not very cooperative. Considering time constraints, I therefore concentrate on the published
consultations.
104 Lobbying in the European Union

five policy issues had to be excluded for other reasons. Thus, 57 policy
proposals remain for the analysis.
One of the issues, the policy proposal on “Registration, Evaluation, and
Authorization of Chemicals” (REACH) which was adopted by the Commission
in October 2003 after extensive stakeholder consultation, raised an extremely
high amount of attention. Around 6,000 submissions were received during
this single online consultation (Persson 2007). This policy debate constitutes
an extraordinary case due to the enormous public attention. As a result, the
assumption of unit homogeneity is violated and causal inferences can therefore
not be made (King, Keohane, and Verba 1994, 93). In addition, the analysis
of this single issue would consume more resources than all other 56 issues
together. Due to the violation of the unit homogeneity assumption and given
the vast amount of resources needed to analyze this debate, the REACH
consultation was excluded from the analysis. Hence, this book analyzes interest
group influence on 56 policy proposals. In order to analyze interest group
influence during the decision-making stage, the policy proposals had to
be officially adopted by the Council and the European Parliament before
31.12.2010 in order to be included in the sample. Out of the 56 selected policy
proposals, 42 were adopted within this time frame. Accordingly, the empirical
analysis of interest group influence during the policy formulation stage is based
on 56 policy issues whereas the analysis of interest group influence during the
decision-making stage is based on 42 issues. Section 5.1 provides a detailed
overview of the policy issues analyzed in this book.

4.2.2 Selection of interest groups

The second step in the data selection process concerns the selection of
interest groups. In the consultations which preceded the adoption of the 56
policy proposals, the European Commission received 4,871 submissions from
a wide variety of stakeholders (see table 4.3). I classified all stakeholders
that submitted comments to the consultations into nine groups: associations
(2,643), companies (775), national public authorities (746), individuals (282),
researchers (187), international organizations (55), third states (57), political
parties (8), and others (118). In order to keep the workload manageable, I


One regulation was excluded since it constitutes a mere recodification of already existing
legislation. One directive and one regulation were excluded since they only implement an already
signed international convention into European law. Two further issues had to be excluded since
the consultation was not based on one single, but on several consultation papers. Interest groups
therefore respond to different sub-issues based on the different consultation documents. Thus, it
is not possible to determine one single policy dimension using quantitative text analysis.
 Mapping European Union Lobbying 105
Table 4.3 Submissions to consultations
Total number of submissions 4,871 100.00%

Associations 2,643 54.26%

Companies 775 15.91%
National authorities 746 15.32%
Individuals 282 5.79%
Researchers 187 3.84%
International organizations 55 1.13%
Third states 57 1.17%
Political parties 8 0.00%
Others 118 2.42%

Sample for analysis Policy formulation Decision-making

Total number 3,202 100.00% 2,131 100.00%

Associations 2,043 63.80% 1,324 62.13%
Companies 653 20.39% 469 22.01%
National authorities 506 15.80% 338 15.86%

only concentrated on associations, companies, and national public authorities.

Previous studies have shown that associations and companies are the most
active lobbying actors at the European level (e.g. Coen 1997, 1998; Berkhout
and Lowery 2008; Wonka et al. 2010) and that they also constitute the
biggest groups participating in online consultations (Quittkat and Finke 2008;
Quittkat 2011). Comments by national authorities were analyzed in order to
control for policy positions of member states.
Since Wordfish only works with texts in the same language and with
a minimum amount of words, non-English submissions (n = 899) and
submissions with less than 100 words (n = 63) were furthermore excluded.
Accordingly, 3,202 documents remain for the analysis of which 506 comments
are authored by national authorities and 2,696 are submitted by interest groups.
Since the European institutions have not adopted legislative acts for all of the
56 selected policy issues during the time frame of the analysis, the sample
decreases to 2,131 documents for the decision-making stage out of which
1,793 are authored by interest groups. The distribution of comments across
actor types in the policy formulation (n = 3,202) and the decision-making
sample (n = 2,131) is fairly similar to the distribution of comments across
actor types in the total number of submissions (n = 4,871). Hence, in terms of
actor type there is no evidence for selection bias caused by non-English or short
submissions. Similarly, as the distribution across actor type is nearly identical
in the policy formulation and the decision-making sample, there is also no

National public authorities mainly constitute national ministries that expressed their views
on the envisaged policy initiative. These submissions constitute the basis for the measurement of
member state positions as discussed in section 4.3.2.
106 Lobbying in the European Union

indication for a selection bias induced by legislative proposals that have not
been adopted within the time frame of this analysis. Section 5.2 provides a
detailed overview of the interest groups studied in this book.

4.3 OPERATIONALIZATION OF INDEPENDENT

VARIABLES

In this section, I thoroughly explain the operationalization of the independent

variables. In order to measure the explanatory and control variables, several
data sources were combined (for an overview of the operationalization, see
table 4.12). Data on interest group characteristics were gathered by examining
interest group submissions to Commission consultations, by coding the
websites of interest groups which participated in the selected consultations,
and by conducting a survey of these interest groups. Lobbying coalitions were
identified according to the issue-specific alignment of interest groups and
the European Commission in the policy space. Data on lobbying coalition
characteristics were obtained by aggregating the properties of interest groups
that belong to the same coalitions. Issue characteristics were measured drawing
on the EurLex and PreLex databases of the European Commission, on the
legislative proposals, and on text analysis of the consultation submissions.
In the following, I first illustrate how I measured the explanatory variables
information supply, citizen support, and economic power of lobbying
coalitions. I then proceed to the measurement of control variables. The section
concludes with summary statistics of all the specified variables.

4.3.1 Operationalization of explanatory variables

Information supply, citizen support, and economic power of lobbying

coalitions were measured in two steps: Information supply, citizen support, and
economic power were first measured on the individual interest group level and
then aggregated according to the grouping into lobbying coalitions. I therefore
first explain how I operationalized them on the interest group level before
illustrating their measurement on the coalition level.
Information supply was measured by the number of words of interest
group submissions to the online consultations (see also Klüver 2012). One
could argue that the pure number of words only captures the quantity of
information, but not its quality. In theory, a very long submission could
merely contain information that is useless to the European institutions
whereas a short submission might contain information which is very
 Mapping European Union Lobbying 107

important to the Commission, the Council, and the EP. It is, however, very
difficult to empirically assess the quality of information. There is no objective
measure that one can rely on in order to measure the quality of information.
Hence, any attempt to assess information quality would be based on subjective
evaluation and is therefore difficult to justify. Subjective evaluation is likely
to vary extensively across different individuals so that reliability of the
measurement is therefore hard to achieve. I consequently decided to stick to
the number of words as a proxy for the amount of information provided to
the European institutions. However, several document preparation measures
applied to the texts for the Wordfish analysis improve the accuracy of this proxy.
These text analytic measures include removing text from the submissions that
carries no substantial meaning, more specifically the removal of stopwords
such as articles and prepositions as well as all text passages that do not
directly convey information to the European institutions such as repetitions of
consultation questions or contact details of the interest groups. I then created
a word frequency matrix and took the sum of words per text as a measure for
the number of words per interest group submission. I checked the validity of
this indicator qualitatively in the case study presented in the previous chapter.
It indeed turns out that long submissions in general contain much more
expertise, technical know-how, and political information about stakeholder
preferences than short consultation submissions.
The distribution of absolute information supply across interest groups is
illustrated in table 4.4. The vast majority of interest groups supplies up to 1,000
words to the European institutions. This is similar across actor type: About
66 percent of the associations and 64 percent of the companies provided up
to 1,000 words in the consultation. The distribution of information supply is
highly skewed to the right since the mass of the distribution is concentrated
at values of up to 1,000 words and since only very few interest groups supply
more than 2,000 words. The distribution of information supply across interest
groups is fairly similar in the policy formulation and decision-making sample
of interest groups.
Table 4.4 Information supply by interest groups
Policy formulation Decision-making
Information supply Associations Companies Associations Companies
(N = 2,043) (N = 653) (N = 1,324) (N = 469)

up to 1,000 words 66.08% 63.71% 68.58% 61.83%

more than 1,000, up to 2,000 words 21.83% 20.52% 21.15% 19.40%
more than 2,000, up to 3,000 words 7.15% 7.81% 6.80% 8.74%
more than 3,000, up to 4,000 words 2.64% 3.83% 2.27% 4.48%
more than 4,000 words 2.30% 4.13% 1.21% 5.54%

Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

108 Lobbying in the European Union

Citizen support and economic power were measured by an online survey

of the interest groups which participated in the selected consultations. Since
online consultations are published on the website of the European Commission
and participants are indicated, I developed a list of all associations and
companies that submitted contributions. Based on this list, I constructed a
dataset in which all interest groups that participated in the 56 consultations
are listed once. I term this the “interest group population dataset.” The
“hierarchical lobbying dataset” by contrast contains interest groups as many
times as they participated in the consultations. Hence, an interest group
which participated in four different consultations would appear once in the
interest group population dataset and four times in the hierarchical lobbying
dataset. All together, 1,893 unique interest groups appear in the interest
group population dataset while the number of observations in the hierarchical
lobbying dataset amounts to 2,696. The interest group population dataset
serves as a sampling frame for the survey as it identifies the target population of
all interest groups that participated in the consultations prior to the adoption
of the selected policy proposals.
In order to carry out the online survey, I checked the submissions and
websites of all 1,893 interest groups for email addresses and contact details
that were needed to invite these groups to participate in the survey. The survey
was conducted in a web format which offers considerable practical advantages,
e.g. it is cost and time-efficient, it enables easy data processing as well as
administration, and it facilitates follow-ups (Evans and Mathur 2005). In order
to implement the web survey, the software Unipark was used.
The questionnaire is composed of two parts: The first part comprises
questions on permanent interest group characteristics such as membership
structure or organizational features. The second part contains eight questions
on issue-related variables which were repeated for every consultation in
which an interest group participated. I programmed filters for the online
questionnaire so that interest groups which only took part in one consultation
answered the first part of the questionnaire plus eight questions on the
consultation in which they participated. By contrast, an interest group which
participated in five consultations answered the first part of the questionnaire
plus forty questions on the five consultations in which it took part. I generated
a dummy variable that indicates in which of the 56 consultations interest
groups participated. The dummy variable is coded “1” if an interest group
submitted a response in a consultation and is coded “0” if the interest group
did not participate in a consultation. On the basis of this dummy variable,
the questionnaire filter was triggered automatically so that interest groups
only received issue-specific questions for the consultations in which it
participated. Since a variety of questions differed between associations and
companies, I programmed two different questionnaires, one for associations


The survey software is available at http://www.unipark.info.
 Mapping European Union Lobbying 109

and one for companies (see appendices 1 and 2). For the final data analysis,
I then combined the two datasets into one single dataset on interest group
characteristics.
In order to make it as easy as possible for respondents to fill in the
questionnaire, I mostly refrained from using open questions and instead used
closed questions with given answer categories so that respondents simply had
to tick the appropriate category. Most questions were measured on a five-point
ordinal scale which allows for enough variation necessary for the final data
analysis and at the same time does not overburden the cognitive abilities of
respondents (Cox 1980). In the final analysis, these variables were treated as if
they were measured on interval level which is a common procedure in survey
research (for an overview, see Borgatta and Bohrnstedt 1980; Kampen and
Swyngedouw 2000). Some questions were directly measured on a five-point
interval scale for which only value labels for the endpoints of the scales were
indicated (see also Porst 2008, 73). In order to avoid non-responses due to
refusal to answer sensitive questions (e.g. questions referring to the budget of
interest groups), these questions were placed at the end of the questionnaire
so that interest groups which reject answering these questions would have at
least answered all the previous questions before and would not be lost entirely
for the survey.
The survey was conducted in the following way: At first, a pretest of the
questionnaire was carried out. Two (former) employees of interest groups
as well two interest group researchers were asked to fill in and review the
questionnaires. After a thorough review of the questionnaires, an email
announcing the launch of the survey and providing background information
about the research project was sent to the interest groups. Among other things,
interest groups were assured that the responses would be treated confidentially
and it was emphasized that their participation was crucial for the success of
the research project. One week later, the interest groups received the actual
invitation email with a link to the online questionnaire. Where possible, the
emails were sent directly to the General Directors of the associations and the
Governmental Affairs Directors of companies respectively. In order to tackle
the problem of non-response, six reminders were sent to the interest groups
in which I kindly asked them again to fill in the questionnaire. The survey
was launched in June 2009 and was online until January 2010. The response
rate can be calculated in two different ways: First, based on the interest group
population dataset which includes every interest group only once, the overall
response rate was 38.67 percent, with 43.98 percent of associations and 25.37
percent of the companies participating in the survey. Second, based on the
hierarchical lobbying dataset which includes an interest group as many times as
it participated in the 56 selected consultations, the overall response rate is 43.40


I thank Irina Michalowitz, Tosca Bruno van Vijfeijken, Christine Mahoney, and Beate Kohler
for reviewing the questionnaires.
110 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 4.5 Survey response rate
Interest group Hierarchical lobbying
population dataset dataset

Total response rate 38.67% 43.40%

Response rate among associations 43.98% 48.80%
Response rate among companies 25.37% 26.49%
Total population N = 1,893 N = 2,696

percent with 48.80 percent of associations and 26.49 percent of companies

participating in the survey (see table 4.5).
Citizen support was operationalized by the number of represented
individuals while economic power was measured by the annual turnover and
the number of employees of the company and the represented business sector
respectively (see table 4.6 for the precise question wording). The number
of represented individuals was chosen as an indicator for citizen support
as it reflects the number of citizens that an interest group could potentially
mobilize for its cause. It therefore provides a heuristic for the European
institutions which they use in order to assess the number of potential voters
that an interest group represents. The annual turnover and the number of
employees were chosen as indicators for economic power as they provide the
European institutions with information about the potential impact an interest
group can have on overall economic performance. For instance, the European
Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) represents the European car
industry that employs about 12 million people and that has an annual turnover
of over e 500 billion. The European institutions are therefore particularly
attentive to the demands raised by ACEA as it represents one of the most
important, if not the most important industry in Europe and its well-being is
crucial for the overall economic performance. I refrained from using market
share within a sector as an indicator since it provides information about the
ability to alter the market price of a good or service, but it does not convey
information about how important an interest group is for the overall state of
the economy and the reelection chances of decision-makers.
The indicators for citizen support and economic power were measured on a
five-point ordinal scale. In order to provide questions with adequate scales to
associations and companies, the category values for companies were lower than
those for associations. For instance, the question concerning the number of
employees only ranges from “up to 10,000” (category 1) to “more than 500,000”
(category 5) in the company questionnaire whereas it ranges from “up to

This is a reasonable response rate in interest group research that resembles the survey
response rate of other interest group studies (e.g. Hojnacki 1998; Eising 2007a; Dür and Mateo
2009; Klüver 2010).

Source: http://www.acea.be.
 Mapping European Union Lobbying 111
Table 4.6 Survey questions for the measurement of citizen support and economic
power (association questionnaire)
Variable Question

Citizen support How many individuals are members of your organization (and its member
organizations)?
0–0
1 – up to 10,000
2 – more than 10,000, up to 100,000
3 – more than 100,000, up to 1 million
4 – more than 1 million, up to 5 million
5 – more than 5 million

Economic power What is the annual revenue of the sector you represent on average?
0 – 0 EUR
1 – up to 10 billion EUR
2 – more than 10 billion, up to 50 billion EUR
3 – more than 50 billion, up to 100 billion EUR
4 – more than 100 billion, up to 500 billion EUR
5 – more than 500 billion EUR

How many people does the sector that you represent employ?
0–0
1 – up to 50,000
2 – more than 50,000, up to 100,000
3 – more than 100,000, up to 500,000
4 – more than 500,000, up to 1 million
5 – more than 1 million

50,000” (category 1) to “more than 1 million” in the association questionnaire.

In order to arrive at one single measure for these variables, I recoded the
company categories into the association categories after completion of the
survey. Since category 5 was open and it was therefore unclear in which
association category these companies should be coded, I conducted internet
research to find out the exact value and accordingly coded these companies.
In order to compute one single measure for economic power, I performed a
principal component factor analysis using the varimax rotation (see table 4.7)
based on the two indicators “annual revenue” and “number of employees.” The
results of the factor analysis confirm that both indicators measure the same
latent underlying factor. According to the Kaiser criterion, which suggests that
factors should have an Eigenvalue higher than 1.0, both indicators measure the
same latent variable. Correspondingly, the factor loadings of both indicators
are very high which also indicates the existence of one underlying factor.
I then computed principal component factor scores which directly measure
the underlying latent variable and which range from −0.868 to 2.255. I also
generated an additive index which simply sums the values of the indicators
and divides the sum by the number of indicators. The additive index ranges
112 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 4.7 Factor analysis of economic power
Indicator Factor loading

Annual revenue 0.921

Number of employees 0.921

N 398
Eigenvalue 1.695
Explained variance 84.77%

from 1 to 5 similarly to the indicators. Since the additive index correlates at

0.999 with the principal component factor score, I draw on the index since it
allows for easier and more intuitive interpretation as it has the same empirical
range as its two indicators.
Table 4.8 presents the distribution of citizen support across associations. By
definition, companies do not enjoy any citizen support as they do not have any
members and therefore do not represent any individual citizens. The biggest
share of associations (about 43 percent) represents up to 10,000 individuals
while the rest of the associations are spread relatively evenly across the different
categories. The distribution of citizen support across interest groups is nearly
identical in the policy formulation and the decision-making sample of interest
groups.
Table 4.9 summarizes the economic power of interest groups in the sample.
There is a rather big difference in the distribution of economic power across
actor types. Whereas economic power of associations is distributed quite
evenly across the different categories, most of the companies in the sample only
have a very low degree of economic power at their disposal. This is, however,
not very surprising as business associations gather a wide variety of companies
and their economic power reflects the aggregated economic power of all their
member companies. The distribution of economic power is fairly similar across

Table 4.8 Citizen support of interest groups

Policy formulation Decision-making
Citizen support Associations (N = 432) Associations (N = 267)

up to 10,000 43.06% 41.95%

more than 10,000, up to 100,000 13.43% 12.73%
more than 100,000, up to 1 million 16.67% 16.85%
more than 1 million, up to 5 million 12.04% 13.11%
more than 5 million 14.81% 15.36%

Total 100.00% 100.00%

 Mapping European Union Lobbying 113
Table 4.9 Economic power of interest groups
Policy formulation Decision-making
Economic power Associations Companies Associations Companies
(N = 451) (N = 143) (N = 293) (N = 96)

Very low 25.94% 62.24% 26.62% 58.33%

Low 19.51% 20.28% 19.45% 22.92%
Medium 19.07% 16.78% 18.09% 17.71%
High 13.75% 0.70% 14.68% 1.04%
Very high 21.73% 0.00% 21.16% 0.00%

Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

interest groups in the policy formulation and the decision-making sample

indicating no bias induced by missing policy issues in the latter sample.
As lobbying takes place concerning specific policy issues, information
supply, citizen support, and economic power of individual interest groups have
to be measured in relation to other interest groups lobbying the EU institutions
on the same issues. To illustrate the measurement of relative interest group
characteristics using information supply as an example, imagine the following
scenario: On a given policy issue, four interest groups A, B, C, and D are
lobbying the European institutions. Interest group A provides 5,000 words,
interest group B provides 2,000 words, interest group C provides 1,000 words,
and interest group D provides 2,000 words. The overall amount of information
received by the European institutions amounts to 10,000 words. The relative
information information supply zA by interest group A is then computed by
dividing the absolute amount of information xA provided by interest group A
(5,000 words) by the total amount of information supplied by all four interest
groups (10,000 words) and multiplying it by 100. For interest group A, the
relative information supply accordingly amounts to 50 percent. The values
for relative information supply for individual interest groups range from 0 to
100 and the sum of the values for all interest groups lobbying the European
institutions on the same policy issue always equals 100. For instance, in this
hypothetical example the value for relative information supply is 50 percent for
interest group A, 20 percent for interest group B, 10 percent for interest group
C, and 20 percent for interest group D which together makes 100. If interest
group A would, however, only supply 49 percent of the overall information, one
of the other groups would necessarily provide 1 percent more. Consequently,
using this measure, a 1 percent increase in the relative information supply by
interest group A implies at the same time a one percent decrease in relative
information supply by its opposing interest groups B, C and D.
xA
zA = · 100
xA + xB + xC + xD
114 Lobbying in the European Union

Table 4.10 summarizes the distribution of the three relative interest group
characteristics. Concerning relative information supply, the dataset does not
include any missing values. The vast share of interest groups supplies up to
2.5 percent of the overall amount of information provided to the European
institutions on a policy issue. Hence, the relative amount of information
supplied by interest groups is spread fairly evenly among the different
interest groups. There is also no considerable difference in the distribution
of relative information supply between associations and companies. Citizen
support, which is measured by the number of represented individuals, is by
definition only applicable to associations since companies do not have any
members. Hence, the (relative) citizen support of companies equals zero for
all companies. Relative citizen support of associations is distributed relatively
unevenly across associations: About 39 percent of associations in the policy
formulation sample and about 49 percent in the decision-making sample
represent more than 10 percent of all the citizens represented on a given issue.
Concerning relative economic power, the distribution is somewhat different
across actor type. Companies have on average less relative economic power
than associations. For instance, whereas only about 13 percent of associations
in the policy formulation sample have less than 2.5 percent of relative economic
power at their disposal, about 30 percent of all companies possess less then
2.5 percent of the overall economic power provided on an issue. By and large,
the distribution of relative information supply, citizen support, and economic
power is fairly similar in the policy formulation and the decision-making
sample of interest groups.
One could potentially argue that information supply, citizen support,
and economic power are strongly correlated. The rationale underlying such
reasoning is that interest groups that represent a large number of citizens or
that have a high degree of economic power should be better able to provide
information to the European institutions than interest groups with modest
citizen support and economic power. In order to make sure that information
supply is not merely a result of the degree of citizen support and economic
power, I investigated the correlation between relative information supply,
citizen support, and economic power on the individual interest group level
(see table 4.11). The correlations between individual information supply and
citizen support and individual information supply and economic power on the
interest group level are only moderate and it can therefore be concluded that
information supply on the individual interest group level is not determined by
citizen support and economic power.


While information supply, citizen support, and economic power are not correlated on
the individual interest group level, they are highly collinear on the lobbying coalition level
(see page 129).
 Mapping European Union Lobbying 115
Table 4.10 Relative interest group characteristics
Policy formulation Decision-making
Relative interest group characteristic Associations Companies Associations Companies

Information supply N = 2, 043 N = 653 N = 1,324 N = 469

up to 2.5% 79.20% 82.39% 76.51% 77.40%
more than 2.5%, up to 5% 14.05% 12.10% 15.41% 15.14%
more than 5%, up to 7.5% 3.57% 3.83% 4.15% 5.12%
more than 7.5%, up to 10% 1.71% 0.46% 1.89% 0.64%
more than 10% 1.47% 1.23% 2.04% 1.71%
Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

Citizen support N = 432 N = 634 N = 267 N = 450

up to 2.5% 8.56% 100.00% 2.25% 100.00%
more than 2.5%, up to 5% 21.30% 0.00% 22.85% 0.00%
more than 5%, up to 7.5% 18.52% 0.00% 16.48% 0.00%
more than 7.5%, up to 10% 12.73% 0.00% 8.99% 0.00%
more than 10% 38.89% 0.00% 49.44% 0.00%
Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

Economic power N = 451 N = 143 N = 293 N = 96

up to 2.5% 13.08% 30.07% 8.19% 16.67%
more than 2.5%, up to 5% 25.94% 32.87% 21.84% 32.29%
more than 5%, up to 7.5% 20.18% 10.49% 20.48% 12.50%
more than 7.5%, up to 10% 10.20% 9.09% 11.95% 12.50%
more than 10% 30.60% 17.48% 37.54% 26.04%
Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

Table 4.11 Correlation between interest group characteristics

Information supply Citizen support Economic power

Information supply 1.000

Citizen support 0.251*** 1.000
Economic power 0.307*** 0.484*** 1.000

***p ≤ 0.01,**p ≤ 0.05,*p ≤ 0.10

4.3.2 Operationalization of lobbying coalition characteristics

I have so far illustrated how information supply, citizen support, and economic
power have been measured on the individual interest group level. However,
the theoretical model suggests that these variables are decisive on the lobbying
coalition level rather than on the level of individual interest groups. In the
following, I therefore describe how I aggregated information supply, citizen
support, and economic power to measure their supply on the lobbying
coalition level.
116 Lobbying in the European Union

The first step in operationalizing lobbying coalition characteristics is the

identification of lobbying coalitions. Following Baumgartner et al. (2009, 6)
I define a lobbying coalition as a “set of actors who share the same policy goal.”
Since I assumed that all policy issues are characterized by unidimensional
policy spaces, I was able to place the European institutions and the interest
groups on one straight line representing the policy space of a given policy issue.
The location of the different actors on this line depends on their policy position
estimates obtained by the quantitative text analysis. I identified the lobbying
coalitions according to the alignment of interest groups and the European
Commission in the policy space. More specifically, the reference point is the
location of the initial draft proposal presented by the European Commission
that marks the beginning of the legislative process (COMM1). All interest
groups left of the Commission’s draft proposal form lobbying coalition A and
all interest groups right of the initial Commission position constitute lobbying
coalition B (see figure 4.2). Thus, I do not consider formal, permanent networks
of interest groups, but I instead determine lobbying coalitions according to
their issue-specific policy preferences. Interest groups that share the same
policy objective pull the European institutions towards the same direction
and therefore form a lobbying team. The composition of lobbying coalitions
can therefore vary extensively across issues as different actors are involved
and interest groups that work together on one issue can be opposed on
another issue.
The argument supporting this lobbying coalition coding is the following:
The starting point of the legislative process is the policy position of the
European Commission before the consultation as reflected in the preliminary
draft proposal (COMM1). Interest groups are then consulted based on this
preliminary position paper before the European Commission adopts its final
policy proposal (COMM2). On the basis of this final proposal, the Council,
the European Parliament, and the European Commission then negotiate the
design of the final legislative act (EP,COU,COMM). The reference point for
the identification of lobbying coalitions is the preliminary draft proposal as

Lobbying Coalition A Lobbying Coalition B

Issue Dimension
IG1 IG2 EP,COU,COMM COMM2 COMM1 IG3 IG4

IG = Interest group
COMM1 = Commission draft proposal
COMM2 = Commision proposal
EP,COU,COMM = Final legislative act

Fig. 4.2 Conceptualization of lobbying coalitions

 Mapping European Union Lobbying 117

this sets the framework for the legislative debate. Interest groups would prefer
every policy outcome that is closer to their ideal point than the preliminary
draft proposal. All interest groups which are located on the same side of the
initial Commission position are therefore pushing the European institutions
in the same direction and so can be considered as one lobbying team. Since
I assumed that all policy issues are characterized by unidimensional policy
spaces, there are two lobbying coalitions opposing each other on any given
policy issue. This is empirically confirmed by Baumgartner et al. (2009, 7)
who found that two lobbying coalitions were opposing each other for most
of the 98 policy issues they studied in the United States: One coalition usually
supported a policy change whereas the opposing coalition attempted to protect
the status quo.
Across the 56 policy issues there are 110 lobbying coalitions. On two policy
issues, all interest groups are located on the same side of the preliminary
Commission proposal and they therefore all form only one coalition. Since
not all policy proposals were transformed into final legislation within the
time frame of this analysis, the number of policy issues reduces to 42
while the number of lobbying coalitions decreases to 82 for the analysis of
the decision-making stage. In order to measure information supply, citizen
support, and economic power on the lobbying coalition level, I first summed
the supply of these goods by all members of a coalition to obtain their absolute
amount provided by lobbying coalitions. I then measured relative information
supply, relative citizen support, and relative economic power of lobbying
coalitions in a similar way as the relative characteristics of individual interest
groups (see page 113). For instance, the relative information supply zA by
lobbying coalition A equals the absolute information supply xA by lobbying
coalition A divided by the sum of absolute information supply by lobbying
coalition A (xA ) and lobbying coalition B (xB ) with both coalitions working
on the same policy issue times 100.
xA
zA = · 100
xA + xB
This measure ranges from 0 to 100. As this is a relative measure, the values
for relative information supply by both lobbying coalitions working on the
same issue always adds up to 100. For instance, if lobbying coalition A
supplies 40 percent of the overall amount of information provided to the
European institutions on a policy issue, its opposing lobbying coalition B
supplies 60 percent of the information. Similarly, if lobbying coalition A
provides 41 percent of the overall amount of information, lobbying coalition B

It could, however, be the case that there is only one lobbying coalition if all interest groups
and national authorities are located on the same side of the initial policy position of the European
Commission.
118 Lobbying in the European Union

necessarily provides 59 percent. Thus, an increase in the relative information

supply by lobbying coalition A by one percentage point implies at the same
time a decrease in relative information supply by lobbing coalition B by one
percentage point. This has to be taken into account when interpreting the
regression coefficients in the data analysis.
The distribution of relative information supply, citizen support, and
economic power in both the sample of interest groups analyzed in the
policy formulation stage and the sample of interest groups analyzed in the
decision-making stage is illustrated by the histograms in figure 4.3, figure 4.4,
and figure 4.5. The distribution of relative information supply, citizen support,
and economic power of lobbying coalitions does not vary systematically
between the policy formulation and the decision-making sample of interest
groups. In addition, the histograms indicate that the data do not only fall in a
narrow range, but that the dataset covers the entire range of possible values for
all three independent variables.

(a) Policy formulation (b) Decision-making

500 350
Number of observations
Number of observations

300
400
250
300 200

200 150
100
100
50
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative coalition information supply Relative coalition information supply

Fig. 4.3 Histogram of relative information supply by lobbying coalitions

(a) Policy formulation (b) Decision-making

300 300
Number of observations

Number of observations

250 250

200 200

150 150

100 100

50 50

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative coalition citizen support Relative coalition citizen support

Fig. 4.4 Histogram of relative citizen support of lobbying coalitions

 Mapping European Union Lobbying 119
(a) Policy formulation (b) Decision-making
100
150

Number of observations
Number of observations

80

100 60

40
50
20

0 0
0 20 40 60 80 100 0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative coalition economic power Relative coalition economic power

Fig. 4.5 Histogram of relative economic power of lobbying coalitions

4.3.3 Operationalization of control variables

Based on previous findings in interest group and legislative politics research,

control variables on the interest group as well as the issue level are included in
the analysis. Including these control variables allows for testing the hypotheses
formulated in chapter 2 while holding these variables constant that might
otherwise affect the dependent variable and therefore bias the results. I first
describe the measurement of control variables that have been identified in
the interest group literature (Dür and De Bièvre 2007a; Mahoney 2007a;
Klüver 2011) before turning to the operationalization of variables discussed in
legislative politics studies (e.g. Tsebelis 1994; Thomson et al. 2006; Schneider,
Finke, and Bailer 2010; Thomson 2011).
One important control variable on the interest group level is actor type
which is often associated with interest group influence in the literature (e.g.
Bouwen 2002; Dür and De Bièvre 2007a). Actor type was measured by a
dummy variable distinguishing between companies, sectional groups, and
cause groups. Sectional groups represent a section of society such as farmers or
chemical corporations and their membership is usually limited to that section
(Stewart 1958, 25). Cause groups by contrast represent some belief or principle
and anyone in favor of the principle can become a member of this group
(Stewart 1958, 25). Actor type was coded based on organizational statutes and
self-descriptions that were gathered on interest group websites and retrieved
from consultation submissions.
Based on interest group studies highlighting the importance of issue-related
factors for interest group influence (Lowi 1964; Mahoney 2007a, 2008;
Baumgartner et al. 2009; Klüver 2011), several issue-level variables are
included in the analysis. The salience of policy issues was measured by the
number of submissions received during the online consultation preceding
the adoption of a policy proposal. By salience of policy issues, I mean the
broader public salience of issues, that is, the attention that policy issues raise in
120 Lobbying in the European Union

general. The underlying assumption for using this indicator is that policy issues
which are highly salient among stakeholders should evoke a high number of
consultation submissions. One drawback of using consultation submissions as
an indicator for issue salience is that I can only rely on the number of published
submissions in online consultations. However, it is plausible to assume that the
number of overall submissions highly correlates with the number of published
submissions per consultation. As the impact of each additional actor involved
in the legislative debate is expected to decrease as the number of actors
increases, I use the logarithm of the number of consultation submissions as
a measure for salience (Long and Freese 2001, 42). Taking the logarithm in
addition decreases the impact of outliers on the regression coefficients.
The complexity of policy issues was measured relying on the number of
recitals of policy proposals (see also Kaeding 2006). Recitals are paragraphs in
the preamble of a policy proposal which state the purpose of the proposal and
summarize its main provisions (Kaeding 2006, 236). The rationale for using
this indicator is the assumption that the number of recitals increases with the
complexity of a policy proposal. Similar to salience, I also expect that the size
of the effect of complexity decreases as complexity increases and I therefore
use the logged number of recitals as a measure for complexity. In addition,
the log transformation pulls outliers closer to the rest of the data and therefore
decreases their impact on the regression coefficients.
The degree of conflict over an issue was measured by dividing the number
of interest groups forming the smaller lobbying coalition by the number of
interest groups constituting the bigger coalition on an issue. This measure
ranges from 0 to 1 with 0 indicating no conflict at all and 1 indicating maximum
conflict. The rationale for using this indicator is the following: The degree of
conflict is understood as the dispersion of actors’ policy preferences over an
issue. Policy issues that are characterized by a strong degree of conflict create
a difficult environment for interest groups as countervailing forces attempt to
push the policy output in opposing directions. Interest groups should therefore
find it very difficult to successfully lobby policy-making since they are fighting
against a strong opposition. By contrast, if the majority of interest groups shares
the same policy goal, it should be relatively easy for an interest group to be
successful in its lobbying attempts since all actors are pushing the legislator in
the same direction. Thus, if the majority of interest groups on a given policy
issue belong to the same lobbying coalition, they fight for the same policy issue
and only face a small opposition. The conflict measure is accordingly close to
0. By contrast, if a relatively equal number of interest groups have opposing
views on a policy issue, it is highly polarized as similarly strong coalitions pull
decision-makers in opposing directions. The conflict measure is accordingly
close to 1.
The importance of member state preferences, the legislative procedure, the
voting rule, and the status quo for the policy outcome have been discussed
 Mapping European Union Lobbying 121

extensively in the legislative politics literature and these variables are therefore
also included as control variables (e.g. Tsebelis 1994; Thomson et al. 2006;
Schneider, Finke, and Bailer 2010; Thomson 2011). In order to test whether
member states determined the outcome of the legislative debate independent
of the influence exerted by interest groups, I included an additional variable
controlling for member state support in the final regression model. In order
to measure member state support, I measured the preferences expressed
by national governments in the Commission consultations. The European
Commission has not only received comments by interest groups in its
legislative consultations, but also national governments have communicated
their views on the proposed policy initiative. In addition to the 2,696
consultation submissions by interest groups, I therefore also extracted policy
preferences from 506 comments that were submitted by individual member
state governments. When measuring member state support it is important to
take into account that not all member state governments are equally powerful
in the EU as for instance Germany has a much bigger say on European
affairs than Malta. I therefore measure member state support by the number
of member states supporting the policy objective of each lobbying coalition
weighted by their voting power in the Council.
Whether the policy proposal constitutes new legislation or whether there
was already a European level status quo (SQ) was assessed by drawing on the
EU database EurLex which indicates for every policy proposal whether it is a
modification to prior EU legislation. Ideally, it would also be worthwhile to
control for the location of the status quo. However, measuring the location
of the status quo is not feasible due to two difficulties. First, if there is no
prior European legislation, the status quo corresponds to national legislation
adopted in the 27 member states of the European Union. There is therefore
not a single status quo, but 27 different domestic ones. As a result, it is very
difficult to precisely identify the location of the status quo as it is unclear
how the different national status quos should be weighted in order to arrive
at one single European-wide estimate. Second, even if there is prior European
legislation, it is difficult to locate the position of the status quo using the
text analysis approach employed in this book. It is very often the case that
prior legislation that is linked to a proposal does not deal with the same
specific policy issue, but that it is merely a very general legislative framework
regulating an entire policy area. For instance, the regulation on roaming which
regulates the pricing for mobile phone calls abroad amends the directive that
set up the regulatory framework for telecommunications which regulates the
entire telecommunications market. The two policy proposals therefore differ
extensively in terms of scope and they do not refer to the same single issue
dimension as required by Wordfish.
The legislative procedure was coded according to information gathered
from the PreLex database that denotes the legislative procedure for every
122 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 4.12 Operationalization of independent variables
Variable Indicator

General concepts
Information supply – No. of words per submission
Citizen support – No. of represented individuals
Economic power – Annual turnover
– No. of employees
Lobbying coalitions
Relative information supply – Share of aggregated information supply per issue
Relative citizen support – Share of aggregated citizen support per issue
Relative economic power – Share of aggregated economic power per issue
Interest groups
Actor type – Coding according to configuration of actor
Relative information supply – Share of aggregated information supply per issue
Relative citizen support – Share of aggregated citizen support per issue
Relative economic power – Share of aggregated economic power per issue
Policy issues
Salience – No. of consultation submissions
Complexity – No. of recitals per proposal
Degree of conflict – Ratio of no. of interest groups per coalition on an issue
Existence of EU status quo – Existence of prior binding legislation as reported in
EurLex
Legislative procedure – Legislative procedure as reported in PreLex
Voting rule – Legal basis specifying the voting rule as indicated in
EurLex
Member state support – No. of states supporting a coalition weighted by
Council votes

single policy proposal that the European Commission introduces to the

legislative process. The voting rule was coded according to the legal basis
of policy proposals which indicates what voting rule applies to a specific
policy proposal. The legal basis of a policy proposal was determined from
information provided by the EurLex database. Table 4.12 presents an overview
of the operationalization of the independent variables used in this book.
Summary statistics of the dependent, the explanatory, and the control
variables can be found in table 4.13.

4.4 SPECIFICATION OF THE STATISTICAL MODEL

In order to test the hypotheses laid out in chapter 2, the special structure of the
dataset has to be taken into account. The data are hierarchical in nature since
interest groups are nested into policy issues (see figure 4.6). This is reflected
in the two-stage selection procedure that underlies the dataset: As explained
earlier in this chapter, I first selected 56 policy proposals. I then selected 2,696
Table 4.13 Summary statistics of variables
Variable N Mean Standard deviation Minimum Maximum

Dependent variable
Influence (Policy formulation) 2696 Influential: 53.08%, Not influential: 46.92%
Influence (Decision-making) 1793 Influential: 49.53%, Not influential: 50.47%
Lobbying coalition characteristics
Relative information supply by lobbying coalitions 110 50.909 28.677 3.989 100
Relative citizen support of lobbying coalitions 106 50.943 37.126 0 100
Relative economic power of lobbying coalitions 110 50.909 34.083 0 100
Interest group characteristics
Actor type Companies: 24.22%, Sectional groups: 55.68%, Cause groups: 20.10%
Relative information supply by interest groups 2696 1.738 2.432 0.047 45.237
Relative citizen support of interest groups 1066 5.066 11.078 0 100
Relative economic power of interest groups 594 9.428 12.456 1.058 100
Issue characteristics
Salience 56 4.274 0.650 2.639 5.727
Complexity 56 3.190 0.685 1.792 5.004
Conflict 56 0.418 0.299 0.000 0.971
Existence of status quo 56 Yes: 67.86%, No: 32.14%
Legislative procedure 56 Codecision: 87.50%, Consultation: 12.50%
Voting rule 56 Qualified Majority (QM): 92.86%, Unanimity: 7.14%
Member state support 56 16.226 16.062 0 82.759
124 Lobbying in the European Union

Issue 1 Issue 2 Issue 3

Lobbying Lobbying Lobbying Lobbying Lobbying Lobbying

Coalition A Coalition B Coalition C Coalition D Coalition E Coalition F

IG1 IG2 IG3 IG4 IG5 IG6 IG7 IG8 IG9 IG10 IG11 IG12

IG = Interest group

Fig. 4.6 Data structure

interest groups which submitted comments to consultations that the European

Commission conducted before it officially adopted the legislative proposals.
Interest groups which participated in the same consultations are subject to the
same contextual characteristics and therefore not completely independent as
assumed by ordinary regression analysis.
Due to the hierarchical nature of the dataset, the variables vary on different
levels. Some variables vary on the individual interest group level, some vary
with lobbying coalitions, and some vary only with the policy issues. Interest
groups which lobby the European institutions concerning the same policy
proposal are therefore subject to the same contextual characteristics. While
interest group properties vary across all individual interest groups in the
sample, issue-specific variables such as the degree of conflict or complexity are
held constant for all interest groups participating in the same legislative debate.
However, recent literature suggests that lobbying success varies not only with
individual characteristics, but also with the issue context (Mahoney 2007a,
2008; Klüver 2011). As a result, issue-specific variables are held constant for
all interest groups involved in the same policy debate, but these contextual
characteristics vary across policy issues and therefore lead to on average
lower or higher success probabilities for all interest groups lobbying the same
proposal. For instance, if a policy issue is highly complex and if all interest
groups involved in this debate largely agree, the probability to successfully
lobby the European institutions is relatively high for all interest groups as the
European institutions require a lot of information and because there is no
counterlobbying taking place.
 Mapping European Union Lobbying 125

In order to take into account the hierarchical nature of the data, I analyzed
the data using multilevel modeling. Multilevel models are very popular in
educational statistics and sociology and have recently spread into political
science. There are various substantive and methodological reasons for the use
of multilevel models (Steenbergen and Jones 2002; Gelman and Hill 2007):
First, multilevel analysis allows combining predictors located on different
levels of analysis to account for variation in the dependent variable. Complex
theoretical models suggesting simultaneous effects of explanatory variables
located on different levels of analysis can therefore be tested empirically.
Accordingly, using multilevel modeling I can test the hypothesized effects of
information supply, citizen support, and economic power of interest groups
while controlling for characteristics of policy issues. Second, using multilevel
analysis one can examine causal heterogeneity, that is, testing whether a causal
effect is the same across different subpopulations or whether an effect is
moderated by contextual characteristics. For instance, I can examine whether
the effect of information supply varies with the complexity of the policy issue
as hypothesized in chapter 2.
Apart from substantive motivations, there are also important methodo-
logical advantages of multilevel modeling (Steenbergen and Jones 2002;
Gelman and Hill 2007): Traditional alternatives to multilevel modeling are
complete pooling in which the data are analyzed as if there was no hierarchical
clustering and no pooling in which different subpopulations are analyzed
separately. These approaches have serious problems (Gelman and Hill 2007,
253–254): No pooling overstates the differences between subpopulations
whereas complete pooling ignores differences between subpopulations.
Multilevel models by contrast compromise between pooled and unpooled
estimates by taking the hierarchical structure into account and thus producing
estimates that are weighted by the sample size of the clusters and the
variation within and between clusters. I am accordingly able to test the
theoretical model across different policy issues by taking into account variation
within and across policy issues and by weighting the estimates according
to the number of interest groups which lobbied on each policy issue.
Another important advantage of multilevel models concerns the estimation
of standard errors (Steenbergen and Jones 2002, 219–220): Ignoring the
hierarchical nature and thereby the clustering of the data may result in
deflated standard errors and inflated Type I error rates. Hence, ignoring
the multilevel structure of the data leads to a misspecification of the
model so that predictors seem to have a significant effect even though they
do not.
I therefore draw on multilevel modeling to analyze the data by
distinguishing between the interest group (first) level and the issue (second)
level. As the dependent variable interest group influence is of binary nature,
126 Lobbying in the European Union

I estimate multilevel logistic regression models. For all analyses, I present

a variance decomposition and a random intercept model. The variance
decomposition model does not include any predictors and is solely presented
in order to be able to assess the fit of the random intercept model. In order
to illustrate the nature of the models, I shortly present the model equations
and discuss their elements. The logistic variance decomposition model can be
noted as follows:
logit{Pr(yij = 1)} = β + ζj
ζj ∼ N(0, ψ)
The variance decomposition model, which is also often termed the “empty
model,” is the standard model which does not include any covariates.
The probability of an interest group i to influence policy-making on issue
j Pr(yij = 1) is modeled as depending on an overall mean β and a second
level residual ζj for issue j. The random intercept ζj is assumed to be normally
distributed with mean 0 and variance ψ.
The random intercept model by contrast includes explanatory variables and
also allows the intercept to vary across the different second level units so
that the average value of the dependent variable can vary across the different
clusters. The probability of an interest group to influence policy-making
Pr(yij = 1) depends on an overall mean β0 , on covariates x1ij through xkij ,
and on the error term ζj located on the issue level (second level). The random
intercept ζj is again assumed to be normally distributed with mean 0 and
variance ψ. The logistic random intercept model can be noted as follows:
logit{Pr(yij = 1)} = β0 + β1 x1ij + . . . + βk xkij + ζj
ζj |xij ∼ N(0, ψ)
Potentially one could also conceptualize the data structure as cross-classified
since several interest groups do not only participate in one single consultation,
but lobby on several policy issues in the dataset (see table 4.14). The unit
of analysis is the lobbying event defined as the lobbying activity of an
interest group concerning a specific policy issue. Hence, if an interest group
lobbies on more than one of the 56 policy issues in the dataset, the same
interest group appears several times in the dataset. One could therefore
conceptualize lobbying events as clustered into interest groups on the one hand
and as clustered into policy issues on the other hand. However, since 78.55
percent of the interest groups only participated in one single consultation, a


As discussed on pages 98–99, interest group influence is measured by assessing whether the
distance between the policy positions of interest groups and the European institutions decreased
over time.

The notation employed in this study was adapted from Rabe-Hesketh and Skrondal (2008).
 Mapping European Union Lobbying 127
Table 4.14 Participation of interest groups in consultations
Number of participations Number of interest groups Percent of interest groups

1 1,487 78.55
2 237 12.52
3 82 4.33
4 34 1.80
5 27 1.43
6 11 0.58
7 3 0.16
8 4 0.21
9 2 0.11
10 1 0.05
11 2 0.11
13 2 0.11
23 1 0.05

Total 1,893 100.00

cross-classified model would be based on estimating random effects for only

one single case for the vast majority of interest groups.
In addition to the cross-classification, one could think of estimating
a three-level model with interest groups being the first level, lobbying
coalitions the second level, and issues the third level. However, due to survey
non-response, the number of interest groups per lobbying coalition is also
relatively small. For some of the models discussed in this chapter, the majority
of the lobbying coalitions are only represented by one single interest group
so that estimating random effects would only be based on one single case.
Due to the relatively small number of cases, it was therefore not possible to
estimate cross-classified or three-level models for all the models presented
in this chapter. Where it was, however, possible to estimate these models,
the results do not substantially differ from the results obtained by two-level
models. I therefore refrain from presenting cross-classified and three-level
models and concentrate on two-level models
I decided to cluster the data according to policy issues to have a sufficiently
large number of cases in each cluster to estimate the multilevel model and to
still be able to capture the hierarchical nature of the dataset. Clustering the data
according to policy issues is also theoretically important as lobbying coalitions
are not independent of each other. As discussed earlier, it is decisive how much
information, citizen support, and economic power lobbying coalitions provide
in relation to their opposing coalition working on the same issue. Hence,
lobbying coalitions are always issue-specific and cannot be treated as randomly
distributed across the entire sample of policy issues analyzed in this book.
In order to evaluate the overall model fit, models are compared to the
variance decomposition model using the Akaike information criterion (AIC),
128 Lobbying in the European Union

the Bayesian information criterion (BIC), and the likelihood ratio test. Models
with smaller AIC and BIC should be preferred over models with larger AIC
and BIC. Whereas the log likelihood can simply be improved by adding a new
predictor to the model, the AIC and BIC penalize for adding new predictors to
the model with the BIC being more conservative than the AIC (Gelman and
Hill 2007, 524–525).
Due to survey non-response, the dataset unfortunately includes a lot of
missing values on the explanatory variables. As explained earlier in this
chapter, I conducted an online survey of interest groups which participated
in consultations on the 56 selected policy issues in order to measure interest
group characteristics. The response rate of the survey was 38.67 percent (see
table 4.5). In addition to unit non-response, there are, however, also a lot of
missing values due to item non-response. The missing value structure for the
variables of interest is illustrated in table 4.15.
In order to deal with missing values, one can draw on different strategies of
which listwise deletion and multiple imputation have proven most promising
(Allison 2000, 2002). Multiple imputation is, however, only appropriate if the
number of missing values is not too high. Even though there is no rule of thumb
about the minimum number of observed values, Royston (2004, 240) suggests
that multiple imputation should be avoided for variables that have 50 percent
or more missing values. Since both citizen support, and economic power have
about 50 percent of missing values after removal of all unit non-responses,
I therefore refrained from using multiple imputation and instead analyze
the dataset using listwise deletion. Listwise deletion excludes all observations
which have missing values on at least one of the variables in the model. The
major problem of listwise deletion is an extensive reduction of the sample
size. The standard errors are therefore larger in the reduced dataset due to the
smaller number of cases. Analyzing the effect of information supply, citizen
support, and economic power simultaneously using listwise deletion would
accordingly reduce the sample size extensively: For the policy formulation
stage, the sample would shrink from 2,696 interest groups and 56 policy issues
to 291 interest groups and 48 issues. For the decision-making stage, the sample
would be reduced from 1,793 interest groups and 42 issues to 177 interest
groups and 35 issues.

Table 4.15 Missing values

Missing values
Variables Original sample (n = 2,696) Without unit non-response (n = 1,170)

Citizen support 59.76% 48.29%

Economic power 77.97% 49.23%
 Mapping European Union Lobbying 129

What is more, relative information supply, citizen support, and economic

power on the lobbying coalition level are highly collinear. Relative information
supply and citizen support correlate at 0.65, relative information supply and
relative economic power correlate at 0.68, and relative citizen support and
relative economic power of lobbying coalitions correlate at 0.75. Collinearity
leads to unstable regression coefficients and larger standard errors (Fox
1991, 10–11). If two variables are strongly collinear, the data contain little
information about the impact of the first variable when the second is held
constant since there is little variation in the first variable when the second
is fixed (Fox 2005, 354). The estimation problems caused by collinearity are
furthermore aggravated by the small number of cases that are available if all
three predictors are included simultaneously in the model. It is therefore not
possible to estimate the effect of all three lobbying coalition characteristics
simultaneously. Due to the collinearity of the predictors and in order to keep
as many observations as possible for the empirical analysis, I therefore test
the effects of relative information supply, relative citizen support, and relative
economic power of lobbying coalitions one after the other.
A plausible source for the high degree of collinearity between the lobbying
coalition characteristics is the size of lobbying coalitions. One could argue that
the size of a lobbying coalition crucially affects the relative information supply,
the relative citizen support, and the relative economic power of lobbying
coalitions so that larger coalitions on average provide more information,
citizen support, and economic power to decision-makers than smaller
lobbying coalitions. However, from a theoretical point of view, information
supply, citizen support, and economic power are distinct and independent
concepts. Information supply describes the technical and political information
that interest groups provide to the European institutions. Citizen support
refers to the degree to which interest groups can directly mobilize citizens and
voters. Economic power is the ability of interest groups to control business
investments and job creation. In addition, lobbying coalitions composed
of a large number of interest groups are not necessarily able to supply
more information, citizen support, and economic power to the European
institutions than small coalitions. It could for instance be the case that a
lobbying coalition is larger in size than its opposing coalition, but that all its
members are relatively weak in terms of information supply, citizen support,
and economic power which are needed by the European institutions whereas
its opposing coalition is only made up of very few, but very powerful groups.
In order to test whether information supply, citizen support, and economic
power of lobbying coalitions can be solely explained by coalition size, I
have estimated three regression models predicting relative information supply,
relative citizen support and relative economic power by the relative size of
lobbying coalitions. If information supply, citizen support, and economic
power are solely a function of the size of a lobbying coalition, the R2 should
130 Lobbying in the European Union

be approximately 1.00. The average R2 , however, only amounts to 0.66. This

indicates that coalition size is positively related to relative information supply,
citizen support, and economic power of lobbying coalitions and that all three
characteristics are therefore collinear, but that approximately 34 percent of
the variance remains unexplained by the pure size of coalitions. The three
goods are therefore distinct and have an independent effect on interest group
influence.
Evaluating and comparing the size of the effects across different logistic
regression models cannot be carried out by simply assessing the coefficients
due to arbitrary variance normalization required in binary outcome models
(Mroz and Zayats 2008; Mood 2010). However, the effects of explanatory
variables can be compared across different models drawing on predicted
probabilities and first differences as these quantities are not affected by the
variance normalization. Accordingly, Mroz and Zayats (2008, 413) argue:
While direct comparisons and interpretations of arbitrarily scaled coefficients
from different estimation approaches for binary outcomes can be quite
problematic, nearly all interesting magnitudes related to probabilities and impacts
of covariates on predicted probabilities can be compared across models and
estimation approaches.
I therefore present the results of the analyses in three different ways. I first
display the results of the multilevel logistic regression in regression tables using
odds ratios. In order to compare the effects across different models and to
illustrate the effects in a more intuitive manner, I then use statistical simulation
to compute predicted probabilities and first differences (King, Tomz, and
Wittenberg 2000). These quantities are estimated in three steps: First, after
performing the regression analysis, the coefficients and the variance covariance
matrix are obtained. Second, the independent variables are set to specific
values, e.g. to the mean and the median. Third, a large number of values is
drawn from a multivariate normal distribution which has a vector containing
the regression coefficients as its mean and the variance covariance matrix
as its variance. I then summarize these simulated draws in order to obtain
predicted probabilities and first differences together with their appropriate
degrees of uncertainty. As overlapping confidence intervals cannot be used
to evaluate statistical significance (e.g. Schenker and Gentleman 2001; Austin
2002; Payton, Greenstone, and Schenker 2003), first differences are inspected
to assess whether the differences in the predicted probabilities are statistically
significant.


I estimate these quantities using the R software package Zelig developed by Imai, King, and
Lau (2006).
 5

Policy Debates, Interest Groups,

and the Structure of Conflict

The last chapter has illustrated in detail how the dataset was constructed on
which basis the theoretical claims developed in chapter 2 are tested. This
chapter now turns the focus to the universe of policy issues and interest groups
that are studied in this book. As there are hardly any large-scale empirical
studies of interest group lobbying in the European Union, we know little about
the nature of policy debates and the characteristics of interest groups. What
are the issues that are talked about in Brussels? Who mobilizes in these policy
debates? Which interest groups form coalitions and what is the underlying
structure of conflict? In order to shed light on interest group influence in
the European Union, it is crucial to answer these questions to enhance our
understanding about the major players and the context of the lobbing process.
This chapter therefore studies the nature of policy debates in the European
Union. The chapter proceeds as follows: The first section sheds light on the
characteristics of the policy issues that are dealt with in Brussels. The second
section then focuses on the population of interest groups that mobilized on
these issues. Finally, section three examines the structure of conflict and the
composition of lobbying coalitions in EU policy debates.

5.1 THE UNIVERSE OF ISSUES

Over the past decades, a large number of policy competences have been
transferred to the European level. In some policy areas such as agricultural
policy, the European Union enjoys exclusive competences and virtually all
important policy decisions are therefore taken in Brussels. However, at the
same time the European Union has hardly any say in other policy domains
such as taxation. In terms of policy issues, the European Union is therefore not
a political system like any other. What are the issues that are typically subject
to legislative debate in Brussels? What policy areas are most important and
132 Lobbying in the European Union

how many interest groups mobilize in these debates? What are the levels of
conflict? Are policy debates largely consensual or are interest groups largely
divided? This section presents information about the policy issues analyzed in
this book to shed light on the nature of policy debates in the European Union
(see Table 5.1 (a) and (b) for a list of all 56 issues).

Table 5.1 (a) Summary of policy issues

Issue Issue description Primarily responsible DG Submissions

1 Advanced therapies Enterprise & Industry 44

2 Euro 5 emisssion standards Enterprise & Industry 51
3 Residues in foodstuffs of animal origin Enterprise & Industry 41
4 Units of measurement Enterprise & Industry 143
5 Protection of pedestrians Enterprise & Industry 17
6 Hydrogen powered motor vehicles Enterprise & Industry 19
7 Circulation of defense products Enterprise & Industry 24
8 Cosmetic products Enterprise & Industry 45
9 Better regulation of pharmaceuticals Enterprise & Industry 22
10 Advanced safety features & tires Enterprise & Industry 81
11 Information to patients Enterprise & Industry 185
12 Pharmacovigilance Enterprise & Industry 81
13 Counterfeit medicines Enterprise & Industry 127
14 Payment services Internal Market & Services 94
15 Shareholder rights Internal Market & Services 129
16 Defense & security procurement Internal Market & Services 37
17 Simplifying the business environment Internal Market & Services 129
18 UCITS Internal Market & Services 61
19 Copyright Internal Market & Services 118
20 Food safety Health & Consumers 86
21 Consumer protection Health & Consumers 163
22 Nutrition & health claims made on food Health & Consumers 85
23 Timeshare Health & Consumers 96
24 Food information to consumers Health & Consumers 178
25 Consumer rights Health & Consumers 307
26 Emissions trading scheme Environment 92
27 Environmental liability Environment 73
28 Batteries Environment 132
29 Waste Environment 205
30 Use of pesticides Environment 78
31 Mercury Environment 55
32 Reducing CO2 emissions from cars Environment 75
33 Restriction of hazardous substances Environment 59
34 Waste: electrical and electronic equipment Environment 130
35 Rights & obligations of intern. rail passengers Energy & Transport 39
36 Road infrastructure safety management Energy & Transport 49
37 Blind spot mirrors for trucks Energy & Transport 38
38 Access to road transport markets Energy & Transport 69
39 Computerized reservation schemes Energy & Transport 44
40 Road safety Energy & Transport 51

(continued)
 Policy Debates, Interest Groups, and the Structure of Conflict 133

Table 5.1 (a) Continued

41 Energy labeling Energy & Transport 74
42 Labeling of tires Energy & Transport 14
43 Rights of passengers in intern. bus Energy & Transport 57
transport
44 Reuse of public sector information Information Society & Media 76
45 Roaming Information Society & Media 49
46 Electronic communication networks Information Society & Media 194
& services
47 European network & information Information Society & Media 31
security agency
48 Competition rules to maritime Competition 52
transport
49 Fundamental rights agency Justice, Freedom, & Security 112
50 Rome I Justice, Freedom, & Security 83
51 Divorce matters Justice, Freedom, & Security 68
52 Economic migration Justice, Freedom, & Security 144
53 Common European asylum system Justice, Freedom, & Security 100
54 Excise duty on tobacco products Taxation 89
55 Health check Agriculture & Rural Development 75
56 School fruit scheme Agriculture & Rural Development 101

Table 5.1 (b) Summary of policy issues

Issue Proposal type Legislative procedure Draft date Proposal date Date of legislative
act

1 Regulation Codecision 04.05.2005 16.11.2005 13.12.2007

2 Regulation Codecision 15.07.2005 21.12.2005 20.06.2007
3 Regulation Codecision 18.12.2003 17.04.2007 06.05.2009
4 Directive Codecision 22.12.2006 10.09.2007 11.03.2009
5 Regulation Codecision 06.2005 03.10.2007 14.01.2009
6 Regulation Codecision 13.07.2006 10.10.2007 14.01.2009
7 Directive Codecision 21.03.2006 05.12.2007 06.05.2009
8 Regulation Codecision 12.01.2007 05.02.2008 30.11.2009
9 Directive Codecision 10.07.2007 04.03.2008 18.06.2009
10 Regulation Codecision 23.08.2007 23.05.2008 13.07.2009
11 Both Codecision 05.02.2008 10.12.2008 –
12 Both Codecision 05.12.2007 10.12.2008 –
13 Directive Codecision 11.03.2008 10.12.2008 –
14 Directive Codecision 02.12.2003 01.12.2005 13.11.2007
15 Directive Codecision 13.05.2005 05.01.2006 11.07.2007
16 Directive Codecision 23.09.2004 05.12.2007 13.07.2009
17 Directive Codecision 10.07.2007 17.04.2008 –
18 Directive Codecision 22.03.2007 16.07.2008 13.07.2009
19 Directive Codecision 19.07.2004 16.07.2008 –
20 Regulation Codecision 12.01.2000 08.11.2000 28.01.2002
21 Directive Codecision 02.10.2001 18.06.2003 11.05.2005
22 Regulation Codecision 28.05.2001 16.07.2003 20.12.2006

(continued)
134 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 5.1 (b) Continued
Issue Proposal type Legislative procedure Draft date Proposal date Date of legislative
act

23 Directive Codecision 01.06.2006 07.06.2007 14.01.2009

24 Regulation Codecision 13.03.2006 30.01.2008 –
25 Directive Codecision 08.02.2007 08.10.2008 –
26 Directive Codecision 08.03.2000 23.10.2001 13.12.2003
27 Directive Codecision 25.07.2001 23.01.2002 21.04.2004
28 Directive Codecision 25.02.2003 21.11.2003 06.09.2006
29 Directive Codecision 27.05.2003 21.12.2005 19.11.2008
30 Directive Codecision 01.07.2002 12.07.2006 21.10.2009
31 Both Codecision 15.03.2004 21.02.2006 25.09.2007
32 Regulation Codecision 07.02.2007 19.12.2007 23.04.2009
33 Directive Codecision 13.12.2007 03.12.2008 –
34 Directive Codecision 11.04.2008 03.12.0008 –
35 Regulation Codecision 04.10.2002 03.03.2004 23.10.2007
36 Directive Codecision 12.04.2006 05.10.2006 19.11.2008
37 Directive Codecision 12.04.2006 05.10.2006 11.07.2007
38 Regulation Codecision 09.06.2006 01.06.2007 21.10.2009
39 Regulation Codecision 23.02.2007 15.11.2007 14.01.2009
40 Directive Codecision 06.11.2006 19.03.2008 –
41 Directive Codecision 20.12.2007 13.11.2008 19.05.2010
42 Directive Codecision 28.04.2008 13.11.2008 25.11.2009
43 Regulation Codecision 14.07.2005 04.12.2008 –
44 Directive Codecision 23.10.2001 05.06.2002 17.11.2003
45 Regulation Codecision 03.04.2006 12.07.2006 27.06.2007
46 Both Codecision 29.06.2006 13.11.2007 25.11.2009
47 Regulation Codecision 01.06.2007 20.12.2007 24.09.2008
48 Regulation Consultation 13.10.2004 14.12.2005 25.09.2006
49 Regulation Consultation 25.10.2004 30.06.2005 15.02.2007
50 Regulation Codecision 14.01.2003 15.12.2005 17.06.2008
51 Regulation Consultation 14.03.2005 17.07.2006 –
52 Directive Consultation 11.01.2005 23.10.2007 –
53 Both Codecision 06.06.2007 03.12.2008 –
54 Directive Consultation 30.03.2007 16.07.2008 16.02.2010
55 Regulation Consultation 20.11.2007 20.05.2008 19.01.2009
56 Regulation Consultation 18.12.2007 08.07.2008 18.12.2008

Table 5.2 presents information about the Directorates General responsible

for the policy proposals analyzed in this book. The European Commission
is divided into several departments known as Directorates General (DGs).
The DGs are responsible for different policy portfolios very much like
ministries at the national level. Relying on the primarily responsible DG is
therefore a good proxy for the policy area in which a proposal falls. Thirteen
(23.21 percent) proposals were developed by DG Enterprise and Industry.
DG Environment and DG Energy and Transport were each responsible for
nine (16.07 percent) policy initiatives while DG Health and Consumers and
 Policy Debates, Interest Groups, and the Structure of Conflict 135
Table 5.2 Distribution of policy issues across Directorates General
Primarily responsible Directorat General Frequency Percent

Enterprise & Industry 13 23.21

Environment 9 16.07
Energy & Transport 9 16.07
Internal Market & Services 6 10.71
Health & Consumer Protection 6 10.71
Justice, Freedom, & Security 5 8.93
Information Society & Media 4 7.14
Agriculture & Rural Development 2 3.57
Competition 1 1.79
Taxation 1 1.79

Total 56 100.00

DG Internal Market and Services each directed six (10.71 percent) policy
proposals. DG Justice, Freedom, and Security coordinated the elaboration
of five (8.93 percent) initiatives and DG Information Society and Media
drafted four (7.14 percent) policy proposals. Finally, DG Agriculture and Rural
Development was responsible for two (3.57 percent) policy initiatives while
DG Competition and DG Taxation each coordinated one (1.79 percent) policy
proposal.
Even though the sample of policy debates studied in this book is not a
random sample and therefore not representative for the entire population of
issues dealt with in Brussels, the sample captures a wide variety of policy
areas typically regulated by the European Union. The largest number of
policy issues in the sample (about 35 percent) deal with economic issues
which is not surprising given the large number of competences that the
European Union controls in this domain. In addition, about 27 percent of
the policy debates studied in this book deal with regulatory issues concerning
environmental protection, health, and consumer protection. Since agricultural
policy constitutes one of the most important policy areas in the EU, it might
seem surprising that only two proposals fall in the agricultural domain.
However, one of these initiatives is the so-called “Health Check” proposal
which reformed the entire Common agricultural policy and is therefore
probably the most important agricultural proposal in the past decade.
How salient are policy issues in the European Union? How many interest
groups mobilize to lobby the European institutions in these policy debates?
Figure 5.1 indicates the number of submissions that the European Commission
received during the consultations preceding the adoption of the 56 selected
proposals. On average, the European Commission received 87 submissions per
consultation. Typical policy debates that raised an average amount of attention
among interest groups are the policy debate revolving around the introduction
136 Lobbying in the European Union

25

20
Number of issues

15

10

0
0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350
Number of submissions

Fig. 5.1 Mobilization of interest groups

of the emissions trading scheme (92 submissions), the stakeholder debate

concerning food safety (86 submissions), or the legislative debate on tobacco
taxation (89 submissions). The most salient policy debate in the sample of
policy issues studied in this book is the stakeholder debate on the policy
proposal on consumer rights which affects the entire single market (307
consultation submissions). By contrast, a policy initiative that triggered very
little response from interest groups is the policy proposal concerning the
protection of pedestrians (17 submissions). Hence, the number of submissions
varies considerably and it can therefore be inferred that policy debates in the
European Union vary extensively in terms of salience. Some issues mobilize
a large number of interest groups while other debates receive hardly any
attention.
How complex are policy proposals that are discussed in Brussels? Given
that it is often argued that lobbying is about information transmission as
decision-makers require policy expertise, it is important to examine how
complex policy issues are. Figure 5.2 illustrates the complexity of the policy
proposals analyzed in this book. As discussed on page 120, the complexity of
policy issues was measured by the number of recitals of legislative proposals.
Typical proposals with an average degree of complexity are the legislative
proposal on roaming (31 recitals), the policy proposal regulating nutrition
and health claims made on food (28 recitals), or the Commission proposal
on the reduction of CO2 emissions from cars (28 recitals). A policy issue that
is particularly complex is the previously mentioned “Health Check” proposal
which reformed the common agricultural policy of the EU (91 recitals). By
contrast, a policy proposal with a very low level of complexity is the proposal
 Policy Debates, Interest Groups, and the Structure of Conflict 137

25

20
Number of issues

15

10

0
0 50 100 150
Complexity

Fig. 5.2 Complexity of policy issues

on units of measurement which harmonizes the use of measurement units for

expressing quantities in the European Union (7 recitals). The complexity of
policy issues in the European Union therefore varies considerably. Some issues
are highly complex while other policy issues are very simple in nature.
What is the nature of conflict in policy debates in the European Union? Are
policy debates consensual or are legislative debates characterized by a large
degree of conflict between the different interest groups? Figure 5.3 illustrates
the degree of conflict underlying the 56 policy debates studied in this book.
The measure of conflict ranges from 0 to 1 whereby 0 indicates no conflict

12

10
Number of issues

0
0.0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1.0
Conflict

Fig. 5.3 The degree of conflict

138 Lobbying in the European Union

at all and 1 indicates maximum conflict. The average degree of conflict is

0.42 with a standard deviation of 0.30. Policy debates with a typical level of
conflict are the debate about residues in foodstuffs of animal origin (0.44), the
debate on regulating copyright (0.48), or the legislative debate reforming units
of measurement (0.38). A policy debate that is characterized by high levels
of conflict between different interest groups is the policy debate about the
review of the regulatory framework for electronic communication networks
and services which regulates the entire telecommunications market in Europe
(0.87). By contrast, a policy debate that was largely consensual is the debate
about establishing the European network and information security agency
(0.07). Policy debates in the European Union are therefore also characterized
by varying levels of conflict. While interest groups are largely divided on some
policy issues, consensus prevails in other debates.
Finally, what is the legal nature of the proposals and under which legislative
procedure are they adopted? Out of the 56 legislative proposals studied in this
book, 28 (50.00 percent) are directives, 23 (41.07 percent) are regulations, and
5 (8.93 percent) of the drafts resulted in the adoption of policy proposals for
both, a regulation and a directive. As mentioned previously, directives are
binding on the member states as to the result to be achieved, but member
states can choose the form and method they adopt to realize the objective
of the directive. Hence, member states have to transpose the directive into
national law. Regulations by contrast are directly applicable which means that
they create legislation that takes immediate effect in all the member states. The
sample of policy issues is fairly balanced between directives and regulations.
In terms of legislative procedure, 49 (87.50 percent) of the policy proposals are
subject to the Codecision and 7 (12.50 percent) are subject to the Consultation
procedure. The majority of legislative proposals studied in this book therefore
require the approval of both the Council and the European Parliament in order
to enter into force.

5.2 THE POPULATION OF MOBILIZED INTEREST

GROUPS

Who mobilizes? Which interest groups lobby the European institutions? Is

there a bias with regard to organized interests in the European Union? Do
business interests dominate policy debates in Brussels or are different types of
organized interests equally represented? How large are these interest groups


In cases where a consultation resulted in the adoption of more than one policy proposal,
I collapsed the Parliament’s summaries of these proposals and the resulting legislative acts into
one single document in order to measure their policy position.
 Policy Debates, Interest Groups, and the Structure of Conflict 139

and how much do they spend on lobbying? This section answers these
questions and sheds light on the population of interest groups that mobilized
on the 56 policy issues that are studied in this book.
First, which interest groups mobilize in Brussels? Table 5.3 presents
information on the composition of the population of mobilized interest groups.
Business associations, which comprise all membership organizations related to
business affairs such as sectoral industry associations, employers’ associations,
and chambers of commerce, constitute by far the largest share of actors
participating in Commission consultations. Business associations account for
42 percent of all interest groups that mobilized in the 56 policy debates. The
second largest group of advocates in the EU lobby process are companies which
make up approximately 24 percent of all interest groups in the selected policy
debates. Cause groups, which are defined as interest groups that represent
some belief or principle and whose membership is not restricted (Stewart
1958, 25), represent the third largest group of actors. Cause groups include
for instance environmental and consumer NGOs such as Greenpeace and the
European Consumers’ Organization (BEUC). Professional associations, which
are organizations that represent the interests of certain professions such as
the Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations (COPA), constitute
about 9 percent of the population of mobilized interest groups. Trade unions
participated only to a marginal extent in the selected policy debates. Finally,
public authority associations such as for instance the Council of European
Municipalities and Regions constitute about 2 percent of all interest groups
that mobilized on the 56 policy issues.
The population of interest groups which lobbied the European institutions
in the selected policy debates is strongly biased in favor of European business.
Interest group representation in the European Union is not balanced between
different societal interests, but economic interests strongly dominate the
lobbying game in Brussels. On the one hand, we observe an enormous

Table 5.3 Population of mobilized interest groups

by actor type
Actor type Frequency Percent

Business associations 1,140 42.28

Companies 653 24.22
Cause groups 541 20.07
Professional associations 241 8.94
Public authority associations 46 1.71
Trade unions 28 1.04
Other 47 1.74

Total 2,696 100.00

140 Lobbying in the European Union

imbalance between capital and labor. While industries and employers account
for about 66 percent of all the lobbyists in the European Union, trade unions
only constitute 2 percent of all interest organizations which mobilized in
the selected policy debates. On the other hand, lobbying in the European
Union is characterized by an imbalance between economic and diffuse
interests. While cause groups fighting for a diffuse cause or belief such as
environmental protection or human rights only make up about 20 percent
of all mobilized advocates, sectional groups and companies representing
concentrated, economic interests constitute about 76 percent of the mobilized
interest group population. The dominance of economic interest groups in the
56 policy debates studied in this book largely corresponds to their overall
weight in the entire population of interest groups at the EU level (see for
instance Wonka et al. 2010). Hence, policy debates in the European Union
are clearly dominated by economic interests and interest group representation
in Brussels is therefore heavily biased.
Second, the European Union is a multilevel political system in which
different levels of government are intertwined. Accordingly, interest groups
organize at different geographical levels, more precisely at the subnational,
the national, and the European level. Do nationally organized interest groups
dominate politics in the European Union or have interest groups evolved into
truly European organizations? Figure 5.4 illustrates the territorial origin of
interest groups that mobilized on the 56 policy issues studied in this book. The
largest share of associations originate from the national level directly followed
by European-wide associations. Most of the companies that mobilized in the
selected policy debates are international companies which have subsidiaries
in at least one European and one non-European or in two non-European
countries. The smallest group of consultation participants are associations or
companies which are organized at the subnational level or which are based
in a third state. The distribution of territorial origin in the population of
interest groups that mobilized in the 56 policy debates studied in this book
also corresponds nicely to the distribution of territorial origin in the entire
population of interest groups at the European level (see Wonka et al. 2010).


Wonka et al. (2010) identify the population of interest groups that lobby the European
institutions based on three different sources: the Commission’s voluntary “Consultation, the
European Commission and Civil Society” (CONECCS) database in which interest groups could
register that have participated in Commission committees or hearings, the accreditation registry
of the European Parliament which contains all interest groups and representatives that obtained a
special entry pass, and the Landmarks European Public Affairs Directory which is a commercial
directory listing interest groups that operate on the European level.

Companies are classified as international companies if they have have subsidiaries in at least
one European and one non-European or in two non-European countries. If companies are only
based in one foreign country, they are classified as third country companies. European firms are
companies that are based in at least two different EU member states without having a subsidiary
in a third state.
 Policy Debates, Interest Groups, and the Structure of Conflict 141

60

50
Percent of interest groups

40

30

20

10

0
Subnational National European International Third state
Associations Companies

Fig. 5.4 Territorial origin of interest groups

In terms of interest group type and territorial origin, there is therefore no

indication of a selection bias.
In terms of territorial origin, it can be concluded that lobbying in the
European Union is neither dominated by national interests nor is it exclusively
a European game. National interest groups and interest groups which organize
at the European level are more or less equally represented in Brussels.
Forty-four percent of all mobilized associations are national-level interest
groups and 40 percent are organized at the European level. While interest
groups have considerably Europeanized over the years by founding and
joining European-wide organizations, interest representation is not exclusively
European. Given the considerable heterogeneity and diversity in the 27
member states of the European Union, European federations can only provide
interest representation on the lowest common denominator. In order to express
their specific national views, national associations therefore simultaneously
spill over to the European level and also lobby the European institutions
directly (Klüver 2010). In addition, we observe considerable large firm
lobbying in the European Union. Out of the 2,696 interest groups that
mobilized on the policy issues studied in this book, 653 are companies. The
vast majority of these companies are large European or international firms
which directly seek to influence the European Commission, the Council, and
the European Parliament.
How large are the interest groups that lobby the European institutions?
How many lobbyists do they employ? Table 5.4 indicates the staff size of
the interest groups that mobilized on the policy issues that are analyzed in
Table 5.4 Staff numbers of interest groups
Lobbying staff Companies Business groups Professional groups Trade unions Cause groups Public authority groups Other Total

1–5 53.49% 58.49% 61.54% 29.41% 62.89% 38.10% 88.46% 59.18%

6–10 15.50% 19.14% 16.35% 29.41% 17.94% 28.57% 3.85% 18.07%
11–25 15.50% 13.55% 7.69% 5.88% 13.36% 19.05% 7.69% 12.99%
26–50 9.30% 6.24% 11.54% 35.29% 3.05% 0.00% 0.00% 6.54%
more than 50 6.20% 2.58% 2.88% 0.00% 2.67% 14.29% 0.00% 3.22%

Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

N 129 465 104 17 262 21 26 1,024

Note: Cramer’s V = 0.130

 Policy Debates, Interest Groups, and the Structure of Conflict 143

this book. The staff level was measured drawing on a survey question with
answer categories provided on a five-point ordinal scale. The vast majority
of interest groups only employ one to five people that are in charge of lobbying
decision-makers. Out of all interest groups, about 59 percent only employ
up to five lobbyists. The small number of lobbying staff is not unique to a
particular type of interest group, but nearly all interest groups exhibit similar
staff numbers. About 63 percent of all cause groups and 62 percent of all
professional associations solely rely on up to five people to lobby the European
institutions. Similarly, approximately 58 percent of all business associations
and 53 percent of all companies run their lobbying activities with only up
to five employees. The distribution of staff numbers across different interest
group types is similarly comparable with regard to a larger number of staff.
For instance, about 3 percent of all cause groups, business associations, and
professional associations employ more than 50 lobbyists. Trade unions and
public authority associations employ on average a slightly larger number of
staff while other groups rely on fewer people. However, overall the distribution
of lobbying staff is fairly similar across different types of interest groups.
Accordingly, the correlation coefficient only indicates a moderate association
between staff number and interest group type. Hence, cause groups and trade
unions are not disadvantaged in comparison to business groups or companies.
By contrast, interest groups in the European Union are similarly equipped with
lobbying staff.
Finally, how much do interest groups in the European Union spend on
lobbying decision-makers? Table 5.5 provides information about the amount
of money that interest groups which participated in the 56 selected policy
debates spend on lobbying per year. Lobbying expenses were measured by a
survey question with answer categories provided on a five-point ordinal scale.
The largest share of interest groups spends up to 50,000 euros on lobbying
decision-makers. The second largest group of advocates pays between 100,000
and 500,000 euros per year for lobbying activities. About 20 percent of all
interest groups that mobilized on the 56 selected policy issues invest more
than 500,000 euros per year on lobbying and 10 percent spend even more
than one million euros per year on lobbying activities. Lobbying expenses
follow a fairly similar distribution across interest group type. About 43 percent
of all companies, 40 percent of all professional associations and 37 percent of
all cause groups spend up to 50,000 euros per year on lobbying the European

The precise wording of the question is as follows: “How many of these employees are dealing
with monitoring and commenting on public policy at least half their working time? Monitoring
and commenting on public policy refers to all activities that aim at influencing legislation
at the EU level such as participation in hearings and consultations, informal contacts with
representatives of the EU institutions, demonstrations or media campaigns.” See also appendices
1 and 2.

The wording of the question is as follows: “How much do you spend on monitoring and
commenting on public policy per year?” See also appendices 1 and 2.
144 Lobbying in the European Union

institutions. Similarly, between 28 and 29 percent of all companies, business

associations, and cause groups spend between 100,000 and 500,000 euros per
year for lobbying activities. Finally, 6 percent of all companies, 11 percent of all
business associations, and 14 percent of all cause groups spend more than one
million euros a year for lobbying decision-makers. Thus, lobbying expenses do
not vary systematically with interest group type. Accordingly, the correlation
coefficient only indicates a moderate association. Hence, there are no interest
group types that are generally disadvantaged with regard to lobbying staff or
lobbying expenses. Business interests do not systematically have more money
or more staff than other organized interests in the European Union.

5.3 THE STRUCTURE OF CONFLICT

Lobbying is a collective enterprise. Interest groups do not lobby alone, but they
collectively mobilize on policy issues. There is probably not a single policy
debate on which only one interest group attempts to lobby decision-makers. By
contrast, a multitude of interest groups simultaneously lobbies the European
institutions. In order to understand why some interest groups succeed and
others fail in their lobbying activities, it has therefore been argued in this book
that it is crucial to take into account how interest groups position themselves
on an issue. Interest groups that pursue the same policy objective pull the
European institutions in the same direction and therefore form a lobbying
team. What is decisive for the lobbying success of interest groups is therefore
not their own individual supply of information, citizen support, and economic
power, but it is crucial how much of these goods is provided by their entire
lobbying coalition. This section therefore investigates the structure of conflict
in the European Union by examining the composition and the characteristics
of lobbying coalitions.
First of all, how big are lobbying coalitions? How many interest groups
typically come together in a coalition? The size of the different lobbying
coalitions on the 56 policy issues studied in this book is illustrated in figure 5.5.
On average, lobbying coalitions have about 29 members with a standard
deviation of approximately 23. The size of the lobbying coalitions is to some
extent correlated with the overall number of interest groups which mobilized in
a policy debate. The larger the number of interest groups that participate
in a debate, the larger the potential number of interest groups in a lobbying
coalition. However, the Pearson correlation coefficient only amounts to 0.66
which indicates that the size of lobbying coalitions is far from being perfectly
proportional to the overall number of mobilized interest groups. The size of
lobbying coalitions is not only related to the pool of interest groups which
Table 5.5 Lobbying expenses of interest groups per year
Lobbying expenses Companies Business Professional Trade unions Cause groups Public authority Other Total

up to 50,000 EUR 43.44% 31.85% 40.24% 50.00% 37.02% 47.06% 47.83% 36.52%
more than 50,000, up to 100,000 EUR 11.48% 18.54% 17.07% 0.00% 13.19% 17.65% 17.39% 15.78%
more than 100,000, up to 500,000 EUR 28.69% 28.72% 21.95% 50.00% 27.66% 29.41% 30.43% 28.00%
more than 500,000, up to 1 million EUR 10.66% 9.92% 18.29% 0.00% 7.66% 0.00% 0.00% 9.68%
more than 1 million EUR 5.74% 10.97% 2.44% 0.00% 14.47% 5.88% 4.35% 10.02%

Total 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00% 100.00%

N 122 383 82 6 235 17 23 868

Note: Cramer’s V = 0.106

146 Lobbying in the European Union
30

25
Number of coalitions

20

15

10

0
0 20 40 60 80 100 120
Number of actors per lobbying coalition

Fig. 5.5 Histogram of lobbying coalition size

participated in a legislative debate, but also to the distribution of interest groups

across different coalitions and the underlying structure of conflict of a policy
debate.
Second, how are interest groups distributed across lobbying coalitions? Are
policy debates dominated by one large coalition or are two equally strong
coalitions typically opposing each other? Table 5.6 reports information about
the size of the larger coalition active in a policy debate. As it was assumed that
policy debates are unidimensional, there are always two lobbying coalitions
opposing each other in a debate. Hence, if one lobbying coalition assembles
60 percent of all interest groups active in a debate, the opposing coalition
necessarily brings together 40 percent of the interest groups. The minimum
relative size of the larger coalition is therefore just above 50 percent while a
size of 50 percent signals perfectly equal lobbying coalitions. It is therefore
sufficient to only focus on the larger coalitions to illustrate the size and the
composition of lobbying coalitions as they are perfectly related to the smaller
opposing coalitions.

Table 5.6 Size of larger coalition

Interest groups per issue Frequency Percent

up to 60% 16 28.57
60% to 70% 9 16.07
70% to 80% 9 16.07
80% to 90% 13 23.21
90% to 100% 9 16.07

Total 56 100.00
 Policy Debates, Interest Groups, and the Structure of Conflict 147

About 30 percent of all policy debates in the sample are characterized by

more or less equally strong coalitions in which the larger coalition assembles up
to 60 percent of all interest groups that mobilized in a policy debate. However,
at the same time about 40 percent of all legislative debates studied in this
book are dominated by a lobbying coalition that comprises between 80 and
100 percent of all interest groups that mobilized on these issues. Similarly,
about 32 percent of the issues are characterized by a structure of conflict in
which the larger coalition brings together between 60 and 80 percent of all
interest groups that lobby the European institutions. Hence, policy debates in
the European Union are usually not characterized by equally strong lobbying
coalitions. We can only observe a tie between two opposing coalitions in about
30 percent of the debates studied in this book. By contrast, most legislative
debates are dominated by one large lobbying coalition that assembles the vast
majority of interest groups that mobilized on an issue.
What is the nature of lobbying coalitions? How are they composed? Do
lobbying coalitions bring together a unique set of actors? Is a lobbying coalition
of business groups for instance opposing a lobbying coalition of NGOs? Or are
lobbying coalitions instead heterogeneous teams of different types of interest
groups? Figure 5.6 illustrates the average composition of lobbying coalitions
analyzed in this book. The typical lobbying coalition in the European Union
is not restricted to one type of actor. By contrast, lobbying coalitions are
heterogeneous entities that bring together a diverse set of actors. On average,
lobbying coalitions in the European Union include 23 percent companies, 41
percent business associations, 9 percent professional associations, 1 percent
trade unions, 21 percent cause groups, and 4 percent other groups. The

50
Percent of interest groups in coalitions

40

30

20

10

0
Companies Business Professional Unions Cause groups Other
Interest group type

Fig. 5.6 Average composition of lobbying coalitions

148 Lobbying in the European Union

majority of interest groups represent economic interests which is a result of the

better representation of economic interest groups in the European Union more
generally. At the same time, lobbying coalitions, however, also bring together
a wide variety of other actors and therefore form heterogeneous entities.
Solely looking at the average composition might, however, still hide
issue-specific differences in the composition of lobbying coalitions. It might
be the case that distinct camps of interest groups are opposing each other
in the different policy debates and that differences in the composition
are simply overlooked by merely looking at the aggregate level. Table
5.7 therefore provides information about the issue-specific composition of
opposing lobbying coalitions. Rather than solely focusing on the aggregate
composition of all coalitions in the sample, the table indicates how the different
interest group types are distributed across the two coalitions directly opposing
each other on the same issue. On average, the larger coalition on a given
policy issue comprises 75 percent of all companies, 73 percent of all business
associations, 67 percent of all professional associations, 73 percent of all trade
unions, 65 percent of all cause groups, and 83 percent of all other actors active
in a policy debate. Hence, lobbying coalitions include a very diverse set of
actors. In addition, none of the 56 policy debates analyzed in this book are
characterized by a clear-cut opposition of business interests and cause groups.
The empirical analysis reveals that there is not a single legislative debate on
which companies and business associations formed a united front against cause
groups. Lobbying coalitions are by contrast heterogeneous entities that bring
together a variety of different actors.
Policy debates in the European Union are not characterized by a clear
opposition of business versus public interests. It is often argued that lobbying
is a two-sided game in which economic interests fight against citizen interests.
However, the empirical analysis in this book shows that there is no clear
divide between business interests and cause groups. One cannot find any policy
debate in which all economic interest groups collectively fight against a united
alliance of cause groups. By contrast, lobbying coalitions bring together a
variety of different economic and citizen interest groups. Interest groups which
are generally considered to have opposing interests often lobby together for a
common policy objective. The heterogeneous nature of lobbying coalitions in
the European Union largely corresponds to the findings of Baumgartner et al.
(2009) who analyzed interest group lobbying in the United States across 98
policy issues. In line with the analysis presented in this section, they find that
lobbying coalitions are by no means homogeneous entities, but that they have
a very diverse set of members.
The heterogeneous composition of lobbying coalitions is a result of the
nature of policy debates in the European Union. Policy proposals affect diverse
constituencies, creating heterogeneous lobbying teams. Interest groups that
might be aligned on one issue, might oppose each other on another issue.
Table 5.7 Composition of lobbying coalitions in percent of interest group type per issue
Larger coalition Smaller coalition
Issue Company Businesss Professional Trade Cause Other Company Businesss Professional Trade Cause Other

1 100.00 42.86 66.67 − 0.00 100.00 0.00 57.14 33.33 − 100.00 0.00
2 66.67 93.33 0.00 − 9.09 − 33.33 6.67 100.00 − 90.91 −
3 0.00 93.33 100.00 − 100.00 − 100.00 6.67 0.00 − 0.00 −
4 100.00 79.10 100.00 − 57.14 − 0.00 20.90 0.00 − 42.86 −
5 100.00 100.00 − − 100.00 − 0.00 0.00 − − 0.00 −
6 100.00 66.67 − − 0.00 − 0.00 33.33 − − 100.00 −
7 100.00 100.00 − − 100.00 − 0.00 0.00 − − 0.00 −
8 83.33 94.12 100.00 − 0.00 − 16.67 5.88 0.00 − 100.00 −
9 50.00 88.89 100.00 − 100.00 100.00 50.00 11.11 0.00 − 0.00 0.00
10 43.75 64.29 0.00 − 44.44 100.00 56.25 35.71 100.00 − 55.56 0.00
11 55.56 68.75 100.00 − 88.37 100.00 44.44 31.25 0.00 − 11.63 0.00
12 93.33 76.92 0.00 − 0.00 0.00 6.67 23.08 100.00 − 100.00 100.00
13 51.67 53.33 75.00 − 37.50 80.00 48.33 46.67 25.00 − 62.50 20.00
14 22.22 48.28 100.00 100.00 100.00 − 77.78 51.72 0.00 0.00 0.00 −
15 43.24 61.54 55.56 − 60.00 − 56.76 38.46 44.44 − 40.00 −
16 100.00 100.00 − − 100.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 − − 0.00 0.00
17 27.27 56.52 61.90 − 50.00 − 72.73 43.48 38.10 − 50.00 −
18 100.00 100.00 − − 100.00 − 0.00 0.00 − − 0.00 0.00
19 60.00 69.70 83.33 100.00 42.86 33.33 40.00 30.30 16.67 0.00 57.14 66.67
20 85.71 70.83 66.67 33.33 85.71 100.00 14.29 29.17 33.33 66.67 14.29 0.00
21 37.50 49.12 71.43 100.00 61.11 50.00 62.50 50.88 28.57 0.00 38.89 50.00
22 100.00 77.78 77.78 − 94.44 − 0.00 22.22 22.22 − 5.56 −
23 100.00 71.43 80.00 − 85.71 100.00 0.00 28.57 20.00 − 14.29 0.00
24 92.86 75.51 70.00 0.00 75.00 100.00 7.14 24.49 30.00 100.00 25.00 0.00
25 26.67 53.42 91.67 − 69.23 0.00 73.33 46.58 8.33 − 30.77 100.00
26 90.00 96.55 100.00 − 83.33 100.00 10.00 3.45 0.00 − 16.67 0.00
27 83.33 93.55 100.00 − 100.00 100.00 16.67 6.45 0.00 − 0.00 0.00
28 100.00 94.44 100.00 − 80.00 100.0 0.00 5.56 0.00 − 20.00 0.00

(continued)
Table 5.7 Continued
Larger coalition Smaller coalition
Issue Company Businesss Professional Trade Cause Other Company Businesss Professional Trade Cause Other

29 53.85 80.60 28.57 − 23.08 53.85 46.15 19.40 71.43 − 76.92 46.15
30 83.33 100.00 100.00 − 0.00 100.00 16.67 0.00 0.00 − 100.00 0.00
31 44.44 85.71 100.00 − 0.00 − 55.56 14.29 0.00 − 100.00 −
32 100.00 50.00 − 100.00 44.44 − 0.00 50.00 − 0.00 55.56 −
33 50.00 64.86 100.00 − 100.00 − 50.00 35.14 0.00 − 0.00 −
34 77.42 69.39 100.00 − 66.67 61.54 22.58 30.61 0.00 − 33.33 38.46
35 50.00 80.00 50.00 − 36.36 − 50.00 20.00 50.00 − 63.64 −
36 66.67 20.00 0.00 − 44.44 100.00 33.33 80.00 100.00 − 55.56 0.00
37 50.00 83.33 − − 100.00 − 50.00 16.67 − − 0.00 −
38 66.67 60.00 − 100.00 50.00 100.00 33.33 40.00 − 0.00 50.00 0.00
39 94.74 90.00 0.00 − 50.00 − 5.26 10.00 100.00 − 50.00 −
40 100.00 100.00 100.00 − 100.00 − 0.00 0.00 0.00 − 0.00 −
41 100.00 91.30 0.00 − 50.00 − 0.00 8.70 100.00 − 50.00 −
42 100.00 0.00 − − 100.00 − 0.00 100.00 − − 0.00 −
43 100.00 100.00 33.33 − 100.00 100.00 0.00 0.00 66.67 − 0.00 0.00
44 90.00 100.00 100.00 − 100.00 85.71 10.00 0.00 0.00 − 0.00 14.29
45 94.74 80.00 0.00 − 0.00 − 5.26 20.00 100.00 − 100.00 −
46 55.88 63.41 33.33 0.00 7.14 100.00 44.12 36.59 66.67 100.00 92.86 0.00
47 100.00 83.33 − − 100.00 − 0.00 16.67 − − 0.00 −
48 94.12 93.33 − − 0.00 − 5.88 6.67 − − 100.00 −
49 − 100.00 100.00 100.00 82.86 100.00 − 0.00 0.00 0.00 17.14 0.00
50 100.00 70.59 25.00 − 100.00 − 0.00 29.41 75.00 − 0.00 −
51 − − 100.00 − 100.00 − − − 0.00 − 0.00 −
52 − 20.00 50.00 100.00 96.55 100.00 − 80.00 50.00 0.00 3.45 0.00
53 − 100.00 100.00 − 100.00 66.67 − 0.00 0.00 − 0.00 33.33
54 18.75 25.00 100.00 − 91.30 100.00 81.25 75.00 0.00 − 8.70 0.00
55 − 15.38 50.00 − 100.00 75.00 − 84.62 50.00 − 0.00 25.00
56 100.00 50.00 66.67 − 95.83 − 0.00 50.00 33.33 − 4.17 −

Mean 74.58 73.03 67.49 73.33 65.40 82.97 25.42 26.97 32.51 26.67 34.60 17.03
 Policy Debates, Interest Groups, and the Structure of Conflict 151

Similarly, organized interests of the same type might be divided on some issues
even though they work together on most of the other issues. For instance,
the automobile industry was divided on the Commission proposal reducing
CO2 emissions from cars discussed in chapter 3. The European Commission
intended to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars to 120 grams per
kilometre by 2012. Manufacturers such as Volkswagen and General Motors
as well as their industry associations opposed the Commission initiative
and attempted to water down the proposal. By contrast, manufacturers of
electric or hybrid vehicles and producers of alternative fuels teamed up
with environmental groups and supported the Commission initiative. The
somewhat surprising lobbying coalition between parts of the automotive
industry and environmental groups can be explained by the differential
impact of the Commission initiative on different industry sectors. While
more traditional manufacturers that produce petrol-based cars are negatively
affected by the CO2 emission targets, the alternative automobile industry
sector in fact benefits from the Commission initiative as it strengthens
its competitiveness vis-à-vis the traditional automobile manufacturers by
increasing the demand for electric and hybrid cars.
A very different example is the policy debate revolving around the
Commission initiative to enhance pedestrian protection. In June 2005, The
European Commission published a preliminary draft proposal in which
it proposed several measures to increase the protection of pedestrians.
Amongst others, the Commission suggested that brake assist systems should be
mandatory for all new vehicles from 1 July 2008 in order to increase the safety
of pedestrians in European traffic. In contrast to the CO2 emissions debate, this
issue united the entire automobile industry. All car manufactures collectively
opposed the Commission proposal and advocated for longer lead times for
making brake assistant systems mandatory. Car manufacturers argued that
vehicles have a production cycle that goes way beyond 2008. As a result, cars
coming on the market in 2008 would have already been designed and their
production would have already been implemented so that adjusting these
models at such short notice would cause costly adaptation processes that would
harm the competitiveness of the European automobile industry. Car producers
therefore fought together in one single lobbying coalition trying to water down
the Commission proposal in their favor.
These examples make clear that there are no universal lobbying fronts.
The structure of conflict varies across policy debates. Policy proposals are
complex and have a differential impact on constituencies. Even though interest
groups are similar in nature, it does not necessarily mean that they also work
together. For instance, it is very often the case that economic interest groups
are divided on an issue. A policy proposal might have negative implications
for the productivity of one economic sector while another sector might benefit
from the same initiative. Interest groups that fight together on one issue, might
152 Lobbying in the European Union

therefore oppose each other in the next policy debate. Lobbying teams are
therefore not universal. The composition of lobbying coalitions varies from one
issue to the next. In order to understand lobbying success, it is therefore crucial
not to assume an a priori structure of conflict, but to empirically examine the
composition of lobbying coalitions for every single policy debate.

5.4 CONCLUSION

This chapter has provided an overview of the nature of policy issues, the
population of mobilized interest groups, and the underlying structure of
conflict in policy debates in the European Union. The chapter has first of
all demonstrated that policy issues in the EU are diverse. Policy debates
revolve mostly around economic issues, but also regulatory issues related to
environmental protection, health, or consumer protection are very common.
Similarly, distributive issues, most importantly related to agriculture, play an
important role in EU politics. Policy issues furthermore vary in salience,
complexity, and the degree of conflict. There are policy debates which receive
a large amount of attention from interest groups, but there are also other
issues which trigger hardly any response. Similarly, some policy proposals are
highly complex in nature whereas other proposals deal with relatively simple
matters. In addition, some policy debates are largely consensual whereas other
policy issues divide the interest group community. Hence, policy debates in the
European Union vary considerably in a number of important characteristics
and it is therefore crucial to take into account the specific issue-context in
which interest groups lobby the European institutions.
The analysis presented in this chapter has furthermore shed light on the
population of mobilized interest groups. The vast majority of interest groups
that lobby the European institutions are economic interests. Lobbying in
the European Union is therefore not a balanced activity in which different
types of organized interests seek to feed their ideas into the policy-making
process. By contrast, interest group lobbying is strongly biased in favor of
economic interests. In the words of Schattschneider (1960, 35), interest group
representation in the European Union “is skewed, loaded and unbalanced in
favor of a fraction of a minority” and “the flaw in the pluralist heaven is that
the heavenly chorus sings with a strong upper-class accent.” With regard to
the territorial origin of interest groups, this chapter has demonstrated that
lobbying in the European Union is dominated neither by national level nor
by European level organizations. Lobbying in the European is instead a truly
multilevel endeavor in which both national and European interest groups are
equally active. Finally, with regard to staff numbers and lobbying expenses the
 Policy Debates, Interest Groups, and the Structure of Conflict 153

analysis presented in this chapter has indicated that there are no systematic
differences across interest group type.
This chapter has furthermore investigated the structure of conflict and the
nature of lobbying coalitions in the European Union. Policy debates in the
European Union are dominated by one large coalition. Most policy issues
analyzed in this book are characterized by a structure of conflict in which one
coalition dominates the debate. This chapter has moreover demonstrated that
lobbying coalitions are not homogeneous. We hardly find any policy debates
in which lobbying coalitions emerge that only bring together interest groups
of the same kind. By contrast, lobbying coalitions are characterized by a very
diverse and heterogeneous membership cutting across various actor types.
Hence, policy debates in the European Union are not characterized by an
overarching cleavage between for instance business and citizen interests. On
the contrary, the structure of conflict is highly issue-specific and varies from
one issue to the next.
 6

The Policy Formulation Stage: Interest

Groups and the European Commission

Why are some interest groups able to influence policy-making in the European
Union while others are not? This is the crucial question this book aims
to answer. In order to understand why some interest groups succeed in
lobbying decision-makers while others fail, chapter 2 presented a theoretical
model of interest group influence in the European Union. It was argued that
lobbying has to be conceptualized as a complex collective enterprise in which
information supply, citizen support, and economic power of entire lobbying
coalitions account for variation in lobbying success. In order to test these
theoretical expectations, chapter 3 introduced a new measurement approach
to interest group influence which allows one to overcome the methodological
difficulties that have long prevented scholars from addressing the question of
influence. Using this measurement approach and combining it with a survey of
interest groups and data gathered from EU databases, a new dataset on interest
group lobbying in the European Union was constructed which was illustrated
in chapter 4. Chapter 5 then provided a thorough overview of the nature of the
issues, the population of mobilized interest groups, and the structure of conflict
in the 56 selected policy debates. This chapter now tests the hypotheses derived
from the theoretical model on the basis of the data collected about the 56 policy
debates for the policy formulation stage in which the European Commission
drafts the legislative proposal.
The chapter proceeds as follows: It first provides a short summary of the
policy formulation stage in the European Union. Afterwards, the hypotheses
derived from the theoretical model are tested for the policy formulation
stage using multilevel logistic regression. The hypotheses are tested one after
the other as the dataset suffers from high collinearity of the predictors and
from a lot of missing values so that the sample would otherwise shrink from
2,696 interest groups and 56 policy issues to 291 interest groups lobbying the
European Commission concerning 48 issues (see section 4.4). I therefore first
test the effect of relative information supply by lobbying coalitions on interest
group influence. I then examine whether the strength of this effect varies with
 The Policy Formulation Stage 155

the complexity of policy issues. Second, I test whether relative citizen support
of lobbying coalitions has a positive effect on the ability of interest groups to
shape policy outcomes. Finally, I examine the effect of relative economic power
of lobbying coalitions on interest group influence on policy formulation in the
European Union. Effect sizes are compared using predicted probabilities and
first differences (Mroz and Zayats 2008, see also page 130).

6.1 POLICY FORMULATION BY THE EUROPEAN

COMMISSION

The policy formulation stage constitutes the start of any legislative debate
in the European Union. During the policy formulation stage the European
Commission develops its legislative proposal that is passed on to the Council
and the European Parliament for legislative discussion. The European
Commission has the monopoly of initiative in the first pillar which is arguably
the most important one. Every legislative debate in this pillar is therefore
based on a legislative initiative of the European Commission. The legislative
process only starts once a proposal is tabled by the Commission. The European
Commission is thus solely responsible for the elaboration of a policy proposal
that forms the basis for the discussion between the Council and the European
Parliament.
The elaboration of a policy proposal is a complex and lengthy process
in which several actors within and outside the Commission are involved.
The responsibility of drafting a legislative proposal lies with the Directorate
General (DG) that is primarily concerned with the policy area in which the
proposal falls. The lead DG consults with other DGs that are affected by
the policy proposal to reach consensus within the European Commission
(Nugent 2001, 242–243; Hartlapp, Metz, and Rauh 2010a). In order to obtain
policy-relevant information and to safeguard support for its proposals among
stakeholders, the European Commission also consults external actors such
as interest groups, experts, national officials and also the general public
(Nugent 2001, 246–249; Gornitzka and Sverdrup 2008; Hartlapp, Metz, and
Rauh 2010b). In an effort to enhance the transparency and accountability of
European policy-making, consultations of the general public were recently
institutionalized (Kohler-Koch and Finke 2007; Quittkat and Finke 2008):
The European Commission conducts public consultations on all “major”
policy initiatives (European Commission 2002). Policy issues are considered
as “major” if “the proposal will result in substantial economic, environmental
and/or social impact on a specific sector,” if “the proposal will have a significant
impact on major interested parties,” and if “the proposal represents a major
156 Lobbying in the European Union

policy reform in one or several sectors” (European Commission 2002, 15).

Once the draft proposal is ready for legislative discussion, the responsible DG
takes it to the College of Commissioners which has to agree on the proposal
if necessary by simple majority vote before it is forwarded to the Council and
the European Parliament.
The monopoly of legislative initiative provides the European Commission
with an important agenda-setting function: It determines the terms and
conditions of any legislative debate as it is up to the Commission to design
the content of a legislative proposal on which basis the other institutions
bargain about the final legislative act. It is accordingly more difficult for
the Council and the European Parliament to modify than to accept the
policy proposal (Thomson and Hosli 2006, 14–15). Practitioners as well as
interest group scholars have therefore argued that the policy formulation
stage constitutes the most promising stage to influence the outcome of a
legislative debate (Hull 1993; Bouwen 2009). A former Secretary General of the
European Commission commented that “for interest groups in particular, the
proposal stage often offers the most fertile opportunities for exerting influence”
(Thomson and Hosli 2006, 15). Bouwen (2009, 25) reasons in a similar vein:
“It is common knowledge among lobbyists that as long as no formal written
documents are produced during the policy development stage, changes to
the policy proposals can be made much more swiftly and easily.” Similarly,
Austen-Smith (1993, 813) asserts that lobbying is most successful in early
stages of the policy cycle. Hence, the policy formulation stage is of crucial
importance to interest groups in order to influence the final policy outcome.

6.2 THE EFFECT OF INFORMATION SUPPLY

Table 6.1 shows the results of the multilevel logistic regression testing the
effect of coalition information supply on interest group influence on policy
formulation in the European Union. The model in column one is the empty
model which is displayed in order to evaluate the explanatory power of the
other models. Column two contains the results of the basic model including
relative information supply as a predictor for interest group influence.
The model in column three in addition contains several control variables on
the interest group and issue level. Finally, column four includes the results
of the full multilevel model that additionally comprises an interaction effect
between relative information supply by lobbying coalitions and the complexity
of policy issues. As none of the variables in the model suffers from missing
values, the analysis could be performed for the complete sample consisting of
2,696 interest groups and 56 policy issues.
 The Policy Formulation Stage 157

Table 6.1 Multilevel analysis examining the effect of information supply on interest
group influence during the policy formulation stage
Variables Empty Basic With controls Full

Fixed effects
Lobbying coalition characteristics
Rel. information supply 1.022*** 1.027*** 0.993
(0.003) (0.003) (0.014)
Rel. information supply * complexity 1.011**
(0.005)
Controls: Interest group level
Type: Sectional group 1.062 1.071
(0.125) (0.126)
Type: Cause group 0.924 0.913
(0.139) (0.138)
Rel. information supply 0.985 0.984
(0.023) (0.023)
Controls: Issue level
Salience 1.321 1.345
(0.476) (0.480)
Complexity 1.452 0.723
(0.446) (0.307)
Conflict 0.409 0.403
(0.298) (0.291)
Existence of EU SQ 0.839 0.859
(0.378) (0.384)
Legislative procedure: Codecision 2.788 2.702
(2.479) (2.380)
Voting rule: QM 2.718 2.897
(3.149) (3.330)
Member state support 0.979*** 0.976***
(0.005) (0.005)

Random effects
Issue level variance 2.377 2.128 1.930 1.892

Model fit
N / Issues 2696 / 56 2696 / 56 2696 / 56 2696 / 56
Log likelihood −1592 −1556 −1539 −1536
AIC 3187 3117 3104 3101
BIC 3199 3135 3181 3183
LR Test, Prob > Chi2 0.000 0.000 0.021

***p ≤ 0.01,**p ≤ 0.05,*p ≤ 0.10, coefficients represent odds ratios, standard errors in
parentheses, sectional and cause groups are compared to companies, Codecision is compared to
Consultation, qualified majority voting is compared to unanimity, the reference model for the
likelihood ratio test is the model left of the model in question.
158 Lobbying in the European Union

In both versions of the multilevel model with and without control variables,
relative information supply by lobbying coalitions has a statistically significant
positive effect on interest group influence. A 1 percent increase in relative
information supply by a lobbying coalition A, which at the same time implies
a 1 percent decrease in relative information supply by its opposing lobbying
coalition B, increases the chance of interest groups which belong to lobbying
coalition A to influence policy formulation by 2.2 percent (2.7 percent when
control variables are included). Hence, the multilevel analysis indicates that
the probability to influence policy formulation increases with the information
that lobbying coalitions provide to the European Commission.
The multilevel analysis furthermore demonstrates that individual group
characteristics cannot account for variation in interest group influence on
European policy formulation. Neither actor type nor information supply
by individual interest groups has a systematic effect on lobbying success.
In addition, none of the issue-level control variables except for member
state support has a statistically significant effect. Member state support is
surprisingly negatively associated with lobbying success whereas none of
the other issue characteristics has a systematic effect on interest group
influence. Thus, what seems to matter most is the issue-specific grouping
of interest groups into lobbying coalitions rather than the attributes of the
issue itself. All model fit measures accordingly indicate that the inclusion of
relative information supply by lobbying coalitions significantly increases the
explanatory power of the model whereas adding the control variables does not
increase the model fit according to the BIC.
In order to present the effect of relative information supply in a more
intuitive fashion, I simulated predicted probabilities and first differences (King,
Tomz, and Wittenberg 2000). Figure 6.1 displays the predicted probabilities of
interest group influence as relative information supply by lobbying coalitions
changes from its minimum (0) to maximum value (100) while holding all
other variables constant. The solid line presents the point estimate for the
predicted probability and the broken lines indicate the 95 percent confidence
interval. The probability to influence the policy proposal of the European
Commission steadily increases with a rise in relative information supply by
lobbying coalitions. Hence, a higher value of relative information supply is
associated with a higher probability to influence policy formulation across the
entire range of possible values.

As explained in section 4.3.2, the values of the coalition characteristics of two lobbying
coalitions working on the same issue always add up to 100 since these are relative measures
and there are only two coalitions on each issue. If lobbying coalition A provides 40 percent
of the information, lobbying coalition B provides 60 percent. Similarly, if lobbying coalition
A provides 41 percent, lobbying coalition B necessarily supplies 59 percent of the information
provided to the European Commission. A 1 percent increase in relative information supply by
one lobbying coalition therefore always implies a 1 percent decrease in relative information supply
by its opposing lobbying coalition.
 The Policy Formulation Stage 159

1.0
Predicted probability of influence

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative information supply by lobbing coalitions

Point estimate 95% Confidence interval

Fig. 6.1 Effect of relative information supply on interest group influence during the
policy formulation stage

In order to further illustrate the size of the effects, I simulated first

differences to demonstrate how the probability to influence policy formulation
changes when relative information supply by lobbying coalitions is altered
(see table 6.2). The first column contains the change in relative information
supply and the second column indicates the associated predicted change in
the probability to influence policy formulation together with a 95 percent
confidence interval. If relative information supply by lobbying coalitions
increases from 0 to 25 percent, the probability to influence policy formulation
rises by approximately 10.3 percentage points. Similarly, if a lobbying coalition
A provides 25 percent of all the information provided on an issue, whereas
lobbying coalition C provides 50 percent on another issue, the probability to

Table 6.2 First differences: Effect of relative information supply on interest group
influence during the policy formulation stage
Change: Information supply Change: Influence probability 95% Confidence interval

0–25% 0.103 0.073 0.137

25–50% 0.141 0.106 0.175
50–75% 0.160 0.125 0.196
75–100% 0.148 0.112 0.184

0–100% 0.555 0.451 0.643

160 Lobbying in the European Union

influence the content of the Commission proposal is 14.1 percentage points

higher for members of coalition C than for interest groups which belong to
coalition A. The effect is strongest when relative information supply augments
from 50 to 75 percent: The associated change in the probability to influence
policy formulation amounts to 16.0 percentage points. Overall, if relative
information supply increased from its minimum (0) to its maximum value
(100), the probability to influence policy formulation would increase by about
55.5 percentage points.
A typical example for the positive effect of information supply is the policy
debate about the mercury strategy of the European Commission. Mercury
is highly toxic to humans, animals, and ecosystems. In March 2004, the
European Commission therefore released a policy document which laid out
a new mercury strategy that envisaged a number of actions to protect citizens’
health and the environment. Amongst others, the European Commission has
suggested restrictions on the sale of measuring devices containing mercury,
a ban on exports of mercury from the EU, and new rules on safe storage. The
publication of the Commission’s envisaged strategy has led to major opposition
from the electric, the chemical, and the steel industry. Industry groups argued
that additional measures reducing the use of mercury would impose costs
on European industries that seriously harm their competitiveness. It has
furthermore been stated that several EU initiatives such as as the Greenhouse
Gas Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) have already sufficiently reduced the use
of mercury so that additional measures are not necessary.
The opposing lobbying coalition on this issue was composed of environ-
mental NGOs, health groups, as well as groups representing the water industry
which supported the Commission initiative. These groups have submitted
very detailed position papers in which they thoroughly discuss the impact
of mercury on human health and the environment. They present the results
of scientific studies examining the effect of mercury exposure on the human
body, on animals, and on entire ecosystems. While the industry lobby largely
based their demands on general claims regarding the competitiveness of
European industry, the environmental, health, and water groups provided the
European Commission with important technical policy expertise. Accordingly,
the industry lobby supplied only 38 percent of the information while the
lobbying coalition in favor of the Commission strategy supplied 62 percent of
all information transmitted to the European Commission in this policy debate.
The European Commission adopted a legislative framework in 2006 which
followed the reasoning of the environmental, the health, and the water lobby
while the demands of the industry have not been taken up. This indicates that

The following discussion is based on responses submitted to the Commission consultation
on the development of an EU mercury strategy and the associated consultation document,
legislative proposals (COM (2006) 69, COM (2006) 636), and final legislative acts (Directive
2007/51/EC, Regulation (EC) No. 1102/2008).
 The Policy Formulation Stage 161

the policy expertise provided by environmental, health, and water groups has
led the Commission to follow their line of argumentation.
The empirical analysis has thus far shown that high levels of information
supply by lobbying coalitions increases the likelihood that interest groups are
able to influence policy formulation. However, hypothesis 4 suggested that this
effect varies with issue complexity. It was argued that this effect should increase
with the complexity of policy issues as the European institutions need much
more information for issues that are highly complex than for issues of low
complexity. In order to test this hypothesis, I included a cross-level interaction
effect between relative information supply and complexity of policy issues in
the model. The results are indicated in column four of table 6.1. The multilevel
analysis indicates that the effect of relative information supply indeed varies
with the complexity of policy issues as there is a statistically significant
interaction at play. When complexity is 0, the effect of a 1 percent increase
of relative information supply by lobbying coalition A, which at the same
time implies a decrease in relative information supply by lobbying coalition
B, on interest group influence is 0.993. Similarly, the effect of complexity on
interest group influence is 0.723 when relative information supply by lobbying
coalitions is 0. All model fit measures except the BIC, which is the most
conservative measure, accordingly indicate that including the interaction term
has considerably enhanced the explanatory power of the model.
In order to illustrate how the effect of relative information supply by
lobbying coalitions varies across issues, I computed a marginal effects plot
(see figure 6.2) as recommended by Brambour, Clark, and Golder (2006). The
solid line indicates how the effect of relative information supply by lobbying
coalitions varies with the degree of complexity. The broken lines represent the
95 percent confidence interval allowing one to determine the significance of
the interaction term. It is statistically significant when the lower and upper
bounds of the confidence intervals are both below or above the zero line.
Since the upper and the lower bound of the confidence interval are both
above zero for the entire range of complexity, there is a statistically significant
interaction effect between information supply and issue complexity across all
policy issues: The size of the positive effect of relative information supply by
lobbying coalitions steadily increases with the complexity of policy issues.
In conclusion, the multilevel analysis has provided empirical support for
hypothesis 1 and hypothesis 4. Relative information supply by lobbying
coalitions has indeed a statistically significant positive effect on interest group

Ideally, this interaction should be tested drawing on a random slope model. However, the
number of cases is not sufficient to estimate a random slope model and the analysis is therefore
limited to a random intercept model which only allows for variation of the intercept across policy
issues.

The marginal effect steadily increases, but it does so at decreasing increments. This indicates
that the European institutions need more information as the complexity increases, but that there
is at the same time a saturation effect at play as the additional information needs get smaller.
162 Lobbying in the European Union
.15
Marginal effect of relative
information supply

.1

.05

0
2 3 4 5
Complexity
Marginal effect of relative information supply by lobbying coalitions
95% Confidence Interval

Fig. 6.2 Marginal effect of information supply on interest group influence during the
policy formulation stage

influence. Thus, interest groups that belong to a lobbying coalition that on the
aggregate supplies a high amount of information to the European Commission
have a much better chance to influence policy formulation than interest groups
belonging to a lobbying coalition which only provides little information to the
Commission. In addition, this effect is particularly strong for highly complex
issues as the European Commission requires a lot of information for the
drafting of a policy proposal. By contrast, if a policy issue is of very low
complexity, the European Commission hardly needs any external expertise and
information supply can therefore barely increase the probability to influence
policy formulation.

6.3 THE EFFECT OF CITIZEN SUPPORT

After having tested the effect of information supply on interest group influence
on EU policy formulation, I now turn to the hypothesized effect of citizen
support. Table 6.3 presents the results of the multilevel analysis examining
the effect of relative citizen support of lobbying coalitions on interest group
influence during the policy formulation stage. The first column contains the
results of the empty model, the basic model in the second column includes
relative citizen support as a predictor, and the third model additionally
comprises various control variables on the interest group and issue level. Due
to survey non-response, the sample is reduced to 1,066 interest groups and 54
policy issues.
 The Policy Formulation Stage 163
Table 6.3 Multilevel analysis examining the effect of citizen support on interest group
influence during the policy formulation stage
Variables Empty Basic Full

Fixed effects
Lobbying coalition characteristics
Rel. citizen support 1.044*** 1.047***
(0.004) (0.005)
Controls: Interest group level
Type: Sectional group 1.215
(0.295)
Type: Cause group 1.021
(0.302)
Rel. citizen support 0.971***
(0.010)
Controls: Issue level
Salience 1.104
(0.511)
Complexity 1.508
(0.580)
Conflict 0.530
(0.491)
Existence of EU SQ 0.971
(0.549)
Legislative procedure: Codecision 5.995
(7.722)
Voting rule: QM 4.037
(6.483)
Member state support 0.990
(0.009)

Random effects
Issue level variance 2.635 3.465 2.503

Model fit
N / Issues 1066 / 54 1066 / 54 1066 / 54
Log likelihood −627 −551 −539
AIC 1258 1109 1104
BIC 1268 1124 1168
LR Test, Prob > Chi2 0.000 0.005

***p ≤ 0.01,**p ≤ 0.05,*p ≤ 0.10, coefficients represent odds ratios, standard errors in
parentheses, sectional and cause groups are compared to companies, Codecision is compared to
Consultation, qualified majority voting is compared to unanimity, the reference model for the
likelihood ratio test is the model left of the model in question

Across both model specifications, relative citizen support of lobbying

coalitions has a statistically significant positive effect on interest group
influence on policy formulation as suggested by hypothesis 2. A 1 percent
increase in relative citizen support of a lobbying coalition A, which again
implies a 1 percent decrease in relative citizen support of its opposing lobbying
164 Lobbying in the European Union

coalition B, increases the chance of interest groups which are members of

lobbying coalition A to influence the policy proposal by 4.4 percent (4.7 percent
when control variables are included). Hence, interest groups which belong to
lobbying coalitions that enjoy a large degree of citizen support find it easier to
influence the drafting of policy proposals than interest groups which belong
to lobbying coalitions that largely lack citizen support. All the other control
variables on the interest group and issue level by contrast do not have a
statistically significant effect on interest group influence with the exception
of citizen support provided by individual interest groups. Citizen support of
individual interest groups in fact has a statistically significant negative effect
on interest group influence. Thus, citizen support only increases the chance
to influence policy formulation if provided on the aggregate coalition level.
All model fit measures indicate that the inclusion of relative citizen support
of lobbying coalitions has significantly improved the fit of the model whereas
the BIC denotes that incorporating the control variables has not enhanced the
explanatory power of the model.
In order to illustrate the effect of citizen support, I have again simulated
predicted probabilities and first differences (King, Tomz, and Wittenberg
2000). Figure 6.3 presents the predicted probabilities of interest group
influence as relative citizen support of lobbying coalitions changes from its
minimum (0) to maximum value (100) while holding all other variables
constant. The probability to influence policy formulation again rises steadily
as relative citizen support of lobbying coalitions increases. Accordingly, a

1.0
Predicted probability of influence

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative citizen support of lobbing coalitions

Point estimate 95% Confidence interval

Fig. 6.3 Effect of relative citizen support on interest group influence during the policy
formulation stage
 The Policy Formulation Stage 165
Table 6.4 First differences: Effect of relative citizen support on interest group
influence during the policy formulation stage
Change: Citizen support Change: Influence probability 95% Confidence interval

0–25% 0.124 0.072 0.184

25–50% 0.230 0.170 0.281
50–75% 0.266 0.213 0.316
75–100% 0.177 0.118 0.243

0–100% 0.797 0.716 0.864

higher value of relative citizen support of lobbying coalitions leads to a higher

probability to influence policy formulation across the entire range of possible
values. While both information supply and citizen support have a positive
effect on interest group influence on policy formulation, a comparison of
figures 6.1 and 6.3 indicates that the effect of citizen support is much stronger
than the effect of information supply.
To demonstrate the size of the effect more profoundly, I also simulated
first differences to demonstrate how the probability to influence formulation
changes when relative citizen support of lobbying coalitions is altered. Table 6.4
contains the differences in relative citizen support in the first column and
the associated change in the probability to influence policy formulation in
column two together with a 95 percent confidence interval. If relative citizen
support of a lobbying coalition increases from 25 to 50 percent, the probability
to influence the content of the Commission proposal rises by approximately
23.0 percentage points. Similarly, if relative citizen support augments from
75 to 100 percent, the probability to influence policy formulation rises on
average by 17.7 percentage points. The effect of citizen support is strongest
for the difference between 50 and 75 percent as this difference leads to an
increase in the probability to influence policy formulation by approximately
26.6 percentage points. Finally, if citizen support increased from its minimum
(0) to its maximum (100) value, the probability to influence policy formulation
would increase by 79.7 percentage points. The effect of citizen support is
therefore much stronger than the effect of information supply which only leads
to an increase of 55.5 percentage points when information supply rises on the
same scale.
The policy debate revolving around the Commission strategy on pesticides
nicely illustrates the effect of citizen support on interest group influ-
ence. In July 2002, the European Commission published a communication


The following discussion is based on responses submitted to the Commission consultation
on the thematic strategy on the sustainable use of pesticides and the associated consultation
document (COM (2002) 349), legislative proposal (COM (2006) 373), and final legislative act
(Directive 2009/128/EC).
166 Lobbying in the European Union

in which it set out a policy initiative that aimed at reducing the

impact of pesticides on human health and the environment. Amongst
others, the Commission suggested improving controls on the use and
distribution of pesticides, encouraging the use of pesticide free crop farming,
and establishing transparent monitoring systems. The publication of the
Commission communication led to the mobilization of numerous interest
groups that lobbied the European institutions on this issue. Two lobbying
coalitions emerged that had opposing views on how the Commission should
proceed with its pesticides strategy: first, a lobbying coalition bringing
together industry representatives and second, a lobbying coalition consisting of
consumer and environmental groups.
The industry coalition consisted of various interest groups representing
the chemical and the crop industry as well as the agricultural sector. The
industry lobby opposed the policy measures suggested by the European
Commission and tried to water down the proposal. By contrast, environmental
and consumer groups fought on the other side of the policy debate. They
supported the envisaged pesticide strategy of the Commission and even
asked for stricter regulations on the use of pesticides. An important point
of the debate between industry representatives and NGOs was the ban of
aerial spraying of pesticides. Industry groups strongly opposed the ban of
aerial spraying and tried to prevent the Commission from including this
measure in its legislative framework. For instance, the British, the French,
and the European Crop Protection Association stated in their consultation
submissions that they are opposed to a general ban of aerial spraying.
They argued that aerial spraying was the only instrument through which
crops could be protected and that it was a safe procedure as only certified
and well-trained pilots could carry out aerial spraying. By contrast, the
Pesticides Action Network, the European Environmental Bureau, and the
European Consumers’ Organization strongly supported a ban of aerial
spraying as the practice would have an impact far beyond the intended crop
area and would therefore pose unnecessary risks to the environment and
human health.
The European Commission largely moved forward with its strategy despite
the opposition of the industry lobby. For instance, the ban of aerial spraying
remained an important element in the legislative proposal irrespective of
the concerns raised by industry groups. The environmental and consumer
NGOs successfully lobbied the European Commission while the industry
lobby largely failed in its lobbying activities. The success of the environmental
and consumer NGOs can be explained by the relative amount of citizen
support they provided to the Commission. While the citizen support of the
lobbying coalition opposing the pesticides strategy was only 26 percent, the
environmental and consumer groups together represented about 74 percent
 The Policy Formulation Stage 167

of all citizens represented in this policy debate. At the same time, the
information supply and economic power of the NGO coalition was relatively
low. This policy debate therefore provides a good example of the effect of
citizen support on interest group influence on policy formulation in the
European Union.
In conclusion, the empirical analysis has also provided empirical support
for hypothesis 2: Relative citizen support of lobbying coalitions has a
statistically significant positive effect on interest group influence during the
policy formulation stage. Hence, interest groups which enjoy the backing
of a lobbying coalition that is supported by a large number of citizens find
it much easier to succeed in their lobbying attempts than interest groups
whose coalitions suffer from a lack of citizen support. Thus, the European
Commission is more likely to be responsive to interest group demands if they
are brought forward by a coalition that represents a large number of citizens.
The size of the effect is in addition considerably stronger than the effect of
relative information supply. Thus even though information supply and citizen
support are both important exchange goods, citizen support seems to be more
valuable to the European Commission than information supply.

6.4 THE EFFECT OF ECONOMIC POWER

In this section, I test whether relative economic power of lobbying has a

positive effect on the ability of interest groups to influence policy-making
as suggested by hypothesis 3. Table 6.5 presents the results of the multilevel
logistic regression. As in the case of information supply and citizen support,
I estimated an empty model, a basic model including only relative economic
power of coalitions as predictor for interest group influence, and a model
controlling in addition for several interest group and issue characteristics. Due
to survey non-response, the sample reduces from 2,696 interest groups and
56 policy issues to 594 interest groups lobbying the European Commission
concerning 56 policy issues.
The relative economic power of lobbying coalitions also has a statistically
significant positive effect on interest group influence. A 1 percent increase in
relative economic power of a lobbying coalition A, which implies a 1 percent
decrease in relative economic power of its opposing lobbying coalition B,
raises the chance of interest groups which belong to lobbying coalition A to
influence policy formulation by 4.4 percent (4.7 percent when control variables
are included). Hence, interest groups benefit considerably from belonging to
a lobbying coalition that represents powerful economic actors who control
business investments and job creation. The European Commission has an
168 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 6.5 Multilevel analysis examining the effect of economic power on interest group
influence during the policy formulation stage
Variables Empty Basic Full

Fixed effects
Lobbying coalition characteristics
Rel. economic power 1.044*** 1.047***
(0.006) (0.007)
Controls: Interest group level
Type: Sectional group 1.045
(0.278)
Rel. economic power 0.989
(0.012)
Controls: Issue level
Salience 1.531
(0.653)
Complexity 1.553
(0.529)
Conflict 0.531
(0.446)
Existence of EU SQ 1.139
(0.586)
Legislative procedure: Codecision 1.173
(1.191)
Voting rule: QM 11.993
(19.421)
Member state support 0.989
(0.012)

Random effects
Issue level variance 1.771 2.150 1.711

Model fit
N / Issues 594 / 56 594 / 56 594 / 56
Log likelihood −377 −345 −339
AIC 759 696 701
BIC 768 709 754
LR Test, Prob > Chi2 0.000 0.187

***p ≤ 0.01,**p ≤ 0.05,*p ≤ 0.10, coefficients represent odds ratios, standard errors in
parentheses, sectional and cause groups are compared to companies, Codecision is compared to
Consultation, qualified majority voting is compared to unanimity, the reference model for the
likelihood ratio test is the model left of the model in question

open ear for the demands of big business as their support increases the
chance that the proposal will be approved by the Council and the European
Parliament. By contrast, neither the interest group nor the issue characteristics
have a systematic effect on interest group influence. Accordingly, all model fit
measures indicate that the inclusion of relative economic power of lobbying
coalitions has significantly improved the model fit whereas adding the control
variables has not enhanced the explanatory power of the model.
 The Policy Formulation Stage 169

1.0
Predicted probability of influence

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative economic power of lobbing coalitions

Point estimate 95% Confidence interval

Fig. 6.4 Effect of relative economic power on interest group influence during the policy
formulation stage

Figure 6.4 graphs the predicted probabilities of interest group influence for
the range of possible values of relative economic power of lobbying coalitions.
As relative economic power of a lobbying coalition rises, the probability of its
member groups to influence the policy proposal of the European Commission
steadily increases. Thus, a higher value of relative economic power of lobbying
coalitions is associated with a higher probability of their member groups
to exert influence. The empirical analysis therefore also provides empirical
support for hypothesis 3: Relative economic power of lobbying coalitions is
positively related to interest group influence.
In order to shed further light on the size of the effect of relative economic
power of coalitions, I also simulated first differences for this effect. Table 6.6

Table 6.6 First differences: Effect of relative economic power on interest group
influence during the policy formulation stage
Change: Economic power Change: Influence probability 95% Confidence interval

0–25% 0.109 0.066 0.160

25–50% 0.220 0.162 0.276
50–75% 0.274 0.195 0.348
75–100% 0.193 0.134 0.255

0–100% 0.796 0.670 0.876

170 Lobbying in the European Union

contains the difference in relative economic power in the first column and
the associated change in the probability to influence policy formulation in
column two together with the 95 percent confidence interval. If relative
economic power of a lobbying coalition augments from 25 to 50 percent, the
probability that member groups succeed in their lobbying activities increases
by 22.0 percentage points. Furthermore, if relative economic power of a
lobbying coalition increases from 50 to 75 percent, the probability that interest
groups which belong to this coalition indeed are able to shape the design
of the Commission proposal rises by approximately 27.4 percentage points.
The size of the effect slightly decreases if relative economic power further
augments: When relative economic power increases from 75 to 100 percent, the
probability to influence policy formulation increases only by 19.3 percentage
points. Overall, the probability to shape the content of the policy proposal
increases by 79.6 percentage points if economic power rises from its minimum
(0) to its maximum (100) value. While the effects of citizen support and
economic power are nearly identical in size, the effect of information supply
is much smaller indicating that electoral resources are much more important
to the Commission than policy expertise.
The policy debate on the so-called “Health Check” is a typical example of
the influence of economically powerful interest groups. In November 2007,
the European Commission released a communication in which it laid out its
plans to reform the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). Building on previous
reforms of the CAP that were launched in 2003, the European Commission
suggested several policy measures designed to make the agricultural policy
regime more efficient while at the same time confronting new challenges such
as climate change, increasing biofuel production, water management, and the
protection of biodiversity. The European Commission suggested a number
of measures to simplify the direct aid system to farmers and to adapt the
Common Agricultural Policy to the extended scope of the EU-27. For instance,
the Commission proposed to further decouple agricultural production from
direct payments, to establish upper limits for subsidies, and to improve
cross-compliance standards which farmers have to comply with in order to
receive financial support from Brussels.
The proposed policy initiative lead to a vibrant debate among stakeholders.
The envisaged Health Check was strongly opposed by a lobbying coalition
consisting of farmers and agricultural industries. However, the European
Commission has also received support. A lobbying coalition that united
environmental NGOs welcomed the Commission initiative and even


The following discussion is based on responses submitted to the Commission consultation
on the “Health Check” reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and the associated
consultation document (COM (2007) 722), legislative proposal (COM (2008) 306), and final
legislative acts (Regulation (EC) No 73/2009, Regulation (EC) No 72/2009, Regulation (EC) No
74/2009).
 The Policy Formulation Stage 171

demanded a more wide-ranging reform. An important point of debate between

the two lobbying coalitions was the reform of the cross-compliance framework.
The Committee of Professional Agricultural Organisations (COPA), which
is the representative of European farmers, argued that farmers have already
made great efforts to meet cross-compliance requirements, but that these are
far too bureaucratic and would endanger production standards. As a result,
COPA demanded the simplification of the cross-compliance framework
and it rejected any further measures. By contrast, Birdlife International and
the World Wide Fund For Nature (WWF) argued that cross-compliance
is an important policy tool which helps to achieve sustainable agriculture.
They therefore supported the Commission proposal and even demanded
further cross-compliance measures. Agricultural and environmental groups
furthermore disagreed about upper limits for agricultural subsidies. The
European Commission suggested gradually reducing the support level as
overall payments to individual farmers increase. COPA strongly objected
to such upper limits for agricultural subsidies and argued that these would
effectively constitute penalties for large farms. Upper limits would penalize
farmers who have made efforts to modernize and they would discourage
further progress. By contrast, environmental groups such as WWF, the
Coalition Clean Baltic, and Birdlife International supported the Commission
initiative to introduce maximum support levels for large farms.
The European Commission largely followed the reasoning of the agricul-
tural lobby on most issues discussed in the communication. For instance,
cross-compliance measures have been simplified to make it easier for farmers
to comply with them while not suffering productivity losses. Similarly,
the European Commission abandoned general upper limits for agricultural
subsidies in line with the demands raised by the agricultural lobby. The
lobbying success of agricultural interest groups can be explained by their
considerable economic power. Even though the environmental NGOs have
been supported by some food industry groups, the economic power of
their coalition is only moderate as they can hardly control investments or
employment. By contrast, farmers are very well organized and the agricultural
lobby therefore has a considerable impact on business investments and jobs in
the agricultural sector. For instance, COPA represents over 13 million farmers
and their families whilst its partner organization, the General Committee
for Agricultural Cooperation in the European Union (COGECA) represents
the interests of 38,000 agricultural cooperatives. Together, their members are
responsible for over 40 million jobs in Europe. It is therefore hardly surprising
that the European Commission was responsive to the concerns raised by the
agricultural lobby.
To conclude, the analysis has demonstrated that relative economic power
of lobbying coalitions also has a positive effect on interest group influence.
Thus, the European Commission is not only in need of external information
172 Lobbying in the European Union

and citizen support, but it also requires economic power from interest groups.
Interest groups which represent powerful economic actors are important allies
in promoting a new legislative initiative towards the Council and the European
Parliament. The European Commission is therefore particularly responsive to
demands raised by lobbying coalitions that represent these powerful economic
actors. The size of the effect is by and large comparable to the effect of
relative citizen support. Hence, the European Commission is similarly attentive
to lobbying coalitions with a high degree of economic power and lobbying
coalitions which are supported by a large number of citizens.

6.5 LOBBYING COALITIONS: INFLUENCE

OR FREE-RIDING?

I have demonstrated so far that information supply, citizen support, and

economic power of lobbying coalitions have an important effect on the ability
of interest groups to influence policy formulation in the European Union.
Based on the observable implications illustrated in figure 1.1, it can therefore be
concluded that interest groups indeed influenced European policy formulation
since a systematic effect of lobbying coalition characteristics as theoretically
expected could be detected. However, it is not clear why the lobbying coalition
characteristics matter. There are two primary explanations for the effect of
lobbying coalition characteristics: First, it is possible that only few powerful
interest groups influence policy-making. Hence, other members of a lobbying
coalition could benefit from the influence that a few strong interest groups
exert which share the same policy goal. Accordingly, weak interest groups
could simply “free-ride” on the influence of others and are therefore merely
lucky to get what they want. Second, it is also possible that the sum of the
characteristics of all interest groups which form a lobbying coalition makes
the difference. Accordingly, the convergence of policy preferences with the
policy outcome would be caused by the sum of the characteristics of each
individual member of the coalition. Hence, the question is whether the sum
of the characteristics of all coalition members is causing the convergence or
whether just a few powerful groups influence the policy-making process while
the majority of groups just free-rides on their efforts. In order to empirically
disentangle the two explanations, I draw on the observable implications
illustrated in figure 6.5 (see also Klüver 2013).
The effect of lobbying coalition characteristics can be caused by the sum
of characteristics of all coalition members or by the characteristics of a few
powerful groups. In both scenarios, the characteristics of lobbying coalitions
 The Policy Formulation Stage 173

Effect of lobbying
Effect
coalitions

Sum of characteristics
Characteristics of a few
Explanation of all coalition
powerful groups
members

1. Coalition characteristics: 1. Coalition characteristics:

• statistically significant • statistically significant
Oberservable
Implications 2. Characteristics of 2. Characteristics of
powerful groups: powerful groups:
• not statistically significant • statistically significant

Fig. 6.5 Conceptualization of lobbying coalition effects

exhibit a systematic, that is, statistically significant effect on interest group

influence. This systematic effect, however, does not allow us to judge whether
only a few powerful groups within the coalition influenced policy-making
or whether all interest groups simultaneously exerted influence. In order to
empirically distinguish between the two explanations, I took a sample of the
dataset which only contains the strongest interest groups in terms of relative
information supply, relative citizen support, or relative economic power. More
specifically, I only selected interest groups which belonged to the strongest 15
percent on a given policy issue. Thus, I did not select the strongest 15 percent
of the overall sample, but the strongest 15 percent on each policy issue since
the strength relative to other interest groups on an issue is decisive. To classify
as the strongest 15 percent, interest groups have to belong to the strongest
15 percent in terms of relative information supply, relative citizen support, or
relative economic power on a given policy issue.
If indeed only a few powerful interest groups influence policy formulation
while their coalition partners simply free-ride, their individual characteristics
must have a systematic, that is, statistically significant effect on interest group
influence when these powerful groups are analyzed separately. By contrast, if
one finds that the individual characteristics of powerful interest groups do not
have a statistically significant effect on policy-making, one can conclude that
the effect of lobbying coalition characteristics cannot be explained by a few

If one by contrast analyzed all interest groups simultaneously, the positive effects for the
powerful interest groups would be canceled out by the effects for the weak groups so that the
overall effect would not be statistically significant.
174 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 6.7 Lobbying success of the 15% strongest
groups in the policy formulation stage
Successful interest groups Not successful interest groups

58.24% (Strongest groups) 41.76% (Strongest groups)

50.65% (Other groups) 49.35% (Other groups)

Pearson’s r: 0.071, p ≤ 0.01, N = 2, 696

powerful interest groups so that weak interest groups cannot simply free-ride
on the efforts of a few strong groups.
Table 6.7 presents descriptive information about the strongest 15 percent
pooled across all policy issues. If the positive effect of lobbying coalition
characteristics is indeed only due to characteristics of individual interest
groups, there should be a systematic pattern that shows that strong interest
groups are particularly able to influence policy formulation. However, out
of the 862 strongest interest groups during the policy formulation stage,
only 58.24 percent were successfully lobbying the European Commission. In
addition, the share of successful interest groups does not vary considerably
according to individual strength of the interest groups since also 50.65 percent
of the groups that did not belong to the strongest 15 percent were successful.
Accordingly, the Pearson correlation coefficient only indicates a very small
association between belonging to the 15 percent strongest groups and being
influential.
In order to further test whether the specific individual characteristics of
strong interest groups can account for interest group influence on EU policy
formulation, I estimated multilevel regression models only based on the
sample of strong interest groups. Due to the significantly smaller number
of cases, I only estimated bivariate regression models. Table 6.8 presents the
results for the policy formulation stage. As illustrated in figure 6.5, one can
empirically distinguish whether the positive effect of lobbying coalitions is
due to the attributes of a few strong groups or whether it is due to the sum
of the characteristics of all coalition members: If a few strong interest groups
are responsible for the positive effect of lobbying coalition characteristics,
there must be a systematic effect of their individual characteristics on interest
group influence when these actors are analyzed separately. By contrast, if
the sum of the characteristics of all coalition members accounts for the
positive effect of lobbying coalition characteristics, there is no systematic
pattern that links the properties of a few strong groups with interest group
influence.
The multilevel analyses provide no evidence in favor of the argument
that only a few strong groups exert influence whereas others are free-riding.
 The Policy Formulation Stage 175
Table 6.8 Multilevel logistic regression testing the free-riding hypothesis
for the policy formulation stage
Variables Information Citizen support Economic power

Relative information supply 0.981

(0.037)
Relative citizen support 0.982*
(0.010)
Relative economic power 0.993
(0.009)

Random effects
Issue level variance 3.174 3.238 0.093

Model fit
N / Issues 456 / 56 428 / 54 139 / 56
Log likelihood −268 −229 −96
AIC 542 463 197
BIC 554 475 206
LR Test, Prob > Chi2 0.610 0.067 0.427
Pearson’s r −0.003 −0.175 −0.071

***p ≤ 0.01,**p ≤ 0.05,*p ≤ 0.10, coefficients represent odds ratios, standard errors
in parentheses

None of the individual group characteristics has a statistically significant

positive effect on interest group influence on policy formulation. One could
of course argue that statistically significant effects are quite unlikely given
the small number of cases. However, not even the direction of the effects of
information supply, citizen support, or economic power provides support for
the free-riding explanation. In addition, the last row of table 6.8 indicates
the correlation between interest group properties and interest group influence
for the sample of strong interest groups. The correlations do not reveal any
positive association between the individual interest group characteristics and
interest group influence which also does not provide any support for the
free-riding explanation. These results are robust across different thresholds for
strength: I repeated the analysis for the 20 percent, 10 percent, 5 percent, and
1 percent strongest groups and could also not detect any systematic pattern that
links individual interest group properties and interest group influence. Hence,
the positive effect of lobbying coalition characteristics cannot be explained
by the properties of a small number of strong groups. I could not find any
evidence that provides support to the hypothesis that only the most powerful
interest groups in fact exert influence on policy formulation while weaker
groups free-ride on their impact. The positive effect of lobbying coalition
characteristics during the policy formulation stage can therefore not solely be
attributed to a few powerful groups.
176 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 6.9 Comparison of effect sizes in the policy formulation stage
Change in supply of exchange good: Change: Influence probability 95% Confidence interval
0–100%

Information supply 0.555 0.451 0.643

Citizen support 0.797 0.716 0.864
Economic power 0.796 0.670 0.876

6.6 CONCLUSION

This chapter has demonstrated that lobbying at the policy formulation stage
can be conceptualized as an exchange relationship between interdependent
actors: The European Commission needs information, citizen support, and
economic power from interest groups which in turn demand influence
on policy formulation. The empirical analysis furthermore confirmed that
lobbying is a collective enterprise in which the aggregated information supply,
citizen support, and economic power of entire lobbying coalitions are decisive
for preference attainment during the policy formulation stage. It is therefore
crucial to take into account how interest groups position themselves in
policy debates and how they come together in lobbying coalitions. The
empirical analysis provided in this chapter furthermore demonstrated that
the information needs of the European Commission vary across proposals
and that the positive effect of information supply therefore increases with the
complexity of a policy issue.
Finally, table 6.9 compares the effects of information supply, citizen support,
and economic power of lobbying coalitions drawing on first differences (Mroz
and Zayats 2008, see also page 130). The table indicates how the probability
to influence policy formulation changes when information supply, citizen
support, and economic power change from their minimum (0) to their
maximum (100) value. While the effects of citizen support and economic
power are nearly identical, the effect of information supply is much smaller.
Hence, the European Commission relies on information provided by interest
groups, but they are most importantly a source of legitimacy and electoral
resources for the Commission. At the same time, citizen support and economic
power are equally important for lobbying success which indicates that policy
formulation is not dominated by European business, but that both business as
well as citizen interests have similar chances to influence policy formulation in
the European Union.
 7

The Decision-Making Stage: Bringing the

Council and the European Parliament in

While previous studies have largely provided a static view focusing either
on an aggregate analysis of the entire policy-making process or on just one
stage of the policy cycle, this book compares interest group influence at
different stages of the policy-making process. In the preceding chapter, the
hypotheses derived from the theoretical model have been tested for the policy
formulation stage in which the European Commission drafts the legislative
proposal. This chapter now shifts the focus from the policy formulation to
the decision-making stage of the European policy-making process. During the
decision-making stage, the Council, the European Parliament, and to some
extent the European Commission bargain on the basis of the Commission
proposal about the design of the final legislative act. This chapter asks whether
we find the same patterns during the decision-making stage that we found
in the previous stage of the policy cycle. Are information supply, citizen
support, and economic power of lobbying coalitions equally important drivers
of lobbying success or are other factors at play when the Council and the
European Parliament are involved?
In order to investigate the determinants of interest group influence
during the decision-making stage, the chapter proceeds as follows: After
a brief summary of the formal legislative process in the European
Union, the hypotheses derived from the theoretical model are tested for
the decision-making stage. Similar to the empirical analysis conducted
for the previous stage, I test the hypotheses step by step given the high
collinearity of the predictors and a considerable reduction of the sample
size due to survey non-response if all effects were tested simultaneously (see
section 4.4). Drawing on multilevel logistic regression, I first analyze the effect
of information supply, I then investigate the effect of citizen support, and
I finally assess the effect of economic power on interest group influence on
decision-making in the European Union. In order to study lobbying success
during the decision-making stage, the policy proposal needed to be adopted
before 31 December 2010 to be included in the sample. Out of the initial sample
178 Lobbying in the European Union

of 56 policy proposals, 42 were adopted by the Council and the European

Parliament during this time frame. The empirical analysis is therefore based
on 1,793 interest groups lobbying the European institutions concerning 42
policy issues. Effect sizes are compared using predicted probabilities and first
differences (Mroz and Zayats 2008, see also page 130).

7.1 DECISION-MAKING BET WEEN THE COUNCIL,

THE EP, AND THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION

The decision-making stage begins with the formal adoption of the legislative
proposal by the European Commission. The Council, the European
Parliament, and the European Commission bargain about the final legislative
act on the basis of the Commission proposal. There are mainly three different
legislative procedures (for a detailed description, see Hix 2005, 99–102):
Consultation, Cooperation, and Codecision. Consultation is the traditional
legislative procedure whose importance has diminished over the years with
the introduction of the Cooperation and most importantly the Codecision
procedure. The Cooperation procedure was established by the Single European
Act, but was over time also replaced by the Codecision procedure which was
introduced with the Treaty of Maastricht and now applies to the vast majority
of legislative acts. As the policy proposals studied in this book are only subject
to Consultation or Codecision and since Cooperation only applies to a very
small number of proposals, the following discussion concentrates on the
Consultation and the Codecision procedure (see figure 7.1 and figure 7.2 for a
graphical illustration of these decision-making procedures).
Under both legislative procedures, the European Parliament comments
during the first reading stage on the Commission proposal and suggests
possible amendments to the text. The European Commission then drafts a
revised proposal based on the EP opinion in which it states which amendments
it accepts and which it rejects. Afterwards, the Council examines the revised
proposal. Under the Consultation procedure, the Council can autonomously
decide whether to accept or to reject the amendments suggested by the
European Parliament and the legislative process ends at the first reading
stage.


The Treaty of Lisbon, which entered into force in December 2009, only distinguishes two
different procedures: the “ordinary legislative procedure” which was formerly the Codecision
procedure and “special legislative procedures” which replace amongst others the former
Consultation and Cooperation procedure. As all proposals analyzed in this book have been
adopted by the European Commission between 2000 and 2008 and therefore under the old
legislative regime, the Consultation and Codecision procedure are illustrated in this section.
 The Decision-Making Stage 179

COMM

Proposal

EP (1st reading)

Opinion

COMM

COUNCIL
Adoption of bill

Fig. 7.1 The Consultation procedure

If the European Parliament does not propose any amendments to a proposal

that is subject to Codecision or if all its amendments are accepted by the
Council, the proposal similarly enters into force after approval by the Council.
If the Council, however, disagrees with amendments made by the EP to
a Codecision proposal, the Council adopts a Common Position and the
legislative process reaches the second reading stage. The European Parliament
has three opportunities at the second reading: First, it can accept the Common
Position and the legislative act can be adopted by the Council. Second, it
can reject the Common Position which leads to the failure of the legislative
act under Codecision. Finally, the European Parliament can also suggest
amendments to the Common position.
If the European Parliament suggested amendments, the European
Commission enters the legislative arena again. It can decide whether to
accept or reject the amendments proposed by the European Parliament
before resubmitting the text to the Council. If the European Commission
incorporates the EP amendments, the Council can adopt the legislative act
with qualified majority. If the European Commission does not include the
EP amendments, the Council needs to decide with unanimity in order to
adopt the legislative act. If the Council fails to reach the necessary quorum
or if it rejects the amendments, the Conciliation Committee consisting of an
equal number of representatives of both the Council and the EP is convened.
If the Conciliation Committee does not reach an agreement, the proposal
fails. If it comes to an agreement, the committee adopts a Joint Text which
launches the third reading stage. The Council has to adopt the Joint Text by
180 Lobbying in the European Union

COMM

Proposal

EP (1st reading)

Opinion

COMM

COUNCIL

No EP amendments or approval of all amendments ® Approval of bill

Otherwise: Common position

EP (2nd reading)

Adoption or fail Amendment with Rejection with

to act absolute majority absolute majority

COUNCIL Law fails

Adoption of CP with QM COMM

Opinion with Opinion without

EP amendments EP amendments
COUNCIL

Adoption with QM Adoption with unanimity

Rejection of amendments

Agreement CONCILIATION No agreement

COMMITTEE

COUNCIL and EP adopt Law fails

law (3rd reading)

Fig. 7.2 The Codecision procedure

 The Decision-Making Stage 181

qualified majority and the EP by absolute majority in order to approve the

final legislative act.
The decision-making stage thus involves three institutional bodies: the
Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission. Under
the Consultation procedure, the Council can autonomously decide about
whether a legislative proposal enters into force or not after consulting
the European Parliament. Under the Codecision procedure, the European
Parliament has a veto right so that proposals cannot enter into force without
its assent. Even though the European Commission is not involved in the
final adoption of a legislative act, it retains important powers throughout the
decision-making stage (Nugent 2001, 254–257; Hooghe and Nugent 2006,
152): Under Consultation, the Council can only introduce amendments to
a proposal which are opposed by the European Commission if it decides
unanimously. Even more important, the Commission can change and even
withdraw a proposal at any stage of the legislative process. Under Codecision,
the right to withdraw a proposal only applies until the Conciliation Committee
is convened.
Interest groups enjoy multiple access points during the decision-making
stage. They can establish informal and formal contacts with the Council,
the European Parliament, and the European Commission to shape the final
legislative act. In order to affect the final policy outcome through the
Council channel, interest groups can for instance lobby national ministries,
the Permanent Representations of the member states in Brussels, or the
preparatory bodies that consist of national officials which prepare the
discussions at the ministerial level in the Council (Schneider and Baltz 2005;
Hayes-Renshaw 2009; Saurugger 2009). To shape the design of the legislative
act through the European Parliament, interest groups can for instance lobby
the rapporteur who is in charge of drafting the EP report on the proposal, they
can try to make their voice heard in the committees or they can get in touch
with Intergroups that consist of MEPs from different political groups that share
an interest in a particular political theme (Bouwen 2003, 2004b; Lehmann
2009; Marshall 2010; Kluger Rasmussen 2011). Finally, interest groups can also
attempt to affect the policy outcome through the European Commission as it
is involved in making amendments to proposals and as it retains the right to
withdraw proposals as long as the Conciliation Committee is not convened.

7.2 THE EFFECT OF INFORMATION SUPPLY

Table 7.1 presents the results of the multilevel logistic regression analysis
examining the effect of coalition information supply on interest group
182 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 7.1 Multilevel analysis examining the effect of information supply on interest
group influence during the decision-making stage
Variables Empty Basic With controls Full

Fixed effects
Lobbying coalition characteristics
Rel. information supply 1.018*** 1.009** 0.762***
(0.004) (0.004) (0.022)
Rel. information supply * complexity 1.100***
(0.011)
Controls: Interest group level
Type: Sectional group 0.993 1.078
(0.152) (0.173)
Type: Cause group 1.159 1.098
(0.225) (0.225)
Rel. information supply 1.038 1.032
(0.027) (0.028)
Controls: Issue level
Salience 2.319* 2.349
(1.018) (1.419)
Complexity 1.138 0.003***
(0.413) (0.002)
Conflict 0.430 1.609
(0.385) (2.022)
Existence of EU SQ 0.685 0.671
(0.361) (0.494)
Legislative procedure: Codecision 2.877 1.337
(2.852) (1.913)
Voting rule: QM 1.248 4.452
(1.839) (9.343)
Member state support 1.049*** 1.032***
(0.008) (0.008)

Random effects
Issue level variance 3.086 2.950 2.140 4.414

Model fit
N / Issues 1793 / 42 1793 / 42 1793 / 42 1793 / 42
Log likelihood −984 −970 −940 −840
AIC 1971 1947 1907 1708
BIC 1982 1963 1978 1785
LR Test, Prob > Chi2 0.000 0.000 0.000

***p ≤ 0.01,**p ≤ 0.05,*p ≤ 0.10, coefficients represent odds ratios, standard errors in
parentheses, sectional and cause groups are compared to companies, Codecision is compared to
Consultation, qualified majority voting is compared to unanimity, the reference model for the
likelihood ratio test is the model left of the model in question

influence during the decision-making stage. The table contains the empty
model in the first column, the basic model including relative information
supply by lobbying coalitions in the second column, and a third model that
additionally contains several control variables on the interest group and issue
level. The full model furthermore contains a cross-level interaction effect
 The Decision-Making Stage 183

between complexity and relative information supply by lobbying coalitions in

order to test whether the strength of the effect of information supply also varies
with issue complexity during the decision-making stage.
Information supply by lobbying coalitions has a statistically significant
positive effect on interest group influence during the decision-making stage
no matter whether additional control variables are added to the model
or not. A 1 percent increase in relative information supply by a lobbying
coalition A, which at the same time implies a 1 percent decrease in relative
information supply by its opposing lobbying coalition B, increases the
chance of interest groups which belong to lobbying coalition A to influence
decision-making by 1.8 percent (0.9 percent when control variables are
included). Hence, information supply does not only increase the likelihood
that interest groups succeed in lobbying the European Commission during
the policy formulation stage, but it also increases the chance that interest
groups can shape the design of the final legislative act negotiated during
the decision-making stage. The empirical analysis furthermore indicates
that salience and member state support have a statistically significant effect
on interest group influence. Hence, the more interest groups try to shape
the final policy outcome and the more member states support the policy
objective of an interest group, the higher the probability that this interest
group succeeds in its lobbying attempts. All model fit measures similarly
indicate that including relative information supply by lobbying coalitions
significantly increases the explanatory power of the model. Adding the control
variables only increases the model fit according to the AIC and the likelihood
ratio test.
In order to further illustrate the effect of relative information supply
on interest group influence during the decision-making stage, I simulated
predicted probabilities illustrated in figure 7.3. The solid line indicates the point
estimates of the predicted probabilities whereas the broken lines represent a
95 percent confidence interval. Relative information supply also has a steady
positive effect on lobbying success during the decision-making stage. The
increase in the probability to influence the outcome of the decision-making
stage is, however, considerably smaller than during the policy formulation
stage. This suggests that even though information supply also matters during
the decision-making stage, it is more important for lobbying success during
the policy formulation stage.
In order to further investigate the size of the effect, I also simulated
first differences to illustrate how the probability to influence the final
policy outcome changes as relative information supply by lobbying coalitions
increases (see table 7.2). If relative information supply by a lobbying
coalition rises from 25 to 50 percent, the predicted probability to succeed
in shaping the design of the final legislative act increases by approximately
5.0 percentage points. Similarly, if relative information supply augments from
50 to 75 percent, the probability to influence decision-making on average
184 Lobbying in the European Union

1.0
Predicted probability of influence

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative information supply by lobbing coalitions

Point estimate 95% Confidence interval

Fig. 7.3 Effect of relative information supply on interest group influence during the
decision-making stage

Table 7.2 First differences: Effect of relative information supply on interest group
influence during the decision-making stage
Change: Information supply Change: Influence probability 95% Confidence interval

0–25% 0.046 0.005 0.088

25–50% 0.050 0.005 0.092
50–75% 0.051 0.004 0.094
75–100% 0.051 0.001 0.099

0–100% 0.195 0.027 0.359

increases by 5.1 percentage points. The changes in the predicted probabilities

are statistically significant as none of the confidence intervals includes zero.
Overall, the probability to influence the final policy outcomes increases by
19.5 percentage points if information supply rises from its minimum (0)
to its maximum (100) value. The effect of information supply is therefore
considerably smaller during the decision-making stage than during the policy
formulation stage where a similar increase in information supply leads to an
increase in the influence probability by 55.5 percentage points.
The policy debate concerning the Commission strategy to reduce CO2
emissions from cars nicely illustrates the importance of information supply
 The Decision-Making Stage 185

for lobbying success (see also chapter 3). In February 2007, the European
Commission adopted a communication in which it proposed a legislative
framework aimed at the reduction of CO2 emissions from cars. The
Commission suggested a variety of measures such as an emission limit of
120 grams of CO2 per kilometer, the inclusion of vans in this legislative
framework, and improved car labeling to indicate emission levels. On the
basis of this communication, the European Commission launched a public
consultation which has mobilized various organized interests. After consulting
the public, the European Commission adopted its legislative proposal in
December 2007 and the Council and the European Parliament approved the
final legislative act in April 2009. The mobilized interest groups were divided
into two lobbying coalitions: First, a coalition consisting of environmental
NGOs and manufacturers of electric and hybrid cars as well as alternative fuel
producers and second, a coalition bringing together the traditional automobile
manufacturers in Europe and beyond.
The two coalitions had opposing views on most of the issues discussed
in the Commission communication. For instance, while the environmental
and alternative industry groups fully supported the proposed reduction target
of 120 grams per kilometer until 2012, the traditional industry strongly
rejected it. Environmental groups such as Greenpeace, WWF, and the Finnish
Association of Nature Conservation welcomed the Commission initiative to
implement an obligatory emission reduction target and even claimed that
the 120g/km target was not ambitious enough. By contrast, the automobile
industry lobby advocated for more flexibilities in reducing CO2 emissions.
Manufacturers argued that car development and production cycles take a
number of years and that the models for 2012 have already been designed
and implemented. Adjusting the car models to comply with the proposed
reduction target would be extremely costly and would therefore harm the
competitiveness of the European automobile industry. Industry representatives
such as the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association or Volkswagen
therefore demanded longer lead times to meet the emission reduction target.
In addition, the automobile industry rejected a general reduction target that
applies to every single vehicle. Instead, car producers suggested averaging the
reduction target across the entire fleet so that they can compensate cars with
higher emissions by cars with lower emissions. Finally, environmental groups
supported the suggestion of the European Commission to include vans in the
legislative framework while traditional car manufacturers opposed this idea
given that vans are entirely different vehicles.


The following discussion is based on responses submitted to the Commission consultation
on the review of the Community strategy to reduce CO2 emissions from passenger cars and
light-commercial vehicles and the associated consultation document (COM (2007) 19), legislative
proposal (COM (2007) 856), and final legislative act (Regulation (EC) No 443/2009).
186 Lobbying in the European Union

The European institutions largely responded to the demands raised by the

traditional automobile industry. The reduction target was kept at 120g/km and
no additional long-term limits have been envisaged. In addition, flexibility
measures suggested by car manufacturers were included in the legislative
framework. The reduction target does not have to be met by each individual
car, but only the average of the entire fleet has to comply with the 120g/km
emissions limit. Finally, the legislative framework only applies to passenger
cars while vans were excluded from the framework. The legislative debate
revolving around the policy initiative to reduce CO2 emissions is a typical
example for the importance of information supply for lobbying success. While
the lobbying coalition composed of environmental and alternative industry
groups only provided about 29 percent of all the information transmitted in
the consultation, the traditional automobile industry supplied 71 percent of the
information provided by lobbyists in this policy debate. Environmental NGOs
and manufacturers of electric and hybrid cars submitted policy papers with an
average length of 724 words while the automobile industry lobby submitted
comments with an average length of 1,302 words. The automobile industry
moreover provided very profound technical expertise about the production
processes and the impact on market shares and productivity levels while the
opposing coalition largely focused on conveying their political message rather
than providing expert knowledge. It is therefore hardly surprising that the
European institutions were more responsive to industry demands than to
concerns raised by the environmental lobby.
In conclusion, the provision of information does not only play an important
role during the policy formulation stage when the European Commission
drafts the policy proposal, but it also matters during the decision-making stage.
The higher the amount of information that a lobbying coalition provides to the
European institutions, the higher the probability that interest groups belonging
to this lobbying coalition are able to have an impact on the final legislative
act. However, the size of the effect of information supply is considerably
smaller during the decision-making stage than during the policy formulation
stage. This suggests that information supply is much more important at the
beginning of the legislative process when the main features of the legislative
initiative are laid down in the proposal. Once the proposal is drafted, the
general outline of the legislative framework is already sketched and bargaining
between the European institutions is limited to modifications of the existing
draft. Information supply therefore has the strongest effect on lobbying success
during the policy formulation stage.
In order to test whether the size of the effect of information supply also
varies with the complexity of policy issues during the decision-making stage,
a cross-level interaction term between relative information supply by lobbying
coalitions and issue complexity was included in the fourth model of table 7.1.
The multilevel analysis indicates that the effect of information supply indeed
 The Decision-Making Stage 187

changes with the complexity of policy issues as there is a statistically significant

interaction effect at play. All model fit measures accordingly confirm that
the introduction of the cross-level interaction has significantly improved the
explanatory power of the model.
As interaction terms are difficult to interpret simply based on the regression
coefficients, I computed a marginal effect plot to demonstrate how the effect of
relative information supply by lobbying coalitions changes as issue complexity
increases (see figure 7.4). The solid line indicates the point estimate of the
marginal effect of relative information and the broken lines mark the 95
percent confidence interval. The marginal effect of information supply steadily
increases with the complexity of policy issues. While information supply has
a negative effect if complexity is below approximately 3.0, the effect is positive
and steadily increases once complexity exceeds that threshold as the lower and
upper bound of the confidence interval are both above zero. Hence, the analysis
of the decision-making stage also provides empirical support for hypothesis 4:
The size of the effect of relative information supply on interest group influence
during the decision-making stage increases with the degree of complexity.
The higher the complexity of a policy issue, the stronger the effect of relative
information supply by lobbying coalitions.
The empirical findings confirm that information supply also plays an
important role for lobbying success during the decision-making stage. Interest
groups that belong to lobbying coalitions which supply a large amount of
information to the European institutions find it easier to shape the policy
outcome than interest groups whose lobbying coalitions provide only little
information to legislators. As suggested by hypothesis 4, the effect varies

.6
Marginal effect of relative
information supply

.4

.2

–.2
2 3 4 5
Complexity
Marginal effect of relative information supply by lobbying coalitions
95% Confidence interval

Fig. 7.4 Marginal effect of information supply on interest group influence during the
decision-making stage
188 Lobbying in the European Union

with the complexity of policy issues as the information needs differ: The size
of the effect of relative information supply by lobbying coalitions increases
with the complexity of policy issues as the European institutions require
more external information when a highly complex issue is discussed than for
issues of low complexity. However, the overall size of the effect of information
supply is considerably smaller in the decision-making than in the policy
formulation stage. The general outline of a legislative act is already designed
at the beginning of the legislative process when the policy proposal is drafted
so that the need for external information is considerably smaller during the
decision-making than during the policy formulation stage.

7.3 THE EFFECT OF CITIZEN SUPPORT

In this section, the effect of citizen support of lobbying coalitions on the

ability of interest groups to exert influence during the decision-making stage is
empirically examined. Table 7.3 presents the results of the multilevel analysis,
more specifically the empty model, the basic model including only citizen
support, and the full model containing in addition several control variables
on the interest group and issue level. Due to survey non-response, the sample
reduces to 717 interest groups lobbying on 40 issues.
Across both model specifications, relative citizen support of lobbying
coalitions has a statistically significant positive effect on interest group
influence during the decision-making stage. A 1 percent increase in relative
citizen support of a lobbying coalition A, which again implies a 1 percent
decrease in relative citizen support of its opposing lobbying coalition B,
increases the chance of interest groups which are members of lobbying
coalition A to influence the design of the final legislative act by 2.2 percent
(1.6 percent when control variables are included). Hence, interest groups
which belong to a lobbying coalition that represents a large number of citizens
find it much easier to exert influence on the decision-making process than
interest groups which lack citizen support. Accordingly, all model fit measures
indicate that including relative citizen support of lobbying coalitions has
significantly enhanced the explanatory power of the model. Thus, hypothesis 2
was confirmed by the analysis of interest group influence during the policy
formulation stage and also during the decision-making stage. Hence, not
only the European Commission, but also the European Parliament and the
Council are responsive to demands raised by a large number of citizens
and voters. The multilevel analysis furthermore shows that member state
support has a positive effect on lobbying success: The more member states
support the policy objective advocated by an interest group, the higher the
 The Decision-Making Stage 189
Table 7.3 Multilevel analysis examining the effect of citizen support on
interest group influence during the decision-making stage
Variables Empty Basic Full

Fixed effects
Lobbying coalition characteristics
Rel. citizen support 1.022*** 1.016***
(0.005) (0.005)
Controls: Interest group level
Type: Sectional group 1.098
(0.345)
Type: Cause group 1.505
(0.528)
Rel. citizen support 0.988
(0.011)
Controls: Issue level
Salience 1.983
(1.077)
Complexity 1.339
(0.569)
Conflict 0.337
(0.365)
Existence of EU SQ 0.616
(0.386)
Legislative procedure: Codecision 1.270
(1.685)
Voting rule: QM 2.870
(5.135)
Member state support 1.051***
(0.013)

Random effects
Issue level variance 3.647 3.906 2.516

Model fit
N / Issues 717 / 40 717 / 40 717 / 40
Log likelihood −389 −377 −364
AIC 781 759 753
BIC 790 773 813
LR Test, Prob > Chi2 0.000 0.004

***p ≤ 0.01, **p ≤ 0.05, *p ≤ 0.10, coefficients represent odds ratios, standard
errors in parentheses, sectional and cause groups are compared to companies,
Codecision is compared to Consultation, qualified majority voting is compared to
unanimity, the reference model for the likelihood ratio test is the model left of the
model in question

likelihood that this interest group succeeds in shaping the content of the final
legislative act.
In order to further illustrate the effect of citizen support on interest group
influence during the decision-making stage, I simulated predicted probabilities
displayed in figure 7.5. The solid line indicates the point estimate and the
190 Lobbying in the European Union

1.0
Predicted probability of influence

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative citizen support of lobbing coalitions
Point estimate 95% Confidence interval

Fig. 7.5 Effect of relative citizen support on interest group influence during the
decision-making stage

Table 7.4 First differences: Effect of relative citizen support on interest group
influence during the decision-making stage
Change: Citizen support Change: Influence probability 95% Confidence interval

0–25% 0.078 0.038 0.119

25–50% 0.090 0.036 0.141
50–75% 0.095 0.037 0.151
75–100% 0.094 0.038 0.149

0–100% 0.355 0.158 0.538

broken lines represent the 95 percent confidence interval. Relative citizen

support of lobbying coalitions has a steady positive effect. Hence, a higher value
of relative citizen support is associated with a higher probability to influence
the outcome of the legislative process.
The size of the effect of citizen support during the decision-making stage
is further demonstrated by simulated first differences. Table 7.4 presents the
difference in relative citizen support in the first column and the associated
change in the predicted probability to influence decision-making in the second
column along with values for the 95 percent confidence interval for the
predicted changes. As relative citizen support of a lobbying coalition increases
from 25 to 50 percent, the probability that interest groups which belong
to this lobbying coalition manage to have an impact on the final policy
 The Decision-Making Stage 191

outcome rises by approximately 9.0 percentage points. Likewise, if relative

citizen support augments from 50 to 75 percent, the likelihood that interest
groups which are members of this coalition affect the design of the legislative
act increases on average by 9.5 percentage points. Overall, the probability to
exert influence on the final policy outcome increases by 35.5 percentage points
if citizen support by lobbying coalitions rises from its minimum (0) to its
maximum (100) value. The effect of citizen support is therefore smaller at
the decision-making stage than at the policy formulation stage. At the same
time, citizen support is more important for lobbying success than information
supply at the decision-making stage.
A good example for the effect of citizen support on lobbying success
during the decision-making stage in the EU is the policy debate regarding
tobacco taxation. In March 2007, the European Commission published a
working paper in which it suggested several policy measures designed to
simplify and modernize tobacco taxation with a particular view on the
health implications of tobacco consumption. Amongst others, the European
Commission discussed an increase in tobacco taxation rates and an inclusion
of other tobacco products into the legislative framework. After a lively
stakeholder debate, the European Commission adopted its legislative proposal
in July 2008 and the Council finally approved the directive in February 2010.
The policy debate concerning tobacco taxation mobilized a large number
of interest groups which can be divided into two lobbying coalitions that
were opposing each other. On the one hand, health groups lobbied European
decision-makers and on the other hand, the tobacco industry sought to
influence the policy process on this issue.
A variety of health organizations formed a united lobbying coalition
that supported the legislative initiative on tobacco taxation. Health groups
like the European Heart Network, the Standing Committee of European
doctors, Finland’s Action on Smoking and Health and Cancer Research UK
welcomed the policy measures proposed by the Commission. The health lobby
highlighted the crucial importance of tobacco taxation for society given the
large number of deaths and serious illnesses that can be traced back to tobacco
consumption and the huge costs this imposes on European health systems.
Health NGOs therefore asked for an increase in tobacco taxation in order to
reduce the affordability and availability of cigarettes. For instance, the British
Medical Association cited a World Bank Study that showed that a 10 percent
increase in price leads to a 4 percent reduction in demand and that particularly
young people would reduce their tobacco consumption as a result of price
increases. Higher taxation levels would therefore be an ideal instrument to

The following discussion is based on responses submitted to the Commission consultation
on the structure and rates of excise duty applied on cigarettes and other manufactured tobacco
and the associated consultation document, legislative proposal (COM (2008) 459), and final
legislative act (Directive 2010/12/EU).
192 Lobbying in the European Union

reduce tobacco consumption. In addition, health NGOs furthermore argued

that all tobacco products should be taxed equally as there is no justification
for differential treatment given that tobacco has a general negative impact on
human health irrespective of its form.
By contrast, the tobacco industry including actors such as Philip Morris,
the European Smoking Tobacco Association, and British American tobacco
largely opposed the Commission initiative on tobacco taxation. With regard to
an increase in tobacco tax rates, the German association of tobacco industries
argued that tobacco taxes would first and foremost be an instrument to fill
the holes in state budgets rather than a measure to enhance human health.
It was furthermore stated that an increase in tobacco taxation would solely
lead to higher levels of cigarette smuggling and an increase in counterfeit
tobacco products with harmful implications for the human body. Similarly,
cigar manufacturers strongly opposed aligning the cigarette and the cigar
taxation rates. The European Cigar Manufacturers Association for instance
argued that applying the same tax rate to cigars would have a disastrous
effect on the cigar industry as cigar manufacturing is a very labor-, time- and
resource-intensive small-scale activity. In addition, in contrast to cigarettes
which have a widespread negative effect on the population and in particular
young people, cigar smokers would only constitute 1 percent of the entire
European population and they would usually be mature male adults.
Despite the opposition from the tobacco industry, the European institutions
largely moved forward with their envisaged tobacco taxation initiative. While
the official legislative proposal and the final directive are in line with most of
the demands raised by the health coalition, the concerns raised by the tobacco
industry were hardly taken up. For instance, the directive increases cigarette
taxation in order to reduce cigarette consumption by 10 percent in a five-year
period. In addition, the legislative framework also raised taxation rates on
other tobacco products in order to avoid substituting cigarettes with other
equally harmful tobacco products. The policy debate on tobacco taxation is
a prime example for a legislative debate in which citizen interests have won
over economic interests. While the tobacco industry coalition is clearly the
more important economic actor, the coalition of health NGOs and medical
professionals is much stronger when it comes to citizen support. The health
coalition represents 75 percent of all the citizens that interest groups reported
to represent in this policy debate. It can therefore be concluded that the high
level of citizen support seems to have caused the lobbying success of the health
coalition.
In conclusion, relative citizen support of lobbying coalitions also has a
positive effect on interest group influence during the decision-making stage.
The probability that an interest group is able to influence the final legislative
act therefore increases with the number of citizens that are represented by its
lobbying coalition. However, the size of the effect during the decision-making
 The Decision-Making Stage 193

stage is considerably smaller than during the policy formulation stage. Thus,
the European Commission seems to be more receptive to citizen demands at
early stages of the policy-making process than the Council and the European
Parliament during the decision-making stage. However, citizen support is
more important than information supply for lobbying success during the
decision-making stage as the effect of citizen support is considerably larger
than the effect of information supply.

7.4 THE EFFECT OF ECONOMIC POWER

In this section, I turn to the empirical analysis of the effect of economic power
on interest group influence during the decision-making stage. Hypothesis 3
suggested that the relative economic power of their lobbying coalitions has
a positive effect on the ability of interest groups to shape the outcome of
a legislative debate. Table 7.5 presents the results of the multilevel analysis
examining this effect. Column one contains the results of the empty model,
the basic model including relative economic power of lobbying coalitions is
presented in column two, and column three contains the results of the full
model which additionally includes several control variables on the interest
group and issue level. As the dataset suffers from a considerable number of
missing values due to survey non-response, the sample shrinks to 389 interest
groups that lobby the European institutions concerning 42 policy issues.
As predicted by the theoretical model, relative economic power of lobbying
coalitions has a statistically significant positive effect on interest group
influence during the decision-making stage across both model specifications.
A 1 percent increase in relative economic power of a lobbying coalition A,
which implies a 1 percent decrease in relative economic power of its opposing
lobbying coalition B, raises the chance of interest groups which belong to
lobbying coalition A to influence the final legislative act by 2.1 percent (1.4
percent when control variables are included). Hence, interest groups belonging
to a lobbying coalition that represents a large number of powerful economic
actors which control business investments and job creation have a much
better chance to influence decision-making by the Council, the EP, and the
Commission than interest groups without the backing of important economic
players. All model fit measures accordingly indicate that the inclusion
of relative economic power has considerably improved the explanatory
power of the statistical model. The full model furthermore suggests
that the probability to succeed in lobbying the decision-making process
significantly increases with the number of member states supporting the policy
objective.
194 Lobbying in the European Union
Table 7.5 Multilevel analysis examining the effect of economic power on
interest group influence during the decision-making stage
Variables Empty Basic Full

Fixed effects
Lobbying coalition characteristics
Rel. economic power 1.021*** 1.014**
(0.007) (0.007)
Controls: Interest group level
Type: Sectional group 1.079
(0.363)
Rel. economic power 0.999
(0.013)
Controls: Issue level
Salience 1.884
(0.857)
Complexity 1.366
(0.460)
Conflict 0.590
(0.522)
Existence of EU SQ 0.530
(0.271)
Legislative procedure: Codecision 3.928
(4.044)
Voting rule: QM 0.582
(0.985)
Member state support 1.037***
(0.014)

Random effects
Issue level variance 2.745 2.839 1.248

Model fit
N / Issues 389 / 42 389 / 42 389 / 42
Log likelihood −226 −221 −213
AIC 456 448 449
BIC 464 460 497
LR Test, Prob > Chi2 0.002 0.047

***p ≤ 0.01,**p ≤ 0.05,*p ≤ 0.10, coefficients represent odds ratios, standard

errors in parentheses, sectional and cause groups are compared to companies,
Codecision is compared to Consultation, qualified majority voting is compared to
unanimity, the reference model for the likelihood ratio test is the model left of the
model in question

As a further illustration of the effect of economic power of lobbying

coalitions during the decision-making stage, I also present simulated predicted
probabilities for this effect (see figure 7.6). The solid line again indicates the
point estimates for the predicted probabilities and the broken lines mark the
95 percent confidence interval. Relative economic power can vary from its
minimum value (0) to its maximum value (100). The simulated probabilities
 The Decision-Making Stage 195

1.0
Predicted probability of influence

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0
0 20 40 60 80 100
Relative economic power of lobbing coalitions

Point estimate 95% Confidence interval

Fig. 7.6 Effect of relative economic power on interest group influence during the
decision-making stage

Table 7.6 First differences: Effect of relative economic power on interest group
influence during the decision-making stage
Change: Economic power Change: Influence probability 95% Confidence interval

0–25% 0.061 0.005 0.102

25–50% 0.075 0.006 0.134
50–75% 0.087 0.012 0.163
75–100% 0.088 0.004 0.163

0–100% 0.315 0.021 0.555

Note: Only lobbying coalition characteristic in question is changed; all other variables are
held at their means

indicate that relative economic power of lobbying coalitions has a steady

positive effect on the ability of interest groups to exert influence during the
decision-making stage. A higher value of relative economic power is associated
with a higher probability of lobbying success across the entire empirical range
of relative economic power.
Finally, the size of the effect of relative economic power of lobbying
coalitions is further illustrated drawing on simulated first differences that
allow one to assess how the probability to influence European decision-making
changes as relative economic power of lobbying coalitions varies (see table 7.6).
196 Lobbying in the European Union

If relative economic power of a lobbying coalition increases from 25 to 50

percent, the predicted probability to influence the design of the final legislative
act augments by approximately 7.5 percentage points. Similarly, if relative
economic power of lobbying coalitions rises from 50 to 75 percent, the
probability of lobbying success increases by on average 8.7 percentage points.
Overall, the probability to successfully lobby decision-making in the European
Union increases by 31.5 percentage points if economic power of lobbying
coalitions rises from its minimum (0) to its maximum (100) value. The effect of
economic power is therefore considerably smaller during the decision-making
than during the policy formulation stage. At the same time, economic power
and citizen support are more or less equally important for lobbying success
at the decision-making stage while the effect of information supply is much
smaller.
The policy debate on the revision of the energy labeling directive nicely
illustrates the effect of economic power on interest group influence on
decision-making in the European Union. In December 2007, the European
Commission published a working paper in which it set out its plans for
a revision of the energy labeling directive. The policy initiative aimed to
reform the existing energy labeling framework which had been in force
since 1992. The European Commission proposed several policy measures
to extend and reinforce the energy labeling directive such as extending the
scope of the directive to additional household appliances or indicating the
annual running costs of products on the energy label. The legislative initiative
aimed at increasing the purchase of energy efficient products and to thereby
reduce energy consumption in Europe. On the basis of the working paper, the
European Commission launched a public consultation.
The publication of the Commission working paper led to considerable
mobilization of interest groups. Two lobbying coalitions emerged that
simultaneously lobbied the European institutions. The first coalition brought
together a wide variety of industry representatives such as the European
Committee of Domestic Equipment Manufacturers (CECED), Bosch, and
the European Lamp Companies Federation (ELC). On the other side of
the political spectrum was a coalition that united a variety of different
environmental NGOs such as Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, WWF,
and the European Environmental Bureau. While the environmental groups
strongly supported the policy initiative and demanded even more far-reaching
measures, the industry groups lobbied decision-makers in order to dilute the
proposed framework.
An important point of discussion between industry and environmental
groups was the Commission’s suggestion to indicate the annual running

The following discussion is based on responses submitted to the Commission consultation
on the revision of the energy labeling directive and the associated consultation document,
legislative proposal (COM (2008) 778), and final legislative act (Directive 2010/30/EU).
 The Decision-Making Stage 197

costs of a product on the energy label. The environmental lobby supported

the Commission’s proposition to display the runnings costs. What is more,
the environmental NGOs even went beyond the Commission’s initiative by
advocating for indicating the costs over an average product lifetime. It was
argued that this information would enable consumers to quickly assess the
average life-cycle costs. To estimate the costs, it was suggested to use average
electricity prices. By contrast, the industry groups strongly opposed this idea.
For instance, Bosch argued that it would be impossible to estimate average
costs as these would depend on user habits and the climatic conditions.
CECED furthermore stated that adding the running costs on the energy label
would be impractical due to price differences of electricity providers within
and across member states. Indicating the average costs would moreover be
counterproductive since the pay-back time of higher investments would be
longer than the expected energy savings during the use phase for the most
energy efficient products.
After the public consultation, the European Commission adopted its
proposal in November 2008 and in May 2010, the Council and the EP finally
approved the directive. The industry groups were successful in lobbying the
European institutions as neither the proposal nor the final directive includes
any mention of indicating the running costs on the energy label. In this
particular policy debate, business interests succeeded as they are economically
powerful and control investments and jobs all over Europe. Even though
environmental groups were supported by a few professional organizations, the
industry coalition brought 83 percent of all the economic power of mobilized
stakeholders in this debate to the table. At the same time, the levels of
information supply and citizen support across the two lobbying coalitions
were more or less equal since the industry coalition was partly supported by
consumer groups. Accordingly, the crucial difference between the two lobbying
coalitions was the supremacy of the industry coalition in terms of economic
power. The debate about the revision of the energy labeling directive therefore
constitutes a typical example of the power of business over citizen groups.
In conclusion, relative economic power of lobbying coalitions also has
a positive effect on interest group influence during the decision-making
stage. Hypothesis 3 has therefore not only been confirmed for lobbying
during the policy formulation, but also for interest group lobbying during
the decision-making stage. The size of the effect of economic power is,
however, smaller than during the policy formulation stage suggesting that the
Council and the European Parliament are less responsive to demands raised
by powerful economic leaders than the European Commission. Moreover,
during the decision-making stage citizen support and economic power are
by and large equally important for lobbying success. By contrast, information
supply still matters, but the size of the effect is considerably smaller than the
magnitude of the effects of citizen support and economic power.
198 Lobbying in the European Union

7.5 COLLECTIVE ACHIEVEMENT OR FREE-RIDING?

In the previous sections, it has been demonstrated that information supply,

citizen support, and economic power of lobbying coalitions have a positive
effect on the ability of interest groups to influence decision-making in the
European Union. However, as argued in section 6.5, the aggregate analysis
of lobbying coalitions alone does not tell us anything about how these effects
come about. It has been suggested that there are two different explanations for
lobbying coalition effects (see figure 6.5): First, it might be the case that one or
just a few very powerful groups are responsible for the policy outcome while
other coalition members were just lucky to have the same policy goal. Weak
groups could therefore just free-ride on the pressure exerted by strong groups.
Second, the positive coalition effects could also indicate that all coalition
members simultaneously contribute to the attainment of the common policy
objective.
In order to find out which of these explanations accounts for the coalition
effects, the following observable implications have been developed (see section
6.5). If free-riding were really at play, one would find a systematic effect
of information supply, citizen support, and economic power of individual
groups if the strongest interest groups were analyzed separately because weak
groups would no longer cancel out the effects. However, if one could not
find any systematic relationship between individual information supply, citizen
support, and economic power, one can conclude that coalition effects are not
caused by the lobbying of a just a handful of powerful groups while others just
free-ride on their success.
Table 7.7 presents descriptive information about the 15 percent strongest
interest groups with regard to information supply, citizen support, and
economic power. Out of the 648 strongest interest groups during the
decision-making stage, only 53.40 percent were able to influence the final
legislative act while also 47.34 percent of the weaker interest groups had an
impact on the policy outcome. Accordingly, the Pearson correlation coefficient
measuring the association between interest group influence and strength of
individual interest groups also only amounts to 0.058. The descriptive statistics

Table 7.7 Lobbying success of the 15% strongest

groups in the decision-making stage
Successful interest groups Not successful interest groups

53.40% (Strongest groups) 46.60% (Strongest groups)

47.34% (Other groups) 52.66% (Other groups)

Pearson’s r: 0.058, p ≤ 0.05, N = 1,793

 The Decision-Making Stage 199
Table 7.8 Multilevel logistic regression testing the free-riding hypothesis
for the decision-making stage
Variables Information Citizen support Economic power

Relative information supply 0.983

(0.048)
Relative citizen support 0.995
(0.011)
Relative economic power 0.982
(0.013)

Random effects
Issue level variance 5.054 4.469 0.446

Model fit
N / Issues 316 / 42 356 / 40 94 / 42
Log likelihood −171 −178 −63
AIC 348 361 133
BIC 359 373 140
LR Test, Prob > Chi2 0.717 0.634 0.157
Pearson’s r −0.075 −0.120 −0.166

***p ≤ 0.01,**p ≤ 0.05,*p ≤ 0.10, coefficients represent odds ratios, standard errors
in parentheses

therefore do not provide any empirical support for the free-riding hypothesis
as the strength of strong individual interest groups is not positively correlated
with influence on policy-making.
In order find out whether free-riding can account for the detected coalition
effects during the decision-making stage, I estimated multilevel logistic
regression models solely based on the 15 percent strongest groups explaining
interest group influence with individual information supply, citizen support,
and economic power (see table 7.8). In line with the findings for the policy
formulation stage, the multilevel analyses do not provide any empirical
support for the free-riding hypothesis. Individual information supply, citizen
support, and economic power do not have a statistically significant positive
effect on interest group influence during the decision-making stage. What
is more, the correlation coefficients indicated in the last row of table 7.8 do
not even indicate a positive association between the amount of exchange
goods of the strongest interest groups and their lobbying success. These
analyses were repeated for different thresholds of strength and the results are
robust across the different specifications. Hence, coalition effects during the
decision-making stage cannot be explained by free-riding on a handful of very
strong groups.
200 Lobbying in the European Union

7.6 CONCLUSION

This chapter has demonstrated that the same factors that account for lobbying
success during the policy formulation stage, also explain interest group
influence in the decision-making stage. Lobbying in the European Union is an
exchange relationship in which the European institutions trade influence for
information, citizen support, and economic power provided by entire lobbying
coalitions. While individual interest group characteristics do not have an effect
on lobbying success, the aggregated information supply, citizen support, and
economic power of issue-specific lobbying coalitions are decisive for interest
group influence. This chapter has moreover corroborated the finding of the
previous chapter that lobbying coalitions are not dominated by a few powerful
groups while others just free-ride. What seems to matter are the collective
efforts of all coalition members. In contrast to the policy formulation stage,
this chapter has moreover shown that member state support is a crucial
determinant of interest group influence during the decision-making stage. The
likelihood that interest groups succeed in shifting the policy outcome towards
their ideal points increases with the number of member states supporting their
objective.
In line with the findings for the policy formulation stage, the analysis
presented in this chapter indicates that the exchange goods are not equally
important. Table 7.9 compares the effects of information supply, citizen
support, and economic power during the policy formulation and the
decision-making stage drawing on first differences (Mroz and Zayats 2008,
see also page 130). It is indicated how the probability to influence policy
formulation and decision-making changes when information supply, citizen
support, and economic power change from their minimum (0) to their
maximum (100) value. The effect of information supply is much smaller
than the effects of citizen support and economic power. This finding suggests
that even though information is demanded by the European institutions,

Table 7.9 Comparison of effect sizes at both stages

Change in supply of exchange Change: Influence probability 95% Confidence interval
good: 0–100%

Policy formulation
Information supply 0.555 0.451 0.643
Citizen support 0.797 0.716 0.864
Economic power 0.796 0.670 0.876
Decision-making
Information supply 0.195 0.027 0.359
Citizen support 0.355 0.158 0.538
Economic power 0.315 0.021 0.555
 The Decision-Making Stage 201

interest groups are most importantly a source for the support of citizens and
economically powerful actors. At the same time, there is no indication of a bias
between different organized interests. Both citizen and economic interests have
similar chances to influence decision-making in the European Union.
Finally, the empirical analysis demonstrated that the overall size of the
effects varies across the two stages. The effects of relative information supply,
citizen support, and economic power of lobbying coalitions on interest group
influence are considerably larger during the policy formulation than during the
decision-making stage. Interest groups are therefore well-advised to engage in
lobbying activities as early as possible in order to have an impact on policy
outcomes. It is much more difficult to shape the final policy outcome once a
formal policy proposal is already on the table. As long as no policy proposal is
formally adopted, interest groups can much more easily affect the content and
the design of the legislative initiative.
 8

Conclusion and Implications: Interest

Groups, European Politics, and Democracy

Interest group influence is a central theme in the study of politics. The

question of who wins and who loses is a recurring puzzle that has preoccupied
generations of political scientists. A major objective of interest groups is to
influence the political decision-making process in order to achieve a policy
outcome that is close to their ideal points. The increasing number of interest
groups that lobby legislators throughout the developed world is an indication
of the extensive interest group pressure on legislators. It is therefore crucial to
take into account interest group lobbying in order to understand the policy
process and the decisions taken by politicians. The European Union provides
a particularly promising opportunity structure to interest groups due to its
multiple access points and its general openness towards interest groups which
is driven by the desire to enhance the legitimacy of the European Union. Even
though interest groups can easily gain access to the European institutions, not
all interest groups can translate their access into influence. Despite the central
importance of interest group influence for our understanding of the policy
process and the democratic legitimacy of a political system, only few have
studied it. As a result, it was unclear what made an interest group a winner or a
loser. This book has therefore attempted to provide an answer to the question of
why some interest groups are able to influence policy-making in the European
Union while others are not.
Studying interest group influence is, however, not only of interest to the
community of interest group researchers. Identifying the determinants of
lobbying success is not only of intrinsic value, but it has major implications for
our understanding of a political system. More specifically, analyzing interest
group influence is crucial for two ongoing debates as pointed out in the
introductory chapter. The first debate concerns the explanation of policy
outcomes in the European Union. Legislative politics scholars have devoted
considerable attention to explaining policy outcomes in the European Union
(e.g. Tsebelis and Garrett 2000; Thomson et al. 2006; Schneider, Finke, and
Bailer 2010; Thomson 2011). However, these studies have so far concentrated
 Conclusion and Implications 203

on the European Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament in

order to explain why specific policies have been adopted. They have largely
treated the European institutions as black boxes without any attention to
their internal configuration and the processes of preference formation (for
an exception, see Schneider, Finke, and Baltz 2007). Even though interest
groups extensively lobby the European Commission, the Council, and the
European Parliament, interest group pressure has largely been ignored in
legislative politics research. Studying interest group influence can therefore
shed light on the question of how policy outcomes in the European Union
can be explained. What is even more important, the findings of this book
also have major implications for the debate on the democratic legitimacy of
the European Union. The European institutions have attempted to use interest
group inclusion as a means to compensate for the democratic deficit often
attributed to the European Union. However, interest group participation can
only enhance the democratic legitimacy of a political system if public policy is
not systematically biased in favor of some powerful interests while others are
constantly losing. Analyzing interest group influence can therefore contribute
to the assessment of the democratic potential of interest group participation in
European policy-making.
In this concluding chapter I therefore first illustrate the contribution of
this book to interest group research. In the light of the empirical findings,
I then highlight the broader implications of this book for the study of policy
outcomes and the debate on the democratic legitimacy of the European Union.
Afterwards, I discuss what this book tell us about lobbying in other political
systems before finally laying out open questions and directions for further
research.

8.1 LESSONS FOR THE STUDY OF INTEREST

GROUPS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

This book provides three major contributions to the literature on interest

groups. First, I have presented a coherent theoretical model that explains why
some interest groups win and others lose by conceptualizing lobbying as an
exchange between interdependent actors in which the European institutions
trade influence for information, citizen support, and economic power provided
by issue-specific coalitions of interest groups. Second, I have developed a new
approach to measure interest group influence which allows one to overcome
operationalization difficulties that have long plagued the study of interest
group influence. Third, using this new measurement approach, I have tested
my theoretical expectations across a wide variety of policy issues and interest
204 Lobbying in the European Union

groups which allows me to draw general conclusions about the determinants

of interest group influence in the European Union. I explain the theoretical,
methodological, and empirical contribution of this book and how it advances
the current state of the literature on interest group politics in further detail
below.

8.1.1 Theoretical, methodological, and empirical contribution

First, this book has presented a coherent theoretical model that combines
explanatory variables on different levels of analysis to arrive at a better
understanding of why some interest groups win and others lose. At the heart of
the argument presented in this book is the notion that lobbying is an exchange
between interdependent actors in which the supply of goods demanded by the
European institutions determines the ability of interest groups to influence
policy-making. Based on theoretical assumptions about the objectives of
interest groups and the European institutions and by taking into account
the institutional context in which they interact, I have derived propositions
about the goods that are exchanged between interest groups and European
institutions. I have theorized that interest groups demand influence from the
European institutions whereas the European Commission, the Council, and
the European Parliament request policy-relevant information, citizen support,
and economic power from interest groups. I have furthermore argued that
it is not sufficient to conceptualize lobbying as an individual endeavor, but
that the contextual nature of lobbying has to be taken into account in order
to arrive at a better understanding of lobbying success. Lobbying has to be
conceptualized as a collective enterprise in which a multitude of interest
groups is simultaneously lobbying the European institutions concerning a
specific policy debate. It is therefore essential to analyze the issue-specific
alignment of interest groups in the policy space to identify coalitions of interest
groups which pursue the same policy objective. In order to understand why
some interest groups succeed in their lobbying activities while others fail, I
have therefore suggested that the exchange of goods has to be analyzed on the
lobbying coalition, rather than on the individual interest group level. I have
accordingly hypothesized that the aggregated information supply, citizen
support, and economic power of lobbying coalitions determines the ability of
interest groups to influence European policy-making. Finally, I have theorized
that the intensity of the exchange relationship is affected by the issue context in
which interest groups compete for influence. More precisely, I have suggested
that the effect of information supply varies with issue complexity as the
decision-makers’ need for external information increases with the complexity
of a policy issue.
 Conclusion and Implications 205

Second, I have developed and tested a new measurement approach to

interest group influence which allows interest group scholars to overcome
the problem of operationalizing influence which has long prevented interest
group researchers from studying interest group influence on policy-making.
Drawing on recent developments in political methodology, I have used
quantitative text analysis to extract policy preferences of interest groups
from their submissions in public consultations launched by the European
Commission. Based on a preliminary draft proposal setting out directions
for a legislative framework, interest groups can submit comments for an
eight-week consultation period before the European Commission adopts its
final legislative proposal. The Commission consultations therefore provide a
rich new data source for the measurement of interest group preferences which
can be compared to the policy output at different stages of the legislative
process in order to draw conclusions about the winners and the losers of the
policy-making process. Chapter 3 has thoroughly tested this new measurement
approach in a case study of one particular policy issue. The results of the case
study are promising and text analysis proves to be a powerful tool to measure
interest groups’ policy positions, paving the way for the large-scale analysis of
interest group influence carried out in this book.
Finally, by drawing on this new approach to influence measurement, I have
been able to test my theoretical model across 56 policy issues and 2,696 interest
groups. The sample of policy issues and interest groups covers a large number
of policy areas and a wide variety of interest group types and therefore goes
beyond the usual focus on one or just a few policy issues and a specific interest
group type that characterizes previous studies. I enriched this large new dataset
by gathering data on information supply, citizen support, and economic power
of lobbying coalitions and by collecting data on several control variables on the
interest group and issue level. The independent variables have been measured
by a combination of several data sources, more specifically, by coding interest
groups’ websites, by a survey of all interest groups which participated in
the consultations, and by information retrieved from the European Union
databases PreLex and EurLex. This book therefore presents a unique empirical
analysis of interest group influence on European policy-making which allows
for drawing general conclusions about the determinants of interest group
influence in the European Union.

8.1.2 Lobbying as an exchange relationship

The findings of the analysis carried out in this book largely confirm the
hypotheses derived from the theoretical model. Information supply, citizen
support, and economic power of lobbying coalitions have a positive effect
on the ability of interest groups to exert influence during the policy
206 Lobbying in the European Union

formulation and the decision-making stage of the European legislative process.

It can therefore be concluded that lobbying can indeed be conceptualized
as an exchange relationship between interdependent actors. The European
institutions trade influence for information, citizen support, and economic
power. Thus, the key to lobbying success is providing the European institutions
with these three goods. Variation in influence can therefore be explained by
the amount of information, citizen support, and economic power that interest
groups provide to the European Commission, the Council, and the European
Parliament.
Information supply is important for two reasons. First, the European
institutions require technical expertise in order to produce legislation that
constitutes a technically appropriate solution to a given policy problem. In
addition, they need information about the policy positions of affected societal
interests in order to avoid opposition by major stakeholders. Moreover, the
EU institutions’ demand for citizen support and economic power is driven by
the reelection objective of Members of the European Parliament and national
governments in the Council. Interest groups that can help MEPs and national
governments to get reelected are welcome interlocutors and their demands are
thoroughly taken into account by the European Parliament and the Council.
The European Commission is well aware of the electoral dependence of MEPs
and national governments on interest groups with a high degree of citizen
support and economic power, and therefore strategically rallies their support in
order to gain the consent of the Council and the EP for its legislative proposals.
The importance of interest groups for the reelection of decision-makers
depends on the number of citizens they represent and the number of
economically powerful actors that interest groups assemble. The higher the
number of citizens an interest group represents, the larger the number of
voters it can mobilize for an election. In order to avoid electoral punishment
for not adhering to their demands, the European institutions are therefore
particularly attentive to the preferences of interest groups with a high degree
of citizen support. As vote choice of citizens is strongly influenced by the
overall state of the economy, the European institutions furthermore attempt
to satisfy the demands of economically powerful actors since their investment
and employment decisions largely affect economic performance and ultimately
vote choice.
Whereas information supply, citizen support, and economic power all have
a statistically significant positive effect on interest group influence, the effect of
information supply is smaller than the effect of citizen support and economic
power at both stages of the legislative process. Thus, while all three exchange
goods are important for lobbying success, citizen support and economic power
seem to be even more valuable to the European institutions than information
supply. This indicates that the European institutions are more responsive to
demands raised by interest groups which can have an effect on the reelection
 Conclusion and Implications 207

chances of national governments and MEPs than to interest groups which

mainly rely on providing technical expertise. At the same time, the finding that
citizen support and economic power have more or less equally strong effects
on interest group influence signals that policy-making in the European Union
is not biased in favor of economic interests. EU politics is not dominated by big
business; citizen support is an equally important asset in the lobbying game.

8.1.3 Lobbying as a collective enterprise

I have moreover demonstrated that lobbying is a collective enterprise. Looking

solely at the properties of individual interest groups disregards the fact that
decision-makers are confronted with a plurality of interest groups that want to
influence the outcome of a legislative debate. Policy issues raise the attention
of numerous interest groups which are simultaneously lobbying the European
Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament. It is therefore crucial
to examine how interest groups align in the issue-specific policy space. Interest
groups that pursue the same policy objective pull the European institutions in
the same direction and can therefore be considered as a lobbying coalition.
In order to fully understand interest group influence on European
policy-making, it is therefore necessary to take into account the aggregated
information supply, citizen support, and economic power of these issue-
specific lobbying coalitions rather than solely focusing on individual interest
group characteristics. If an interest group supplies a considerable amount
of information, represents a large number of citizens, and provides a high
degree of economic power, but belongs to a lobbying coalition which only
provides a small amount of these goods relative to its opposing coalition,
the interest group has a very low chance to influence the decision-making
process. By contrast, an interest group which only provides a medium amount
of information, represents a medium number of citizens, and disposes of
a medium degree of economic power can still have a good chance to be
influential if it works together with other interest groups in a strong lobbying
coalition that supplies more of these goods to the European institutions than
its opposing coalition. Thus, the higher the relative information supply, citizen
support, and economic power of a lobbying coalition as compared to the
opposing lobbying team on a given policy issue, the higher the chance of its
member interest groups to influence policy-making in the European Union.
I have furthermore demonstrated that the positive lobbying coalition
effects are not due to the properties of a few powerful interest groups while
other groups are just free-riding on their impact. There is no systematic
pattern that links the characteristics of the most powerful individual interest
groups with lobbying success. What seems to matter is therefore the sum
of the characteristics of all coalition members rather than the individual
208 Lobbying in the European Union

properties of a few powerful interest groups. Accordingly, the empirical

analysis does not provide any evidence that characteristics of individual
interest groups can explain what makes an interest group a winner or a
loser. Information supply, citizen support, and economic power of individual
interest groups do not have a systematic effect on the ability of interest
groups to influence European policy-making. Interest groups which provide
a lot of information, citizen support, and economic power therefore do not
automatically have a high chance to influence policy-making. They have to
form a lobbying coalition with other powerful interest groups that provides
a lot of information, citizen support, and economic power to the European
institutions on the aggregate level. Hence, the same interest group can have
a high chance to influence policy-making on one issue whereas its chances
are very low on another issue depending on the aggregate characteristics of
its issue-specific lobbying coalitions. In addition, interest group influence does
also not vary systematically across interest group type as often argued in the
literature (Schneider and Baltz 2003; Dür and De Bièvre 2007a). European
policy-making is not systematically biased in favor of concentrated interests
while diffuse interests are largely overruled. None of the individual interest
group characteristics shows a systematic effect on the ability of interest groups
to influence policy-making in the European Union across the large variety of
policy issues analyzed in this book. Hence, interest group influence cannot be
explained by merely looking at individual interest group properties.
In order to understand the nature of interest groups in the lobbying
process, we need to change the way we think and talk about interest groups.
Interest groups are not dangerous when encountered alone, but they generally
travel in packs. Journalists usually report about individual interest groups
and their impact on the policy process. As this book has shown, however,
it is not sufficient to simply look at individual interest groups. A single
corporation or advocacy group is not important, what matters are entire
lobbying coalitions that collectively pressure decision-makers. The finding that
individual interest groups are not decisive, but that issue-specific coalitions
are the crucial players in the lobbying game has important implications for
the effectiveness of lobbying regulations. Several countries have made efforts
to regulate interest group lobbying. For instance, interest groups lobbying
Members of Parliament in Germany have to register at the German Bundestag.
Similarly, all lobbyists that enter the European Parliament need to be included
in the European Parliament’s accreditation registry. However, most of these
registries only contain information about individual interest groups such as
their organizational characteristics and the policy area they are working on.
In the light of the findings of this book, these registers are not sufficient to
monitor the lobbying process. What is needed are issue-specific registrations
in which interest groups not only declare their resources and their lobbying
expenses, but in which they indicate on which concrete issues they lobbied
 Conclusion and Implications 209

decision-makers and most importantly, which policy goals they pursued in

these debates. Such a register would allow for assessing the strength of lobbying
coalitions and to relate their activities to policy outcomes.

8.1.4 The contextual nature of lobbying

The importance of lobbying coalitions leads to another point: Most interest

group scholars either analyzed one or just a few policy issues (e.g. Dür and
De Bièvre 2007a; Michalowitz 2007; Woll 2007) or they investigated lobbying
on the aggregate level without any attention to issue-specific differences
(e.g. Bouwen 2004a; Eising 2007b). As this book has shown, however, the
issue context plays a very important role for interest group influence. First
of all, lobbying coalitions are issue-specific. Even though there might be
formal and permanent networks among interest groups, it is important how
interest groups align with others on a given policy issue. What counts are the
aggregated characteristics of all interest groups which fight for the same policy
objective, no matter whether they formally cooperate or not. As long as they
have the same policy goal, they push the decision-makers in the same direction
and one therefore has to take into account their aggregated characteristics.
Second, this book has furthermore demonstrated that the intensity of the
exchange relationship between the European institutions and interest groups
is considerably affected by the complexity of policy issues. The positive effect
of information supply by lobbying coalitions varies with issue complexity.
The higher the complexity of policy proposals, the stronger the effect of
information supply as the information needs of the European institutions
increase with the complexity of policy issues. Hence, lobbying coalitions
which provide a lot of information to the European institutions should find it
particularly easy to influence the decision-making process if a highly complex
policy issue is debated. It is accordingly necessary to take into account the
contextual nature of lobbying in order to understand variation in interest group
influence.
With regard to the other policy issue characteristics incorporated as control
variables in this study, the empirical analysis has not provided any empirical
support for a systematic effect on lobbying success. Contrary to previous
literature that suggests that lobbying success varies with issue-specific factors
such as salience and conflict (Mahoney 2007a, 2008; Baumgartner et al.
2009), the empirical analysis presented in this book could not confirm these
hypotheses. It is somewhat surprising that none of these factors displays
any systematic effect. For instance, it is highly plausible that interest group
influence should be particularly difficult if a policy debate is characterized
by a high degree of conflict. If interest groups have strongly opposing views
on what legislation should be adopted, decision-makers should find it very
210 Lobbying in the European Union

hard to just listen to one side. Similarly, if decisions in the Council have to
be taken unanimously, it should be much more difficult for interest groups
to influence the final legislative act as every single member state government
has to approve a policy proposal. Given the plausibility of the explanatory
approaches associated with the issue context, the empirical analysis presented
here should be seen as a first starting point for the large-scale analysis of
the effect of issue-level factors on interest group influence. Future research
should further develop the theoretical arguments underlying the different
issue-specific variables by for instance specifying cross-level interactions that
might be at play and analyzing their effect on an even larger set of issues.

8.1.5 Lobbying and the policy-making cycle

Finally, this book has demonstrated that the ability of interest groups to
influence European policy-making varies across different stages of the
legislative process. The empirical analysis indicated that the effects of
relative information supply, citizen support, and economic power of lobbying
coalitions on interest group influence are considerably larger during the policy
formulation than during the decision-making stage. Influencing policy-
making is therefore most promising during the early stages of the
policy-making process as no formal document has been adopted yet and
changes to the legislative initiative can therefore be achieved much more easily.
Interest groups that want to influence a policy debate in the European Union
are therefore well-advised to start their lobbying activities as early as possible
since changes to the legislative framework are more difficult to achieve once a
formal policy proposal is already on the table. In order to assess the impact of
interest group pressure on European policy-making, future research therefore
needs to take into account that the ability to influence political decisions is also
affected by the stage of the legislative process.

8.2 POLICY OUTCOMES IN THE EUROPEAN UNION:

THE ROLE OF INTEREST GROUPS

This book provides important insights for the legislative politics literature that
aims at explaining policy outcomes in the European Union. Legislative politics
scholars have largely focused on the interaction between the Council, the
European Parliament, and the European Commission in order to explain the
emergence of policy outcomes in the European Union. Based on assumptions
about the preferences of the three major institutions and taking into account
 Conclusion and Implications 211

the institutional procedures, these scholars make predictions about expected

policy outcomes (e.g. Tsebelis 1994; Garrett and Tsebelis 1996; Tsebelis and
Garrett 2000; Thomson et al. 2006; Thomson 2011). Early works have assumed
a stable and uniform preference configuration that centers around a “degree
of integration” dimension irrespective of the substance of the policy issue
(e.g. Garrett and Tsebelis 1996; Tsebelis and Garrett 2000). Whereas such a
broad distinction might be useful for the study of intergovernmental treaty
bargaining, it is not meaningful when it comes to the day-to-day politics in the
European Union (see also Rittberger 2000; Hörl, Warntjen, and Wonka 2005).
It is not very plausible to believe that the configuration of policy preferences
of the Council, the European Parliament, and the European Commission is
stable across a diverse range of policy fields such as environmental policy, trade
policy, or regional policy.
More recent studies have therefore started to empirically measure policy
preferences of the three institutions on specific policy issues to arrive at a better
understanding of the policy process at the European level (e.g. Thomson et al.
2006). However, even if policy preferences are allowed to vary across policy
issues and are measured for each issue under consideration, we still do not
have any knowledge about how these preferences actually come about. The
European institutions are embedded in a complex environment with which
they have to interact. They are politically dependent on other actors such as
voters in the case of the Council and the EP, or member state governments
in the case of the European Commission. Thus, even though they might
have clear interests, they cannot single-handedly translate their interests into
policy positions without taking into account their environmental constraints.
In addition, the European Commission, the Council, and the European
Parliament are by no means unitary actors. They are complex collective
actors that are characterized by a high degree of vertical and functional
differentiation. If we want to understand why a specific policy has emerged,
it is necessary to find out what factors shape the preference formation of the
European institutions and how internal decision-making can be explained.
As Hörl, Warntjen, and Wonka (2005, 592) rightly stated, “future research
needs to study mechanisms of preference formation and decision-making, i.e.
aggregation of preferences, within EU legislative bodies.”
The increasing number of interest groups that lobby political decision-
makers on the European level can be taken as an indicator for the extensive
interest group pressure that the European institutions are facing (Greenwood
2007b, 12; Wonka et al. 2010). Accordingly, Moravcsik (1993, 1998) argues that
member state governments in the Council function as a transmission belt for
societal interests. National governments do not pursue their own individual
interests, but the preferences that they represent on the supranational level
are determined through a process of national preference formation in which
interest groups engage in a pluralist competition at the domestic level. The
212 Lobbying in the European Union

governments are considered to be agents of the dominant societal interests that

prevail in the competition among national interest groups. Hence, according
to Moravcsik (1993, 1998) preference formation within the Council of the
European Union can be explained by the dependence of national governments
on domestic interest groups.
Similarly, Stone Sweet and Sandholtz (1997) and Sandholtz and Stone Sweet
(1998) argue that interest groups also have a considerable impact on the
policy preferences and the behavior of the European Commission and the
European Parliament. Due to costs emanating from cross-border activities,
societal actors demand further integration from legislators. In order to achieve
their objective, they not only lobby their own governments, but also engage
in extensive exchanges with the European Commission and the European
Parliament. While the grand European integration theories have clearly
attributed a significant role to interest groups, systematic evidence on their
impact on the decisions taken by the European institutions is scarce.
This book therefore contributes to our knowledge of preference formation
within the European institutions by providing a thorough analysis of the
exchange between interest groups and the European institutions and by
specifying conditions under which interest groups are able to have an effect
on the decision-making process. I have demonstrated that interest groups are
actively seeking to influence European policy-making and that they engage in
an exchange relationship with the European Commission, the Council, and
the European Parliament. However, not all interest groups are equally able to
influence preference formation within the European institutions. They need
to provide the goods that are demanded by the European Commission, the
Council, and the European Parliament in order to be able to have an impact
on the decisions that they take.
All three institutions require policy-relevant information and interest
groups which can provide this information are in a good position to
shape the policy preferences expressed by the European institutions. In
addition, national governments in the Council and Members of the European
Parliament are dependent on voters in order to stay in office while the
European Commission requires the approval of the Council and the European
Parliament to successfully bring a new legislative initiative on its way. Member
state governments and MEPs are therefore also attentive to the demands raised
by interest groups that represent a large number of voters. Similarly, they also
seek the support of interest groups that represent major economic players since
their behavior crucially affects the overall economic performance which has
a considerable impact on the electoral success of national governments and
MEPs. The European Commission in turn can exploit the electoral dependence
of MEPs and national governments. In order to make sure that the Council and
the European Parliament approve a new legislative initiative, it can strategically
rally the support of interest groups that enjoy the support of a large number
 Conclusion and Implications 213

of citizens and powerful economic actors. Thus, the European institutions

and interest groups are interdependent actors who stand in an exchange
relationship with each other. Whereas interest groups seek influence, the
European institutions demand policy-relevant information, citizen support,
and economic power from interest groups. By providing these goods, interest
groups are able to influence the policy positions that the European institutions
adopt concerning a specific policy initiative and to therefore shape the outcome
of a legislative debate.
Hence, in order to understand the emergence of policy outcomes, one
cannot solely look at the policy preferences of the three major institutions.
To fully comprehend why a specific policy has been adopted, it is necessary
to investigate how the policy preferences of the European Commission, the
Council, and the European Parliament have been formed. Interest groups
play an important role for the preference formation of political institutions
as has been shown in the thorough analysis of interest group influence
during the policy formulation and the decision-making stage of the European
legislative process. Ignoring interest group pressure therefore constitutes an
oversimplification of the policy-making process in the European Union. Future
research therefore needs to systematically take into account interest group
pressure when trying to explain the emergence of policy outcomes in the
European Union.

8.3 INTEREST GROUPS AND DEMO CRACY

IN THE EUROPEAN UNION

This book furthermore has important implications for the debate on the
democratic legitimacy of the European Union. European integration has
changed the role of the state dramatically. The deepening of the Single
European Market, the establishment of the Economic and Monetary Union,
and the increasing transfer of competences to the European Union has led to an
internationalization of policy-making. More and more political decisions are
taken not at the national but rather the European level. The authority of making
legally binding decisions has partly been shifted away from democratically
elected national parliaments to supranational institutions which have been
severely criticized for a lack of democratic legitimacy and accountability (see
e.g. Weiler, Haltern, and Mayer 1995; Bartolini 2005; Follesdal and Hix 2006).
Due to the constant criticism of the democratic deficit, the European
institutions have recently started to consider interest group inclusion as a
means to compensate for the representational deficit (see e.g. Kohler-Koch
2007; Saurugger 2010). Since the beginning of the 1990s, the Commission has
214 Lobbying in the European Union

therefore engaged in participatory engineering by taking various initiatives

to increase the participation of interest groups such as the White Paper on
European Governance or the Transparency Initiative (Kohler-Koch and Finke
2007). At the same time, democratic theory has debated the democratic
potential of interest groups in bridging the gap between citizens and
decision-makers (Finke 2007; Kohler-Koch and Finke 2007; Saurugger 2008).
Under the heading of “associative democracy” these approaches have argued
for a greater inclusion of interest groups in public policy-making since interest
groups can simultaneously improve the efficiency of policy-making and assure
citizen participation (Hirst 1994; Cohen and Rogers 1995; Schmalz-Bruns
1995).
There are consequently two dimensions to democratic legitimacy that
scholars usually distinguish when analyzing the contribution of interest
groups to the democratic quality of the European Union: input legitimacy
and output legitimacy (Scharpf 1970; Rittberger 2003; Finke 2007). Scholars
investigating the democratic potential from the input legitimacy perspective
explore the ability of interest groups to ensure citizen participation in European
policy-making. By contrast, scholars investigating the democratic potential of
interest group inclusion from the output legitimacy perspective examine the
contribution of interest groups to effective governance and problem-solving. In
order to assess whether interest groups can enhance the input legitimacy of the
European Union, it is important to look at the representation of interest groups
at the European level and at the distribution of influence among different
interest groups (Finke 2007, 9). In order to assess the contribution of interest
groups to the output legitimacy of the European Union, it is necessary to
discuss how interest groups can enhance the problem-solving capacity of the
European institutions (Finke 2007, 4).
The Commission initiatives have provided open access to all sorts of
interest groups, but having equal access in principle does not mean equal
representation or equal influence (Kohler-Koch and Finke 2007, 216). In
terms of representation, Persson (2007) found for instance that business
interest groups are considerably better represented than cause groups in the
consultation on the Commission proposal for a new European chemicals
policy. This finding has been confirmed by the empirical analysis of 56
Commission consultations presented in this book. Of all 2,696 interest groups
which participated in the 56 consultations, 66.50 percent were business
associations or individual companies (see table 5.3). By contrast, only 20.07
percent were cause groups and only 1.04 percent of all consultation participants
were trade unions. In terms of representation, it can therefore be concluded
that there is a strong bias in favor of business interests.
Even though European policy-making provides a multitude of access points
and the European institutions are actively seeking the input of interest groups,
not all interest groups are able to make use of these access points. The European
 Conclusion and Implications 215

polity constitutes a complex institutional environment which is characterized

by multiple levels of government, fragmentation of powers across different
institutions, and a high degree of vertical and functional differentiation.
This institutional environment creates a high amount of uncertainty since
it is difficult to oversee policy developments. Interest groups which seek to
participate in European policy-making must be able to effectively monitor the
policy-making process in order to quickly respond to new policy initiatives.
Thus, even though consultations are formally open to anyone interested in the
policy issues, not all interest groups are equally able to seize this opportunity.
Particularly business associations and companies have demonstrated that they
have the capacities to use the access points offered by the European institutions
whereas cause groups and trade unions find it very difficult to engage on the
European level. Thus, business interest groups are better represented since
they have the means that are necessary to exploit the access points offered
by the European institutions. What is more, as Olson (1965) has pointed out,
business interests find it rather easy to get organized in the first place as they
represent primary economic interests of a small, clearly circumscribed group
of actors. Diffuse interests by contrast find it very difficult to get organized,
which is a precondition for effective lobbying, since they represent mainly
secondary interests of a large, diffuse group of actors and therefore suffer from
the free-rider problem.
However, when assessing the role of interest groups for the input legitimacy
of the European Union, one cannot solely look at representation and access
of interest groups. One also has to pay attention to the actual influence that
represented interests can exert. Accordingly, Kohler-Koch and Finke (2007)
distinguish between a “principled conception” and a “functional conception”
that link participation to democracy. Whereas the “principled conception” is
based on equal chances of access and equal representation, the “functional
conception” of democracy is going further by requiring that citizens
can effectively participate in decision-making processes and that political
decisions are responsive to their demands (Kohler-Koch and Finke 2007,
214, 217). According to the “functional conception,” discussing representation
is not sufficient when assessing the democratic potential of interest group
participation. It could in theory be the case that a specific actor type is very
well represented, but that this actor type is hardly able to exert any influence.
For instance, even though business interests are very well represented in
consultations conducted by the European Commission, it does not mean that
they are necessarily more influential than trade unions which are only poorly
represented. So the question is how representation and access translate into
influence. More specifically, what determines interest group influence?
This book has found that three characteristics in particular determine the
ability of interest groups to exert influence: the provision of policy-relevant
information to the European institutions, the number of citizens represented
216 Lobbying in the European Union

by interest groups, and the degree of economic power, that is the ability to
control business investments and job creation. All three characteristics have
a systematic positive effect on interest group influence. While information
supply has a slightly smaller effect on interest group influence, citizen support
and economic power have a more or less equally strong effect on lobbying
success. This indicates that interest groups representing a large number of
citizens and business associations speaking for a large number of companies
are equally able to influence European policy-making. In addition, in order
to control for interest group type, the empirical analysis presented in this book
tested whether interest group influence systematically varies across companies,
sectional groups, and cause groups. The findings indicate that lobbying success
does not differ systematically across actor type so that European legislation is
not systematically biased in favor of concentrated interests. It can therefore be
concluded that influence is distributed fairly equally among different societal
interests. Business interests have a good chance to influence policy-making in
the European Union if they dispose of a high degree of economic power and
provide a lot of information to the European Commission, the Council, and
the European Parliament. Similarly, citizen associations also have a very good
chance to influence policy-making if they represent a large number of citizens
and supply policy-relevant information to the European institutions. Thus, one
cannot say that business is running the European Union. Certainly, business
associations have a good chance to shape policies, but only if they have a lot
of economic power and provide policy-relevant information to the European
institutions. The same is true for other organized interests: If they represent
a high number of citizens and provide a lot of information to the European
Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament, they also have a good
chance to shape the outcome of a legislative debate.
Thus, in terms of representation, there is a clear bias in favor of business
interests. They constitute by far the biggest group among the participants
in Commission consultations. However, in terms of influence, the empirical
evidence does not prove a systematic bias in favor of business interests. Even
though economic power plays an important role, so do citizen support and
information supply. If interest groups represent a large number of citizens,
they have a good chance to influence policy-making. In addition, if interest
groups provide a high amount of policy-relevant information to the European
institutions, their chance to shape the outcome of a policy debate is also
fairly high.
In conclusion, the results of the analysis carried out in this book lead
me to draw a fairly optimistic picture of interest group participation in
European policy-making. The positive effect of information supply indicates
that interest groups enhance the output legitimacy of European policy-making.
The European institutions do not simply produce policies in favor of specific
interests. They demand policy-relevant information in order to develop
 Conclusion and Implications 217

technically appropriate solutions to given policy problems. Interest groups

which supply such information to the European institutions have a fairly good
chance to influence the legislative debate. Thus, interest group participation
enhances the problem-solving capacity of European policy-making. The
positive effect of economic power and citizen support indicates that interest
group participation also enhances the input legitimacy of the European Union.
The European institutions do not systematically favor business over other
interests. Economic power surely plays a role, but not exclusively. Citizen
support is also an important asset that increases the chance of interest groups
to influence policy-making. Hence, in terms of input and output legitimacy,
interest group participation indeed seems to enhance the democratic quality
of the European Union.

8.4 IMPLICATIONS FOR INTEREST GROUP RESEARCH

BEYOND THE EUROPEAN UNION

Finally, what does this book tell us about lobbying in other political systems?
Some of the findings of this book are universal and apply to any political
system. Other findings, however, have to be interpreted by taking into
account the specific institutional design of the European Union (Hix 1994;
Risse-Kappen 1996; Hix 1998). The European Union provides a particularly
hard test case for some of the hypotheses while others are more likely to be
confirmed in the EU than in other political systems. In the following, I will
therefore discuss the implications of this book for the study of interest groups
more generally.
The finding that lobbying is a collective enterprise is not restricted to the
European Union. Policy issues usually raise the attention of more than just
a single interest group. Numerous interest groups mobilize simultaneously
and lobby decision-makers for their cause. The collective mobilization is a
general phenomenon that applies to any political system in which interest
groups engage in lobbying policy-makers. It is therefore universally important
to consider how interest groups position themselves in a policy debate. Interest
groups that fight for the same policy objective pull decision-makers in the same
direction and can therefore be considered as one lobbying coalition. In order
to better understand why some interest groups win and others lose, interest
group scholars in any political system therefore have to take into account
issue-specific lobbying coalitions.
In a similar vein, the major methodological contribution of this book
is also universally applicable. In order to measure interest group influence,
this book has introduced a new methodological approach that employs
218 Lobbying in the European Union

recently developed quantitative text analysis techniques to study legislative

consultations. The quantitative text analysis allows for extracting policy
preferences from interest group submissions to consultations held by the
Commission and to compare them to the location of the policy output
at different stages of the legislative process. I was therefore able to draw
conclusions about the winners and the losers of the political decision-making
process. This methodological approach can be applied in every political system
in which consultations are held before a legislative act is adopted by the
political institutions. For instance, the German Bundestag as well as the
German federal ministries regularly launch consultations in which interest
groups can express their views on a planned policy initiative. Open public
consultations on new legislative initiatives are for instance similarly organized
in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and Denmark. In addition, it would
also be possible to apply the measurement approach to position papers released
by interest groups on their websites without necessarily relying on a legislative
consultation. The measurement approach introduced in this book therefore
allows for studying interest group influence on a large empirical scale in a
variety of different political systems.
With regard to citizen support, it has to be noted that citizen attention to
EU politics is comparatively low. European Parliament elections have often
been described as “second order” elections which are generally viewed as
being of lesser importance since there is “less at stake” than in national
elections (Reif and Schmitt 1980; van der Eijk and Franklin 1996). While
national elections decide about the composition of the domestic governments,
European Parliament elections are neither related directly to the composition
of the European Commission nor do they affect membership in the Council.
As a result, public salience and turnout is considerably lower than in national
elections. Given the lack of direct electoral accountability of the European
Commission and the Council, it should be particularly difficult to find an
effect of citizen support on interest group influence. However, even despite
the weak electoral ties between citizens and the European institutions, the
empirical analysis presented in this book demonstrates that citizen support
has an important effect on lobbying success in the European Union. Since
the European Union is a particularly hard case for finding an effect of citizen
support, it can be expected that citizen support should have an even stronger
effect in other political systems in which political decision-makers are directly
accountable to voters.
While the European Union constitutes a least likely case for finding an effect
of citizen support, it constitutes a most likely case for the effect of information
supply. The powers of the European Union have been considerably increased
over the past decades. The European Union is responsible for a variety of
policy areas such as trade policy, agricultural policy, and environmental policy.
Despite its considerable decision-making powers and the high complexity of
policy-making, the resources of the European institutions are fairly limited.
 Conclusion and Implications 219

For instance, even though the European Commission is solely responsible for
drafting new legislative proposals, it is notoriously understaffed (McLaughlin,
Jordan, and Maloney 1993, 201; Marks and McAdam 1999, 105; Bouwen
2009, 20). Its staff resources are by and large comparable to those of a larger
city administration. Even though information should be a valuable good for
decision-makers in any political system as several scholars have pointed out
(e.g. Potters and van Winden 1990, 1992; Austen-Smith 1993; Lohmann 1995,
1998), the informational needs of the European institutions should on average
be higher than those of decision-makers in other institutional settings. For
instance, while governments in national political systems can rely on their
ministries to obtain necessary information, the European Commission largely
lacks institutional alternatives and therefore heavily relies on information
provided by interest groups. The effect of information supply should therefore
be stronger in the European Union than in other political systems.
Finally, with regard to economic power there is no clear reason to
believe that this effect should be systematically weaker or stronger in other
institutional settings. On the one hand, the policy competences of the
European Union largely revolve around the single market. As a result, one
might argue that the European institutions might have particularly strong ties
to the European institutions. Similarly, as discussed above, the European Union
is largely insulated from public scrutiny which should make it particularly
easy for business interests to push through their claims as their lobbying
activities might be largely unnoticed by the general public. On the other hand,
the European institutions actively support interest groups promoting diffuse
interests such as consumer or environmental protection to balance the input
of economic interests (Mahoney and Beckstrand 2011). As a result, there is
no reason to expect that the effect of economic power should be weaker or
stronger in the European Union than in any other political system.

8.5 FUTURE CHALLENGES

This book has analyzed interest group influence during the policy formulation
and the decision-making stage of the European legislative process. During the
policy formulation stage, the European Commission develops its legislative
proposal on which basis the Council, the European Parliament, and
the Commission negotiate the design of the final legislative act during
the decision-making stage. Even though the policy formulation and the
decision-making stage are crucial for the outcome of a legislative debate,
further research has to extend the analysis to other stages of the policy-making
process. More specifically, the analysis has to be extended to the agenda-setting
and implementation stage of the European policy-making process.
220 Lobbying in the European Union

The agenda-setting stage is crucial for any analysis of policy-making since

it is determined here what policy issues are subject to formal decision-making
at all. Since legislative attention is a limited good, decision-makers are forced
to select a small subset of policy issues from a potentially infinite number
of existing policy problems. The process of agenda-setting is therefore highly
political since various actors are trying to place policy issues of their interest
onto the legislative agenda while attempting to block the emergence of others.
The European Commission plays a central role for agenda-setting in the EU.
In the first pillar it enjoys the monopoly to formulate policy proposals so that it
serves as a gate-keeper for policy-making. Only issues that attract the attention
of the European Commission have the chance to be eventually translated into
concrete policies. While agenda-setting processes in other political systems
have received considerable attention (e.g. Cobb and Elder 1972; Kingdon 1984;
Baumgartner and Jones 1993), the emergence of policy issues on the legislative
agenda of the European Union has largely been neglected (for an exception, see
Princen 2009). Future research should therefore extend the analysis of interest
group pressure to the agenda-setting stage in order to study the first face of
power, that is the ability of interest groups to place policy issues of their interest
onto the legislative agenda (Bachrach and Baratz 1962).
While lobbying at later stages of the policy-making largely revolves around
pushing decision-makers in a specific direction on a given policy issue,
lobbying during the agenda-setting stage is more about raising the attention
to a specific policy issue. I would therefore expect that the role of lobbying
coalitions might be slightly different during the agenda-setting stage. Lobbying
coalitions are clearly defined throughout the legislative process as interest
group activities essentially boil down to directional lobbying. An issue is
already on the agenda and the goal during these stages of the policy-making
process is to achieve a policy outcome that is as close as possible to an interest
group’s ideal point. Hence, interest groups fighting for different policy goals
with regard to a specific policy initiative come together in opposing lobbying
coalitions. However, during the agenda-setting stage it is not about pushing
the legislative act in a specific direction, it is about placing an issue on the
legislative agenda in the first place. Interest groups might have opposing views
on the design of a certain policy initiative, but they might share similar levels of
attention to that issue. Hence, interest groups might agree that something has
to be done about a certain issue without having necessarily the same policy
objective. As a result, lobbying coalitions might play a different role during the
agenda-setting stage. Future research should therefore extend the analysis to
the agenda-setting stage to shed light on the role of lobbying coalitions for the
second face of power.
In addition, it might also be very fruitful to go beyond the actual legislative
debate which ends with the adoption of a legislative act. As compliance
research has shown, not all legislative acts that have been adopted on the
 Conclusion and Implications 221

European level are in fact implemented in member states (e.g. Börzel 2001;
Falkner et al. 2005; König and Luetgert 2009; Steunenberg and Kaeding 2009).
It is therefore plausible to expect that interest groups which did not manage to
influence the actual “making” of policies at the European level, try to block the
implementation of these policies at the national level. A full understanding
of interest group influence in a political system therefore requires that one
analyzes how interest groups are able to place a policy issue on the agenda,
how they can influence the elaboration of a policy proposal on this issue, how
they can affect the legislative decision on whether this policy proposal enters
into force, and finally how interest groups can influence the implementation of
this legislative act.
While this book has provided a thorough analysis of interest group influence
on European policy-making by theorizing about the demands of the European
Commission, the Council, and the European Parliament, internal institutional
differences have not been considered. For the sake of analytical parsimony,
I have conceptualized the European Commission as a unitary actor while I
theorized that all MEPs and all national governments are driven by the same
interests. I chose this approach in order to gain general insights into the
incentives of the European institutions to engage in an exchange relationship
with interest groups that allow the drawing of general conclusions concerning
the determinants of interest group influence on European policy-making.
Future research can build on these general insights, but might want to refine
the analysis by focusing on the specificities of each European institution. For
instance, it might be worthwhile to investigate whether particular DGs within
the European Commission are more attentive to interest group demands than
others. Moreover, it might be valuable to examine whether interest group
influence on MEPs varies with their party affiliation or their committee
membership. Finally, one could analyze whether interest group influence on
national governments varies with the partisan composition of governments
or the national origin of interest groups. Hence, while this book has
provided important general insights that help us to better understand interest
group influence on European policy-making, future research can extend
the analysis to a more fine-grained investigation of interest group influence
on specific European institutions that takes into account intra-institutional
variation.
Another point which is worth further investigation is the issue of framing.
Framing refers to the way a policy issue is understood and presented in a
policy debate. A policy issue can be discussed in a variety of terms and actors
can frame the debate in a particular direction by “selecting and highlighting
some features of reality while omitting others” (Entman 1993, 53). The way
a policy issue is framed can determine which interests mobilize, how many
actors mobilize, and which institutional actors deal with the policy issues.
Interest groups can therefore deliberately use a certain framing strategy to place
222 Lobbying in the European Union

an issue on the political agenda and to debate it in a way which favors their own
standpoint. Thus, successful framing can dramatically improve the chances of
interest groups to influence the political decision-making process in their favor.
Even though the importance of framing has long been known (e.g.
Schattschneider 1960; Riker 1996), interest group scholars have so far
not systematically analyzed framing strategies and their effect on interest
group influence. This shortcoming can largely be explained by difficulties
in operationalizing framing as it is methodologically challenging to identify
issue-specific rhetorics employed by interest groups in an effort to influence
policy outcomes. The measurement approach to interest group influence
developed in this book also points at new opportunities to study framing
processes empirically. I have demonstrated that quantitative text analysis can
be used to extract interest groups’ policy preferences from their submissions
to Commission consultations. In addition, recent advances in quantitative
text analysis offer promising tools for the study of framing processes (e.g.
Schonhardt-Bailey 2008; Quinn et al. 2010). Future research should therefore
make systematic use of quantitative text analysis and interest group documents
to analyze framing strategies and their impact on interest group influence.
Concerning the contribution of interest group participation to democratic
legitimacy, this study has provided important empirical evidence on the role of
interest groups for the input and output legitimacy of the European Union. In
terms of input legitimacy, I have demonstrated that interest group participation
is biased towards business interests, but that this representational bias does
not translate into an influence bias in favor of business groups. However, in
order to truly enhance the input legitimacy of European policy-making, it
is crucial how citizens participate in the internal decision-making processes
of interest groups (e.g. Saurugger 2008, 1285–1286). In order to bridge the
gap between citizens and the political system, interest groups must represent
the interests of their members. However, it is largely unknown how interest
groups arrive at their policy preferences. If decisions are largely taken by
interest group elites without consulting their individual members, interest
group inclusion in European policy-making can hardly be considered as a
remedy for the democratic deficit. Several authors have accordingly contended
that interest groups are not able to enhance citizen participation since their
internal decision-making processes are fairly undemocratic (e.g. Warleigh
2001; Maloney 2008). However, so far we have no systematic evidence about
the internal structure and the decision-making processes of European interest
groups. Future research should therefore systematically analyze the internal
decision-making and participation structure of interest groups in order to be
able to assess whether interest group participation can truly link individual
citizens to the policy-making process.
 APPENDIX 1

Association Questionnaire

In the following, the questionnaire for the survey among associations is presented.
I designed different questionnaires for associations and companies since they slightly
differ in terms of question wording and some questions apply either only to associations
or only to companies.
The questionnaire consists of two main parts. The first part contains questions
concerning the characteristics of the associations such as resources, organizational
structure, or founding date. The second part contains a battery of eight questions
about characteristics of the policy issues the associations were lobbying on. These
questions deal with issue-specific characteristics such as salience, conflict, or lobbying
partners on specific issues. The battery of questions is repeated for every policy issue
on which the associations participated in Commission consultations. For instance,
if an association only participated in one consultation, it only responded to eight
issue-specific questions. By contrast, if an association participated in five consultations,
the battery of questions was repeated five times.
The repetition of these questions was triggered automatically by dummy variables
that I coded “1” if the interest group participated in this consultation and that I coded
“0” if the interest group did not participate in the consultation. The issue-specific
questions only differed in terms of a description of the policy issue given at the
beginning of the issue-specific part of the questionnaire and in terms of slight
differences in the wording of some questions that contain a reference to the policy issue.
However, since the issue-specific questions do not substantially change and since the
entire association questionnaire is more than 240 pages long, I refrain from displaying
the complete questionnaire and instead only present one set of issue-specific questions
for the first policy issue.
224 Appendix 1

Research Project: Interest Group Participation in EU Policy-Making

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you very much for participating in our online survey. The questionnaire consists
of two parts: The first section contains several questions on the characteristics of
your organization whereas the second section focuses on your experiences in the
Commission consultations in which you participated.
The aim of this study is to better understand how interest groups can increase their
participation and their impact on policy-making in the European Union. You were
invited to this survey since your organization participated in consultations conducted
by the European Commission. Your participation is crucial for the success of this
research project and we are very grateful for your cooperation.
Please be assured that the collected data will only be used for scientific purposes.
Your responses will be kept confidential and will be anonymized so that none of your
answers can be traced back to you or your organization. The survey takes on average
10 minutes.
After the completion of the research project we will be happy to provide you with a
summary of our results. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to
contact us on hkluever@mail.uni-mannheim.de or +49(0) 621 181 3725.

Thank you again for your participation!

Yours sincerely,

Heike Klüver
University of Mannheim
Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences
68131 Mannheim, Germany
Email: hkluever@mail.uni-mannheim.de
Phone: +49(0) 621 181 3725
 PA RT I

Questions Concerning Interest Group Characteristics

Explanation:
These questions apply to all associations in the sample.
226 Appendix 1

Page 1

1.1. When was your organization established?

Please indicate the year in which your organization was founded.

1.2. According to your statute, who can become a member of your organization?
Individuals
Companies
Other Associations
Public Authorities
Other
Not applicable

Page 2: Filter - if question 1.2. “Individuals” = yes and “Other Associations”

= no
2.1. How many individuals are members of your organization?
0
up to 10,000
more than 10,000, up to 100,000
more than 100,000, up to 1 million
more than 1 million, up to 5 million
more than 5 million

Page 3: Filter - if question 1.2. “Companies” = yes and “Other Associations”

= no
3.1. How many companies are members of your organization?
0
up to 500
more than 500, up to 1,000
more than 1,000, up to 5,000
more than 5,000, up to 10,000
more than 10,000
 Appendix 1 227

Page 4: Filter - if question 1.2. “Public Authorities” = yes and “Other

Associations” = no
4.1. How many public authorities are members of your organization?
0
up to 50
more than 50, up to 100
more than 100, up to 1,000
more than 1,000, up to 5,000
more than 5,000

Page 5: Filter - if question 1.2. “Other Associations” = yes

5.1. How many individuals are members of your organization and its member
organizations?
Please indicate the number of individual members that your organization and its
member organizations have in total.
0
up to 10,000
more than 10,000, up to 100,000
more than 100,000, up to 1 million
more than 1 million, up to 5 million
more than 5 million

5.2. How many companies are members of your organization and its member
organizations?
Please indicate the number of corporate members that your organization and your
member organizations have in total.
0
up to 500
more than 500, up to 1,000
more than 1,000, up to 5,000
more than 5,000, up to 10,000
more than 10,000
228 Appendix 1

5.3. How many public authorities are members of your organization and its member
organizations?
Please indicate the number of public authority members that your organization and its
member organization have in total.
0
up to 50
more than 50, up to 100
more than 100, up to 1,000
more than 1,000, up to 5,000
more than 5,000

5.4. How many other actors are members of your organization and its member
organizations?
Please indicate the number of other members that your organization and its member
organization have in total.
0
up to 500
more than 500, up to 1,000
more than 1,000, up to 5,000
more than 5,000, up to 10,000
more than 10,000

Page 6: Filter - if question 1.2. “Other” = yes and “Other Associations” = no

6.1. How many other members does you organization have?

0
up to 500
more than 500, up to 1,000
more than 1,000, up to 5,000
more than 5,000, up to 10,000
more than 10,000
 Appendix 1 229

Page 7: Filter - if question 1.2. “Not applicable” = no and “Other

Associations” = no
7.1. How many of the potential members are in fact members of your organization?
Potential members are all actors who can become a member of your organization
according to your organization’s statute.
Please indicate the number of official members in percent of the total number of
potential members.
1–20%
21–40%
41–60%
61–80%
81–100%

Page 8: Filter - if question 1.2. “Not applicable” = no and “Other

Associations” = yes

8.1. How many of the potential members are in fact members of your organization
and its member organizations? Potential members are all actors who can become a
member of your organization according to your organization’s statute.
Please indicate the number of official members in percent of the total number of
potential members.
1 - 20%
21 - 40%
41 - 60%
61 - 80%
81 - 100%

Page 9: Filter - if question 1.2. “Not applicable” = no

9.1. How important are the following functions for your organization?
not at all important very important
Services to members
Influence on policy-making
230 Appendix 1

9.2. In some associations, members prefer to completely delegate interest

representation to their association. However, in other associations members
actively seek to participate in internal decision-making. How much participation
do members seek in your organization on average?
Members do not Members strongly
seek participation seek participation

Page 10

10.1. How many employees does your organization have?

Please indicate the number of employees including full-time and part-time employees
as well as paid and unpaid interns/stagiaires.
1–5
6–10
11–25
26–50
more than 50

10.2. How many of these employees are dealing with monitoring and commenting
on public policy at least half their working time?
Monitoring and commenting on public policy refers to all activities that aim
at influencing legislation at the EU level such as participation in hearings
and consultations, informal contacts with representatives of the EU institutions,
demonstrations or media campaigns.
1–5
6–10
11–25
26–50
more than 50

Page 11

11.1. How many organizational units are dealing with monitoring and commenting
on public policy? A unit is at least comprised of one employee devoting half her/his
working-time to a function or subject within the broader task of monitoring and
commenting on public policy (e.g. policy adviser for road safety).
1–2
3–5
6–10
11–20
more than 20
 Appendix 1 231

Page 12

12.1. Does your organization have an office in Brussels?

yes
no

12.2. Does your organization employ external consultants to monitor and comment
on public policy?
yes
no

Page 13

13.1. How important are the following criteria when you recruit new staff to deal
with monitoring and commenting on public policy ?
not at all important very important
Education
Professional
experience
Commitment to goals of
organization
Other

13.2. How does your organization employ the staff that deals with monitoring and
commenting on public policy?
Please indicate the percentage of staff working as volunteers, as part-time or full-time
employees and as paid or unpaid interns (Total = 100%)
Volunteers %

Interns/Staigaires (unpaid) %

Interns/Staigaires (paid) %

Part-time employees %

Full-time employees %
232 Appendix 1

Page 14

14.1. What is the highest level of education of your staff that deals with monitoring
and commenting on public policy?
Please indicate how many percent of your staff have the following highest degree of
education (Total = 100%)
PhD %

Master %

Bachelor %

A-Levels/University-entrance diploma %

less than A-Levels/University-entrance diploma %

Page 15

15.1. How often do you offer additional training to your employees who deal with
monitoring and commenting on public policy?
never very often

15.2. On average, how many years of working experience do your employees who
deal with monitoring and commenting on public policy have at the time when you
hire them?
no experience
1–2 years
3–5 years
6–10 years
more than 10 years

Page 16: Filter - if question 15.2. “no experience” = no

16.1. Where did these employees work before they joined your organization?
Please indicate the percentage of the total number of employees with prior working
experience (Total = 100%)
European Institutions %

Other Associations %

National Political Institutions %

Companies %

Others %
 Appendix 1 233

Page 17

17.1. Imagine the European Commission is launching a new policy initiative which is
of high importance to your organization. How many people within your organization
are actively involved in deciding on your organization’s position concerning such a
new policy initiative?
A policy initiative could be for example the release of a Green or White Paper in
preparation for a policy proposal.
1–2
3–5
6–10
11–20
more than 20

17.2. How long does it take until your organization has decided on its position
concerning such a policy initiative?
up to 1 week
more than 1 week, up to 2 weeks
more than 2 weeks, up to 3 weeks
more than 3 weeks, up to 1 month
more than 1 month

Page 18

18.1. What is the annual revenue of the sector you represent on average?
0 EUR
up to 10 billion EUR
more than 10 billion, up to 50 billion EUR
more than 50 billion, up to 100 billion EUR
more than 100 billion, up to 500 billion EUR
more than 500 billion EUR

18.2. How many people does the sector that you represent employ?
0
up to 50,000
more than 50,000, up to 100,000
more than 100,000, up to 500,000
more than 500,000, up to 1 million
more than 1 million
234 Appendix 1

Page 19

19.1. What is your annual budget?

up to 100,000 EUR
more than 100,000 up to 500,000 EUR
more than 500,000, up to 1 million EUR
more than 1 million, up to 5 million EUR
more than 5 million EUR

19.2. How much do you spend on monitoring and commenting on public policy per
year?
up to 50,000 EUR
more than 50,000, up to 100,000 EUR
more than 100,000, up to 500,000 EUR
more than 500,000, up to 1 million EUR
more than 1 million EUR

Page 20

20.1. How is your organization funded?

Please indicate the sources of your funding in percent of the total budget (Total = 100%)
Annual contributions of members %

EU Grants %

National Grants %

Donations %

Revenues from services %

Other %
 PA RT II

Issue-Specific Questions

Explanation:
There are eight issue-specific questions that are repeated for all issues on which
the associations have participated in Commission consultations. The issue-specific
questions only differed in terms of a description of the policy issue given at the
beginning of the issue-specific part of the questionnaire and in terms of slight
differences in the wording of some questions that contain a reference to the policy issue.
However, since the issue-specific questions do not substantially change and since the
entire association questionnaire is more than 240 pages long, I refrain from displaying
the complete questionnaire and instead only present one set of issue-specific questions
for the first policy issue.
236 Appendix 1

Page 21: Filter - only if interest group participated in this consultation

Consultation on advanced therapies

In May 2005, the European Commission invited stakeholders to submit comments on

a draft regulatory framework for authorization, supervision, and post-authorization
vigilance of advanced therapies (tissue engineering, cell and gene therapy) in
preparation for a policy proposal on this issue.
Since your organization submitted a comment to this consultation, we are interested
in your views and activities concerning this issue. The following questions therefore aim
to investigate your opinion on the consultation draft and your activities surrounding
this issue.
Please note that the questions refer to the consultation draft and not to the final policy
proposal unless indicated.

Page 22: Filter - only if interest group participated in this consultation

22.1. How conflictual was the debate amongst stakeholders regarding this issue?
Please indicate the level of conflict.
no conflict at all high level of conflict

22.2 How important was this policy issue to your organization?

not important very important

22.3. Was there any interest group or company that had opposing views to you?
Please name one major opponent.

Page 23: Filter - only if interest group participated in this consultation

23.1. In order to influence policy-making, interest groups have to rely on various

strategies. How extensively did you use the following strategies in order to influence
this proposal?
not at all extensively
Formal hearings, working groups, consultations
Informal contacts with decision-makers
Media Campaigns
Demonstrations/Protests
Other
 Appendix 1 237

23.2. In order to influence policy-making, interest groups also have to rely on various
access channels. How extensively did you use the following channels to influence this
particular policy proposal?
not at all extensively
European Commission
European Parliament
Council of the EU/Nat. government & ministries/
Permanent Representations
National Parliaments
Committee of the Regions/Economic and
Social Committee

23.3 After the consultation had been closed, the European Commission reviewed
the stakeholder comments and adopted its policy proposal for a regulation on
advanced therapies in November 2005. How successful were you in shaping this
policy proposal?
not at all successful very successful

Page 24: Filter - only if interest group participated in this consultation

24.1. Interest groups often cooperate with other actors by coordinating their
activities and exchanging information. With how many actors did your organization
cooperate in order to influence this policy proposal?
Please indicate the total number of your cooperation partners

24.2. Could you please provide the names of your five most important cooperation
partners on this policy issue?
Please indicate the full name or official abbreviation of your cooperation partners in
order of importance starting with the most important actor.
This page intentionally left blank
 PA RT III

Final Questions

Explanation:
These questions apply to all associations in the sample.
240 Appendix 1

Page 245

245.1. Is your organization a member of another organization?

If yes, please indicate the name or official abbreviation of the organization(s) of which
your organization is a member.

Page 246

246.1. Thank you very much, you have answered all questions. Do you have any
additional comments or recommendations?

246.2. Do you wish to receive a summary of the results after the completion of the
research project?
yes
no

Please only click “Next” if you have completed the whole questionnaire. After
clicking on “Next” the questionnaire will be considered as completed and you
cannot take part in the survey anymore.

Page 247

Thank you again for your participation!

Your responses have been saved, you can close your browser now.
For further questions and comments, please contact:

Heike Klüver
University of Mannheim
Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences
68131 Mannheim, Germany
Email: hkluever@mail.uni-mannheim.de
Phone: +49(0) 621 181 3725
 APPENDIX 2

Company Questionnaire

In the following, the questionnaire for the survey among companies is presented. I
designed different questionnaires for associations and companies since they slightly
differ in terms of question wording and some questions apply either only to associations
or only to companies.
The questionnaire consists of two main parts. The first part contains questions
concerning the characteristics of the companies such as resources, organizational
structure, or founding date. The second part contains a battery of eight questions
about characteristics of the policy issues the companies were lobbying on. These
questions deal with issue-specific characteristics such as salience, conflict, or lobbying
partners on specific issues. The battery of questions is repeated for every policy issue
on which the companies participated in Commission consultations. For instance, if a
company only participated in one consultation, it only responded to eight issue-specific
questions. By contrast, if a company participated in five consultations, the battery of
questions was repeated five times.
The repetition of these questions was triggered automatically by dummy variables
that I coded “1” if the interest group participated in this consultation and that I coded
“0” if the interest group did not participate in the consultation. The issue-specific
questions only differed in terms of a description of the policy issue given at the
beginning of the issue-specific part of the questionnaire and in terms of slight
differences in the wording of some questions that contain a reference to the policy issue.
However, since the issue-specific questions do not substantially change and since the
entire company questionnaire is more than 230 pages long, I refrain from displaying
the complete questionnaire and instead only present one set of issue-specific questions
for the first policy issue.
242 Appendix 2

Research Project: Companies in EU Policy-Making

Dear Sir or Madam,

Thank you very much for participating in our online survey. The questionnaire consists
of two parts: The first section contains several questions on the characteristics of your
company whereas the second section focuses on your experiences in the Commission
consultations in which you participated.
The aim of this study is to better understand how companies can increase their
participation and their impact on policy-making in the European Union. You were
invited to this survey since your company participated in consultations conducted by
the European Commission. Your participation is crucial for the success of this research
project and we are very grateful for your cooperation.
Please be assured that the collected data will only be used for scientific purposes.
Your responses will be kept confidential and will be anonymized so that none of your
answers can be traced back to you or your company. The survey takes on average 10
minutes.
After the completion of the research project we will be happy to provide you with a
summary of our results. If you have any further questions please do not hesitate to
contact us on hkluever@mail.uni-mannheim.de or +49 (0) 621-181-3725.

Thank you again for your participation!

Yours sincerely,

Heike Klüver
University of Mannheim
Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences
68131 Mannheim, Germany
Email: hkluever@mail.uni-mannheim.de
Phone: +49(0) 621 181 3725
 PA RT I

Questions Concerning Interest Group Characteristics

Explanation:
These questions apply to all companies in the sample.
244 Appendix 2

Page 1

1.1. When was your company established?

Please indicate the year in which your company was founded.

1.2. In which country is your company’s headquarter?

1.3. In how many EU member states does your company have a branch?

Page 2

2.1. How many employees does your company have?

Please indicate the number of employees including full-time and part-time employees
as well as paid and unpaid interns/stagiaires.
up to 10,000
more than 10,000, up to 50,000
more than 50,000, up to 100,000
more than 100,000, up to 500,000
more than 500,000

2.2. Does your company have an office in Brussels?

yes
no

2.3. How are governmental affairs structured within your company?

Governmental affairs refer to all activities that aim at influencing legislation at the
EU level such as participation in hearings and consultations, informal contacts with
representatives of the EU institutions, demonstrations, or media campaigns.
Governmental affairs are coordinated and directed by one single department
The competence for governmental affairs is distributed across several departments
Our company employs external consultants to deal with governmental affairs
 Appendix 2 245

Page 3: Filter - if question 2.3. “The competence for governmental affairs is

distributed accross several departments” = yes

3.1. Are there any employees in the different departments who spend at least half
their working-time with governmental affairs?
yes
no

Page 4: Filter - if question 2.3. “Governmental affairs are coordinated

and directed by one single department” = yes or if question 2.3.
“The competence for governmental affairs is distributed accross several
departments” = yes and question 3.1. = yes

4.1. How many of your employees are dealing with governmental affairs at least half
their working-time?
Please indicate the number of employees in governmental affairs including full-time
and part-time employees as well as paid and unpaid interns/stagiaires.
1–5
6–10
11–25
26–50
more than 50

Page 5: Filter - if question 2.3. “Governmental affairs are coordinated

and directed by one single department” = yes or if question 2.3.
“The competence for governmental affairs is distributed accross several
departments” = yes and question 3.1. = yes

5.1. How many organizational units deal with governmental affairs? A unit is at least
comprised of one employee devoting half of his/her working-time to a function or
subject within the broader task of governmental affairs (e.g. policy adviser for road
safety).
1–2
3–5
6–10
11–20
more than 20
246 Appendix 2

Page 6: Filter - if question 2.3. “Governmental affairs are coordinated

and directed by one single department” = yes or if question 2.3.
“The competence for governmental affairs is distributed accross several
departments” = yes and question 3.1. = yes

6.1. How important are the following criteria when you recruit new staff to deal with
governmental affairs?
not at all important very important
Education
Professional experience
Commitment to goals of your company
Other

6.2. How does your company employ the staff that deals with governmental affairs?
Please indicate the percentage of staff working as volunteers, as part-time or full-time
employees and as paid or unpaid interns (Total = 100%)
Volunteers %

Interns/Staigaires (unpaid) %

Interns/Staigaires (paid) %

Part-time employees %

Full-time employees %

Page 7: Filter - if question 2.3. “Governmental affairs are coordinated

and directed by one single department” = yes or if question 2.3.
“The competence for governmental affairs is distributed accross several
departments” = yes and question 3.1. = yes

7.1. What is the highest level of education of your staff that deals with governmental
affairs?
Please indicate how many percent of your staff have the following highest degree of
education (Total = 100%)
PhD %

Master %

Bachelor %

A-Levels/University-entrance diploma %

less than A-Levels/University-entrance diploma %

 Appendix 2 247

Page 8: Filter - if question 2.3. “Governmental affairs are coordinated

and directed by one single department” = yes or if question 2.3.
“The competence for governmental affairs is distributed accross several
departments” = yes and question 3.1. = yes

8.1. How often do you offer additional training to your employees working on
governmental affairs?
never very often

8.2. On average, how many years of working experience do your governmental affairs
employees have at the time when you hire them?
no experience
1–2 years
3–5 years
6–10 years
more than 10 years

Page 9: Filter - if question 2.3. “Governmental affairs are coordinated

and directed by one single department” = yes or if question 2.3.
“The competence for governmental affairs is distributed accross several
departments” = yes and question 3.1. = yes

9.1. Where did these employees work before they joined your company?
Please indicate the percentage of the total number of employees with prior working
experience (Total = 100%)
European Institutions %

Other Associations %

National Political Institutions %

Companies %

Others %
248 Appendix 2

Page 10

10.1. Imagine the European Commission is launching a new policy initiative which
is of high importance to your company. How many people within your company
are actively involved in deciding on your company’s position concerning such a new
policy initiative?
A policy initiative could be for example the release of a Green or White Paper in
preparation for a policy proposal.
1–2
3–5
6–10
11–20
more than 20

10.2. How long does it take until your company has decided on its position
concerning such a policy initiative?
up to 1 week
more than 1 week, up to 2 weeks
more than 2 weeks, up to 3 weeks
more than 3 weeks, up to 1 month
more than 1 month

Page 11

11.1. What is the annual revenue of your company on average?

up to 5 billion EUR
more than 5 billion, up to 10 billion EUR
more than 10 billion, up to 50 billion EUR
more than 50 billion, up to 100 billion EUR
more than 100 billion EUR
 Appendix 2 249

Page 12

12.1. What is your annual budget?

up to 100,000 EUR
more than 100,000, up to 500,000 EUR
more than 500,000, up to 1 million EUR
more than 1 million, up to 5 million EUR
more than 5 million EUR

12.2. How much do you spend on governmental affairs per year?

up to 50,000 EUR
more than 50,000, up to 100,000 EUR
more than 100,000, up to 500,000 EUR
more than 500,000, up to 1 million EUR
more than 1 million EUR
This page intentionally left blank
 PA RT II

Issue-Specific Questions

Explanation:
There are eight issue-specific questions that are repeated for all issues on
which the companies have participated in Commission consultations. The
issue-specific questions only differed in terms of a description of the policy
issue given at the beginning of the issue-specific part of the questionnaire and
in terms of slight differences in the wording of some questions that contain
a reference to the policy issue. However, since the issue-specific questions do
not substantially change and since the entire company questionnaire is more
than 230 pages long, I refrain from displaying the complete questionnaire and
instead only present one set of issue-specific questions for the first policy issue.
252 Appendix 2

Page 13: Filter - only if interest group participated in this consultation

Consultation on advanced therapies

In May 2005, the European Commission invited stakeholders to submit

comments on a draft regulatory framework for authorization, supervision, and
post-authorization vigilance of advanced therapies (tissue engineering, cell
and gene therapy) in preparation for a policy proposal on this issue.
Since your company submitted a comment to this consultation, we are
interested in your views and activities concerning this issue. The following
questions therefore aim to investigate your opinion on the consultation draft
and your activities surrounding this issue.
Please note that the questions refer to the consultation draft and not to the
final policy proposal unless indicated.

Page 14: Filter - only if interest group participated in this consultation

14.1. How conflictual was the debate amongst stakeholders regarding this issue?
Please indicate the level of conflict.
no conflict at all high level of conflict

14.2. How important was this policy issue to your company?

not important very important

14.3. Was there any interest group or company that had opposing views to you?
Please name one major opponent.
 Appendix 2 253

Page 15: Filter - only if interest group participated in this consultation

15.1. In order to influence policy-making, companies have to rely on various

strategies. How extensively did you use the following strategies in order to influence
this proposal?
not at all extensively
Formal hearings, working groups, consultations
Informal contacts with decision-makers
Media campaigns
Demonstrations/protests
Other

15.2. In order to influence policy-making, companies also have to rely on various

access channels. How extensively did you use the following channels to influence this
particular policy proposal?
not at all extensively
European Commission
European Parliament
Council of the EU/Nat. government & ministries/
Permanent Representations
National Parliaments
Committee of the Regions/Economic and
Social Committee

15.3. After the consultation had been closed, the European Commission reviewed
the stakeholder comments and adopted its policy proposal for a regulation on
advanced therapies in November 2005. How successful were you in shaping this
policy proposal?
not at all successful very successful
254 Appendix 2

Page 16: Filter - only if interest group participated in this consultation

16.1. Companies often cooperate with other actors by coordinating their activities
and exchanging information. With how many actors did your company cooperate in
order to influence this policy proposal?
Please indicate the total number of your cooperation partners

16.2. Could you please provide the names of your five most important cooperation
partners on this policy issue?
Please indicate the full name or official abbreviation of your cooperation partners in
order of importance starting with the most important actor.
 PA RT III

Final Questions

Explanation:
These questions apply to all companies in the sample.
256 Appendix 2

Page 237

237.1. Is your company a member of another organization?

If yes, please indicate the name or official abbreviation of the organization(s) of which
your company is a member.

Page 238

238.1. Thank you very much, you have answered all questions. Do you have any
additional comments or recommendations?

238.2. Do you wish to receive a summary of the results after the completion of the
research project?
yes
no

Please only click “Next” if you have completed the whole questionnaire. After
clicking on “Next” the questionnaire will be considered as completed and you
cannot take part in the survey anymore.
Page 239

Thank you again for your participation!

Your responses have been saved, you can close your browser now.
For further questions and comments, please contact:

Heike Klüver
University of Mannheim
Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences
68131 Mannheim, Germany
Email: hkluever@mail.uni-mannheim.de
Phone: +49(0) 621 181 3725
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 Index

advocacy coalition 12 chamber 6, 27, 139,

agenda-setting 31, 156, 219–220 company 110, 111, 149–150
definition 5–6
CMP see Comparative Manifesto information 14–15, 40–45
College of Commissioners 31, 72, 156 members 26–27
Comparative Manifesto Project 65–66, 67, non-governmental organizations
69, 74–75, 87 (NGOs) 2, 5, 55, 95, 139, 147, 160, 166,
concentrated interests 13, 15, 208, 216 170–171, 185–186, 191–192, 197
content analysis 65–67, 69, 71–72, 75, 77, non-permanent characteristics 13–15
91–92 see also text analysis permanent characteristics 12–13
Coreper 42 population 9, 14–16, 22, 95, 108–110, 131,
corporatist 9 138–144, 152, 154, 192
professional association 6, 139, 143,
democratic deficit 1, 34, 37, 203, 213, 222 147–148
democratic governance 34, 47–49 representation 26, 139–141, 148, 152,
diffuse interests 13, 15, 140, 208, 215, 219 214–216
Directorate General 103, 132, 134–135, resources 13
155–156, 221 sectional group 119, 140, 216
territorial origin 140–141, 152
economic voting 49–52 trade union 6, 27, 46, 139–143, 147–148,
electorate 39, 44–47, 49, 51 214–215
environmental groups 2, 6, 55, 63, 72, 76–77, issue
80–90, 151, 166, 171, 185, 196–197 complexity 19, 57–59, 101, 120,
ESPRIT program 43, 51 122–125, 136–137, 152, 155–157,
EurLex 16, 21, 106, 121,122, 205 161–163, 168, 176, 182–183, 186–189,
expert survey 64, 68–69, 87 194, 204, 209
expertise 12, 30, 33, 39–45, 58, 107, 136, conflict 11, 22, 101, 103, 120, 122–124,
160–162, 170, 186, 206–207 131–153, 157, 163, 168, 182, 189, 194,
209
free-ride 23, 172, 173, 175, 198, 200, 215 distributive 12, 152
issue network 54
governments 18, 29–30, 33–35, 37–54, 121, redistributive 12
206–207, 211–212, 218–219, 221 regulatory 12, 135, 152
salience 11, 48, 101, 103, 119–120, 136,
health check 103, 133, 135–136, 170 152, 209
scope 11, 102
influence status quo 117, 120–123
attributed influence 16, 61–62
definition 7–9 left–right 63, 67
face of power 7, 220 legislative instrument
luck 7–9, 63, 172, 198 directive 94, 102–104, 133–134, 138,
preference attainment 16, 20–21, 61–64, 191–192, 196–197
90, 93, 98, 176 regulation 31, 72, 81–82, 85–88, 90, 94,
process-tracing 16, 61, 63 102–104, 138
institutional context 10–11 legislative procedure
interest group Codecision 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 40, 44, 71,
actor type 13 102, 103, 123, 133, 138, 157, 163, 168,
cause group 119, 139–140, 143–144, 175, 178, 179, 180, 181, 182, 189, 194,
147–148, 214–216 199
278 Index

left–right (cont.) rhetorical action 46–47

Consultation 34, 35, 38, 102, 103, 123, 134, roll-call 64
138, 178, 179, 181
Cooperation 34, 35, 38, 178 saliency theory 67
ordinary legislative procedure 32, 34, shaming 47–48
178 Single Market 51–52, 136, 219
legitimacy social movement 6
consequentialist legitimacy 47 statist 9
democratic legitimacy 1, 3, 23, 103, statistical model 8, 22, 92, 122–130, 193
202–203, 213–214 structural power 49, 51, 61–62
input legitimacy 34, 47, 214–215, 217, 222 survey
see also procedural legitimacy question 108–111, 143
output legitimacy 47, 214, 216–217, 222 questionnaire 108–111
see also consequentialist legitimacy response rate 109–110, 128
procedural legitimacy 47 Unipark 108
standard of legitimacy 46, 48
leisure association 6 text analysis
lobbying strategy coding scheme 66, 74
campaign 13, 50, 55 computerized text analysis 22, 60, 67, 71,
demonstration 6, 8, 14, 62 82, 96, 104, 116, 205, 218, 222 see also
inside strategy 14 quantitative text analysis
outside strategy 14 dictionary 68
protest 6, 14, 62, 95 hand-coding 22, 60, 65–68, 71, 74–81,
logic of action 17, 21, 24–25, 40, 53, 204 86–91
jfreq 82, 96, 98
Members of the European Parliament 18, quantitative text analysis 19–21, 65, 71, 82,
29–30, 34–37, 40–49, 51–52, 204, 206, 96, 104, 116, 205, 218, 222
207, 212, 221 quasi-sentence 65, 67, 75
monopoly of legislative initiative 31, 40, reference text 68–69, 87
156 reliability 66–68, 74–75, 77–78, 91, 103,
multilevel modeling 21, 22–23, 125, 174 107
stemming 71
office-seeking 36, 39, 45 stopword 71, 107
online consultation 4, 71–72, 94–95, validity 22, 60–62, 66–67, 73–74, 78–79,
103–106, 108, 119–120 81–83, 86, 91, 94, 99–101, 107
opportunity structure 1, 201 virgin text 68–69
word frequency matrix 71, 82, 100, 107
permanent representation 42, 181 Wordfish 21, 65–66, 69–72, 74–75, 82–94,
pluralist 9, 152, 211 96, 98–100, 103, 105, 107, 121
political community 46–48 Wordscores 65–66, 68–69, 71–72, 74–75,
political interest 5–6, 25, 36 87–91, 94
preference Yoshikoder 84
basic interest 25–26, 28–29, 32–33, 36–37, Transparency Initiative 1, 214
39–40 Treaty of Lisbon 34, 37
means preference 25–28, 32–33, 36, 39
policy preference 4, 7, 8, 9, 16, 18, 20, unit of analysis 4, 65–67, 100, 126
21, 23, 25–29, 32, 33, 36, 37, 39, 56,
62, 63, 64, 71, 72, 90, 93, 96, 99, 116, voting rule
120, 121, 172, 205, 211, 212, 213, 218, qualified majority 122, 179, 181
222 simple majority 156
role-specific interest 25–26, 28–30, 32, 36, unanimity 122, 179, 180
39–40
PreLex 16, 21, 103, 106, 121–122, 205 White Paper on Governance 1