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What next for Brussels' lobbyists? : the impact of the European Parliament increasing legislative competences on future lobbying practice in the European Union

Derschewsky, Katharina (2008) What next for Brussels' lobbyists? : the impact of the European Parliament increasing legislative competences on future lobbying practice in the European Union.

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Abstract:Based on the assumption that lobbying practice is a product of its operational environment, the thesis investigates the impact the Reform Treaty-induced strengthening of the European Parliament’s legislative competences has on lobbyists’ strategies targeting the institution. As a result of the introduction of the ordinary legislative procedure (OLP) lobby-relevant parliamentary characteristics are altered. In order to examine potentially different implications for public and business interests, the traditional dichotomy in interest representation research is taken up throughout the thesis’ empirical investigations. Four interviews were conducted with representatives from the institutional and the two sectors of the lobbying side. While the findings show that the fundamental principles of lobbying will remain untouched, its dynamics will be affected by the changed parliamentary structures. The increasing attractiveness of the EP as a lobbying target will result in tendencies of policy-makers’ informational overkill necessitating the development of innovative lobbying strategies. A rising quantitative informational demand might nonetheless provide new leeway for established and new-area lobbyists. Restrictions, however, are created by intensifying inter-institutional EP-Council relations that limit lobbyists’ access to decision-makers and require time shifts to earlier stages of the legislative process. Growing intra-parliamentary divisions between legislatively influential and marginalized delegates, moreover, will make monitoring processes and reliable informational networks decisive aspects of lobbying. Being similarly affected, adaptation capacities will differ considerably between business and public interests. Confirming the availability of resources as a determinative factor, the wealthier business interests will be better able to step up their game more flexibly whereas public interests must rely on creative measures to maintain their competitiveness in the future.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Clients:
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster
Faculty:BMS: Behavioural, Management and Social Sciences
Subject:85 business administration, organizational science
Programme:European Studies BSc (56627)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/57995
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