Lobbying the TTIP : a one-sided (business) story?

Diffuse interest representation that is concerned with topics like, customer and environmental protection, equal and social rights as well as development is voicing against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership negotiations. This raises the question: Are the TTIP negotiations dominated by business interest, are business interests advantaged? I answer that question positively, business interest representation that seeks access to the European Commission has structural advantages in comparison to diffuse interest. Business representation possess the resources and the expertise to engage with the Commission, while diffuse interest representation, struck by the free rider problem, struggles to establish long lasting relationships with the Commission. A case study on the participation of interest groups to four different access point the Commission established, the Cilvil Society and Stakeholder meetings, the online consultation on the Investor-state dispute settlement, and the meetings with high ranking staff of the Commission, supports my arguments. The analysis shows that business interest participate much more frequent than diffuse interests although some diffuse interest are able to seek and gain regular access to the Commission, the majority fails to establish a sustained relationship.