ABSTRACT
It is argued that, in the EU environment, social movements are important actors and acquire distinctive traits in terms of coalitional activities, inter-institutional relations, modes of financing, and representational activities. They put forward an often utopian vision of desirable policy changes that other non-state organizations and institutional activists can utilise as a negotiating standards, whilst recognising, however, that they may be unachievable. This role is appreciated by institutional activists — bureaucratic and political actors sympathetic to movements — who typically attempt to channel funds, legitimacy and visibility to social movement organizations, both for reasons of ideological congruence and to engage in processes of bureau-shaping and budget maximising from which they benefit. The relative absence of strong policy steering on the EU level enables them to do so to a larger extent than in national polities. This is however more likely to occur when there is a specific legal base that legitimises movements' support.
