The Agricultural Advisory Groups

The most mature of the European Commission Advisory Forums (ECAFs) explored here, the first agricultural advisory committees were established in 1987. In 1998 and 2004, the Agricultural Advisory Groups (AAGs) were the subject of reform to reflect Commission priorities in the agricultural sector more clearly and to improve the dialogue between DG Agriculture (DG AGRI) and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs). In this fourth case study, the same gauge for evaluating legitimacy on the

input side and effectiveness on the output side is duplicated. The chief aim remains the investigation of the AAGs’ capacity to simultaneously realize both elements. Consequently, the structure of the case study also duplicates the three previous enquiries and therefore embarks first on an assessment of the AAGs’ ability to guarantee balanced composition and deliberative capacity with regard to inputs before thereafter exploring the Groups’ effectiveness. Yet again, the evidence collated suggests that, various composition, functioning and design features compromise the AAGs’ aptitude for delivering on the input and output sides.