ABSTRACT
A larger number of actors and interests are involved in the EU policy process than are involved in policy (in general) in member states, so much so that it is often referred to as messy or congested (Richardson 2005a). One reason is self-evident. The EU is comprised of 27 member states, each with many interest groups that have a view about EU affairs. There is also extensive interaction between the EU institutions, national and regional governments and other international bodies. To be effective, and because of their relatively weaker position compared to member state governments, the EU institutions depend on building a wide consensus among many parties. Richardson (2005a: 6) argues that:
one of the central features of the EU policy process, which seems to hold good for a high percentage of cases is that it ‘works’ only by mobilising a large number of public and private actors from different nations and policy domains and, somehow, persuading them to move from the status quo to a new policy settlement.
