ABSTRACT
Even though the basic ‘rules of the game’ may be familiar to lobbyists at the national level, the EC policy process is in many ways unique. Its multi-national, neo-federal nature, the openness of decision-making to lobbying, and the considerable weight of national politico-administrative elites within the process create a rather unstable and multi-dimensional environment to which all pressure groups must adapt.
Environmental groups have at least three fundamental strengths in the context of this complex policy process – a capacity to build European-level coalitions in the form of Euro-groups and umbrella organisations via the creation of cross-national Euro-level networks; an ability to contribute to European integration in the manner predicted by neo-functionalist theory; and an ability to set the political agenda in the environmental sector. In contrast, they have several fundamental weaknesses – they may be too dependent upon DG XI and on the European Parliament; they may lack the resources or the will to participate within the policy process intensively from the initiation phase right through to implementation; other competing interests are becoming more effective in their mobilisation around the environmental issue; the environmentalists may also be in a degree of competition with each other; and their lobbying styles may limit their long-term capacity to influence policies.
