ABSTRACT
This chapter analyzes the federal policy process within a number of federations; how federal laws are made and the degree of state involvement in the process. It introduces the policy cycle as a heuristic tool to understand the policy-making process in general. The chapter uses to structure the analysis of the federation in question and the European Union (EU). It also analysis the decision-making process federations and in the EU. Theoretically there is no difference between the federal states and the EU concerning ways one secures the placing of an issue on the agenda. Braun stated that: Federalism does not only serve as an opportunity structure for interest groups and political parties. It also creates new groups of political actors with a territorial logic' who enter the political game, these groups being sub-governments, regional parliaments and bureaucracies. A special case for Austria and Germany is the increased participation of the Member State level in the formulation of federal EU policy.
