ABSTRACT
This chapter analyses the factors and dynamics shaping Civil Society Organisations' (CSOs') trust and distrust in the EU institutions via a systematic, qualitative analysis of the data and findings of the EnTrust project's “Report on practices of enhanced trust in governance”. CSOs' trust towards the EU institutions is an expectation of open and informed policy debate which delivers effective policies aligned with EU values. It relies on three trustworthiness criteria: the participation of CSOs in the policymaking process, the transparency of the institutions, and the coherence with EU values. The degree of transparency and participation allowed by institutions, as well as the degree of their support for civil society, are influenced by the presence (or the lack thereof) of an institutional culture of openness, and by the degree of trust public officials have in CSOs. The degree of formalisation of civil dialogue influences both CSOs' institutional trust, and the importance that personal relations between CSOs and public EU officials have for institutional trust. Repeated interactions between public officials and CSOs contribute to shaping CSOs' trust towards the institutions. In the absence of a formalised structure of transparency and participation, the rotation of those public officials, “resetting the game” of personal interactions, increases CSOs' distrust in EU institutions.
