Explaining interest group success in European climate action policies A quantitative content analysis measuring the influence of interest groups in the context of the European Commission

Abstract

Interest groups have traditionally been considered powerful actors in terms of influencing the European Commission in their policymaking. This has been particularly true for commercial interests, and the European Commission has been dubbed a “friend of business groups”. In recent years however, the Commission has worked hard to appear transparent and democratic, which should in theory clear them of this label. This thesis sets out to demonstrate which interest groups have been able to influence the Commission in recent years within the policy field of climate action and determine which characteristics might explain their success. Hypotheses were deducted based on a rational choice theoretical framework. Quantitative content analysis was used to create an original dataset used as the basis for an OLS regression analysis. Explanatory factors related to issue-, interest group- and context characteristics are explored in the analysis. Results indicate that commercial interests continue to be the most likely to achieve their preferred outcome when lobbying the European Commission. Factors such as resources, issue salience, coalition, country of origin and location of office in charge of EU relations are all discussed in terms of their level on influence within the field of climate action policy. I find support for one of my hypotheses regarding the effect of issue-salience on interest group influence, but the analysis uncovers relationships that should be given academic attention in the future.