Interests groups access in the EU's portfolio-based governance

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.5783/revrrpp.v14i28.879

Keywords:

lobbying, interest groups, European Union, policy-making, governance, public relations

Abstract

The European Union emphasizes transparency and accountability as fundamental pillars of democracy, with the European Transparency Register serving as a clear example of the efforts made in this regard. These principles are crucial for preventing corruption, fostering citizen participation, and ensuring effective decision-making, all of which are vital for maintaining public trust in EU institutions. This study explores the meeting patterns between the European Commission and registered interest groups, seeking to establish a relationship between the economic or social nature of the portfolios and the interests represented by the entities they meet with. It hypothesizes a correlation between the economic nature of Commission officials' portfolios and their frequent meetings with interest groups defending material interests. Conversely, officials overseeing social portfolios are expected to meet more frequently with organizations that advocate for immaterial interests. Using a longitudinal analytical-descriptive approach, this study analyzes 24,587 registered meetings from November 2014 to October 2023, covering two legislative terms of the European Union. The results reveal that European Commission officials, regardless of portfolio type, predominantly meet with groups representing material interests, contradicting the expectation that social portfolios engage more with immaterial groups. This underscores the strong influence of economic interests on EU policy.

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Author Biographies

Álvaro Serna-Ortega, University of Malaga

Research staff in training (FPU 2023) of the Department of Advertising and Audiovisual Communication of the University of Malaga. He was a contract researcher in the Research Project “Lobby and Communication”, funded by the State Program of R+D+i (CSO2016-79357-R). Doctoral student of the Interuniversity Doctoral Program in Communication of the Universities of Cadiz, Huelva, Malaga and Seville in the line of Advertising and Public Relations. Graduate in Advertising and Public Relations and Master in Strategic Management and Innovation in Communication from the University of Malaga. His lines of research focus on political communication, international relations and organizational communication.

Aritz Gorostiza-Cerviño, University of Malaga

Research staff in training (FPU 2022) of the Department of Advertising and Audiovisual Communication of the University of Malaga. He was a contract researcher in the Research Project “Lobby and Communication”, funded by the State Program of R+D+i (CSO2016-79357-R)

Andrea Moreno-Cabanillas, University of Malaga

Contracted teaching and research staff of the Department of Advertising and Audiovisual Communication of the University of Malaga. She has been predoctoral researcher FPU 2019 and POP. PhD in Communication from the Universities of Cadiz, Huelva, Malaga and Seville in the line of Advertising and Public Relations. Graduate in Advertising and Public Relations from the University of Malaga and Master's Degree in Teacher Training in Secondary Education and Vocational Training from the University of Murcia. Author of more than 60 conference papers and 50 publications. Member of the Research Project Lobby and Communication, funded by the State Program of R+D+i (CSO2016-79357-R). She belongs to the EVAPROP network that integrates 45 researchers from 8 Ibero-American countries. Research focused on interest groups, lobbies in the European Union, with funded research stay at Universidade de São Paulo (Brazil) and RMIT University (Australia).

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Published

2024-12-26

How to Cite

Serna-Ortega, Álvaro, Gorostiza-Cerviño, A., & Moreno-Cabanillas, A. (2024). Interests groups access in the EU’s portfolio-based governance. International Journal of Public Relations, 14(28), 133–148. https://doi.org/10.5783/revrrpp.v14i28.879

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 28 (2024): Public Relations in the face of the global challenge of climate change (July-December)

Section

ARTÍCULOS

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Copyright (c) 2024 Álvaro Serna-Ortega, Aritz Gorostiza-Cerviño, Andrea Moreno-Cabanillas

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