How and who civil society organisations represent in the EU
Democratic representation is the foundation of any democratic society, yet the EU is widely perceived to be neither as representative nor democratic as it could be. In addition, CSOs have achieved a very important role in agenda setting, yet little is known about who and what they represent. The main aim of the EU-funded project 'The contribution of civil society organizations to representative democracy in the EU' (CIVDEMO) was to find out. Running for two years to August 2013, the study investigated how CSOs contribute to political representation across governance levels in the EU. The research also examined the CSOs' conception of representation, the ways they organise representation, and the effects that their EU engagement has on their way of operating. . Additionally, the work addressed more theoretical questions, including the types of political representation involved, and the legitimacy of the role of CSOs. Hence, the study placed CSOs within the larger political context of the EU. Research also involved collecting qualitative information about three types of CSOs. 'Member' groups include members able to speak for their own interests. 'Cause' groups represent a cause that is unable to represent itself. Finally, 'weak interest' groups represent marginalised people having a weak voice. For the study, the particular agencies included, respectively, groups representing agricultural, environmental and poverty issues. The project's main finding was that while CSOs might be said to represent their specific domestic constituency, they struggle to find shared interests at EU-level. This is particularly true for CSOs operating in redistributed areas such as agricultural and social redistribution policy. Another finding is that groups use both access (conventional lobbying) and voice (going public) strategies in order to influence policies. CIVDEMO outcomes have provided European Commission officials with a better understanding of how domestic CSOs engage with EU affairs. The work is similarly relevant to members of the European Parliament, and all national parliaments, wishing to appreciate the role of CSOs in European affairs.
Keywords
Civil society organisation, public debate, representative democracy, political representation, governance, democratic deficit
