Lobbying in a Network: A Study on the influence of Networks on Regional Lobbying at the European Level

Abstract

European regions are responsible for the implementation of large parts of the EU legislation and, therefore, feel the need to express their experiences and needs to the European institutions, those in charge of making the legislation (Rodriguez-Pose & Courty, 2018). Therefore, regions more and more seek to influence European legislation at the EU level. They can do so through several means, one of which is lobbying through formal networks. This thesis aimed to understand the influence of the use of networks on the lobbying process of regions at the European level. It was found that the use of networks influences the lobbying process in several ways at the different institutions.