Bringing the middleman back in: EU umbrella organizations and interest group access in the European Union

Abstract

Over the past decade, we have seen a sharp increase in studies focusing on the activities of national interest groups in the European Union. One important question relates to the access that these national groups gain to European policymakers. Building on this literature, we innovatively explore differences in access to European policymakers between national groups that are members of EU umbrella associations and organizations that are not members of EU umbrellas. To study this, we rely on survey data of more than 1600 national interest groups active in the EU. The results indicate that organizations which are members of umbrella organizations gain more access to European policymakers. Furthermore, we demonstrate that financial resources and professionalization, common determinants of access, only have an effect on access for organizations that are members of umbrella associations. These findings highlight the importance of umbrella organizations for EU lobbying.