States, societies and the European union

Abstract

This article considers how the development of the European Union into a system of government in its own right has altered state—society relations in Europe. Traditionally, the EU has empowered state executives and relatively narrow producer interests. However, this picture is changing. Policy network analysis can help us assess both how much has changed in specific policy sectors, as well as the tightness of fit between intergovernmental bargains and EU policy outcomes. The analysis highlights the increasing propensity of EU states to lose control over intergovernmental bargains, the effects of the co‐decision procedure, and recent gains made by relatively broad social interests in EU‐level interest representation.