Regulating Interest Group Participation in the EU: Changing Paradigms between Transparency and Representation

Abstract

The EU’s approach to interest group regulation in the EU has changed over time. The article argues that three main paradigms of regulation can be identified since the EU started taking a more formal approach to interest group participation. These paradigms are characterised by the use of different concepts, different objectives, and different regulatory instruments. The effectiveness of the regulatory instruments in achieving these objectives is assessed. It is argued that the shift between the three different paradigms can mainly be defined in terms of the changing priority given to two key reasons for regulating interest group participation, namely transparency and representation.