Gaining and seeking access: The European adaptation of domestic interest associations

The multilevel governance literature on European politics argues that supranational governing arrangements have increased their autonomy vis-a-vis national governments. As private interests increasingly bypass national levels and become active in transnational Euro-level policy networks, national governments are no longer the sole interface between supranational and national levels. In contrast, the European Union might also be conceptualised as a two-level interstate negotiation system, an approach assuming that interests arc formed and aggregated at the national level. Societal interests enter the fray of European negotiations via national executives, and private interests bypassing the national level are considered as a rather marginal, even irrelevant, phenomenon. In addition, both accounts expect different outcomes regarding which sorts of private interests diffuse or specific - seek and gain access to both domestic and European public actors. By analysing the varying network strategies of domestic private actors, in particular interest associations, this article explores some propositions held by these two approaches. After a more comprehensive outline of some hypotheses, evidence collected among public and private actors at both the domestic (Belgian) and European levels will be analysed. In general, the results suggest that Euro-level networks of domestic interests are substantially related to their structural location within the domestic realm, that network strategies tend to be quite bureaucratic and that the sort of interest represented - diffuse or specific - has a considerable effect on gaining and seeking access.