The Participation of Slovenian Civil Society Organisations in EU Policymaking: Explaining their Different Routes

Abstract

While  discussing  the  inclusion  of  civil  society organisations  (CSOs)  in  EU  policymaking,  academic research  has chiefly focused on  EU-level  umbrella CSOs  and  activities organised at the EU  level. In this article, we show that the activities of national CSOs involved in EU politics are also relevant when it comes to EU policymaking. Some scholars note that national CSOs may use different routes to advocate their  interests  in  EU  policymaking. In  this  article, we take  an  empirical  approach  and examine the routes to which Slovenian  CSOs are turning their  attention  and  activities on EU  issues during the policy formulation and policy implementation stages. The Europeanization process has transformed national CSOs to make them become involved in EU policymaking in different ways. The results  show  that, despite CSOs being characterised  as  weak  in Central  and  Eastern Europe  and as only rarely  contacting EU institutions directly, they participate  in  EU  policymaking  by engaging in other ways: either through membership in EU-level umbrella CSOs or by becoming more active at the national  level by  directing their  activities  to  national decision-makers. Some differences can also be observed among the policy fields under study.