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Impact of Europeanization on Interest Groups Access and Representation in the Policy Making Process in Croatia

This article seeks to explore some implications of EU integration on national system of interest representation, focusing both on opportunities and constraints for organized interests in Croatia. On the whole, EU accession has provided strong incentives for interest groups to adapt their influence-seeking behaviour to new policy dynamics at both national and EU levels. However, the scope of interest representation adaptation patterns and the extent of strategic re-orientation of Croatian interest groups largely depend on the available resources, sources of funding, reliance on membership and a number of other factors. Over the years, the effects of cognitive Europeanization have started to be visible, especially in regard to raising the expectations among representatives of the interested public about acceptable standards of openness, transparency, accountability and participatory decision-making. A number of policy initiatives launched in recent years confirm the trend of transforming the perception of good models of interaction between organized civil society and governmental actors in shaping new public policies in Croatia.

Europeanization; Croatia; interest groups; interest representation; civil society; policy-making; lobbying; EU accession; candidate countries; EU enlargement

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