How can social groups such as farmers affect the European agenda representation? The existing literature has mainly recognized the role of lobbying strategies and institutionalized interest representation. EU agenda setting is however hardly influenced by disruptive strategies and protest movements for it is the Commission, a non-elected body, which formulates most of the policy issues. Yet recent protests led in the dairy sector invite us to reconsider the mechanisms through which social groups’ claims are translated into priorities of EU decision makers. A comparative analysis led in France and Germany shows that different national strategies have led to different political responses in terms of agenda representation. Tracing the process leading from farmers’ mobilization to agenda reformulation, we will show that the strikers succeeded in shifting the agriculture agenda initiative from the European Commission to the Council of Ministers.
