Exploring Direct Subsidies to Interest Groups in the EU

Governmental subsidy to interest groups is a form of support of the activity of civil society through financial transfer of resources from the government to interest groups. Scholars showed that these subsidies often represent a substantial proportion of the total budged of an organization and, by strengthening the financial resources of interest groups, help them to increase the efficiency of their activity. Researchers also observed that, by deciding who is to be funded, institutions wield considerable control over interest activity reducing its autonomy. These studies have however exclusively paid attention to the financial support of civil society organizations. Our analysis extends to the entire interest group community and shows that business receives a substantial part of government funding. Having collected data from a survey 290 organizations active at the European level we aim at providing new insights into the EU funding mechanism of the interest group community. In doing so, we seek to answer two questions: Why do some organizations receive funding while others do not? And, why do some organizations receive more funding than others? To answer these questions, we investigate (1) whether or not interest groups applied for funding; (2) whether they received funding; (3) and how much funding they received. Building upon previous studies, our work provides a comprehensive analysis of the mechanisms concerning government funding and wishes to draw larger economic and social implications for the literature on interest groups and EU public policy.