Health policy, lobbying and better regulation in the European Union

Like other areas of EU regulatory policy, lobbying in health policy is driven by policy-makers’ need for information and shaped by the particular competences, resources and role of the EU in the health field. Despite a weak legal mandate and limited EU responsibilities, more interest groups are found in the health policy arena than most others, reflecting the technical nature of much health regulation, the European Commission’s need for a supportive constituency, and the role of exogenous drivers, such as court rulings, in prompting interest group activity. Increasingly, lobbying in health and other EU policy fields is also shaped by the norms, principles and tools of better regulation. The better regulation agenda seeks to make the EU policy process more participatory and transparent, by guiding processes of consultation, impact assessment and evaluation, but is not yet well-documented in the EU lobbying literature. Conceptualising better regulation as part of the political opportunity structures within which EU health interests operate, the paper explores its implications for lobbying in health and beyond, drawing on a case study of the 2016 revision of the audiovisual media services directive.