Do member states' permanent representations matter for their bargaining success? Evidence from the EU Council of Ministers

How can differences in Member States (MS) capacities to coordinate European Union (EU) decision-making processes influence their bargaining success? Based on a new dataset collected with Council representatives and policy experts in Brussels, this research shows how informal MS capacities can partly...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Arregui, Javier, Perarnaud, Clément
Format: article
Status:Versión aceptada para publicación
Publication Date:2021
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Pompeu Fabra
Repository:Repositorio Digital de la UPF
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.upf.edu:10230/72273
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10230/72273
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2021.1991981
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Bargaining success
Council of the EU
Informal capabilities
Member States
Power resources
Description
Summary:How can differences in Member States (MS) capacities to coordinate European Union (EU) decision-making processes influence their bargaining success? Based on a new dataset collected with Council representatives and policy experts in Brussels, this research shows how informal MS capacities can partly shape legislative outcomes in the EU under certain conditions. This research provides evidence that informal capacities, such as the effectiveness of MS permanent representations and/or their capacity to coordinate with other actors in the legislative decision-making, matter for bargaining success. Using a mixed-method design, this research illustrates how both the structure preference allocation and thresholds of formal power are conditions of informal power resource activation.