Following the Money: EU Funding of Civil Society Groups Aug 01, 2011 By Christine MahoneyMichael Beckstrand Following the Money: EU Funding of Civil Society Groups The literature on EU integration has long recognized that the European Commission has promoted a pan‐European civil society in order to increase the legitimacy of the supranational institutions. While we know the Commission fosters EU civil society by encouraging their formal and informal participation in the EU policymaking processes and by directly funding them (Mahoney 2004), we have, until now, known very little about just how much money the Commission has been granting EU civil society organizations and to which segments of European civil society. This paper tests whether the Commission’s stated goals and the assumptions of EU integration scholars are reflected in the reality of its funding practices. We present analyses from two original databases: 1. The Commission’s own registry of 685 civil society organizations which includes information about the groups and the funding they have received from the Commission; and 2. A database of 1,164 civil society groups that received funding from the Commission from 2003‐2007. The findings show that the Commission’s funding decisions do indeed reflect its goals of supporting a supranational EU civil society through its support of groups organized at the EU‐level (over groups organized at the national and sub‐national level) and through its support of EU integration groups; European youth, education and intercultural exchange groups; and citizenship, democracy promotion and education groups. The findings also show however, that when it comes to societal cohesion, the Commission’s funding practices are not in line with its rhetoric. Rather than equal funding across member states, or extra support for the civil society groups of the new member states, it is the oldest and wealthiest members that are receiving the largest numbers of grants and the largest amounts of funding. The analysis, compiled from funding documents recently released through the European Transparency Initiative, is the first systematic study of the types of groups that are receiving funding and the factors that explain those funding patterns. Journal of Common Market Studies Journal of Common Market Studies Areas of focus Economics Christine Mahoney Christine Mahoney is a professor of public policy and politics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. She studies social justice advocacy, activism and direct action through social entrepreneurship. Read full bio Michael Beckstrand Related Content Christine Mahoney On the Advantages of a Well-Constructed Lobbying System: Towards a More Democratic, Modern Lobbying Process Research On the Advantages of a Well-Constructed Lobbying System: Towards a More Democratic, Modern Lobbying Process by Christine Mahoney Lee Drutman The American lobbying information processing system is woefully outdated. The mechanisms by which citizen, interest group, and business concerns are incorporated into the policymaking process have largely not been updated in over 200 years. Failure and Hope: Fighting for the Rights of the Forcibly Displaced Research In 2015, 60 million people were displaced by violent conflict globally - the highest since World War II. National and international policy prevents the displaced from working or moving freely outside the camps set up to ‘temporarily’ house them. Batten Launches Inaugural Tadler Fellowship with Major Impact in Southwest Virginia News Thanks to a generous gift from University of Virginia alumni Richard and Donna Tadler, a cohort of Batten students are poised to make a big difference in the economic future of rural Southwest Virginia. Batten Faculty Recognized for Excellence in Teaching, Service, Research and Engagement News This academic year, Batten School professors won a slew of internal and external recognitions for excellence in teaching, service, research and engagement.
Christine Mahoney Christine Mahoney is a professor of public policy and politics at the Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. She studies social justice advocacy, activism and direct action through social entrepreneurship. Read full bio
On the Advantages of a Well-Constructed Lobbying System: Towards a More Democratic, Modern Lobbying Process Research On the Advantages of a Well-Constructed Lobbying System: Towards a More Democratic, Modern Lobbying Process by Christine Mahoney Lee Drutman The American lobbying information processing system is woefully outdated. The mechanisms by which citizen, interest group, and business concerns are incorporated into the policymaking process have largely not been updated in over 200 years.
Failure and Hope: Fighting for the Rights of the Forcibly Displaced Research In 2015, 60 million people were displaced by violent conflict globally - the highest since World War II. National and international policy prevents the displaced from working or moving freely outside the camps set up to ‘temporarily’ house them.
Batten Launches Inaugural Tadler Fellowship with Major Impact in Southwest Virginia News Thanks to a generous gift from University of Virginia alumni Richard and Donna Tadler, a cohort of Batten students are poised to make a big difference in the economic future of rural Southwest Virginia.
Batten Faculty Recognized for Excellence in Teaching, Service, Research and Engagement News This academic year, Batten School professors won a slew of internal and external recognitions for excellence in teaching, service, research and engagement.