When Size Matters

This paper compares the Europeanisation of large and small business representation. While approaches to European integration have focused on the way that European society has related to the European level in the process of polity building, the study of Europeanisation provides differing insights through the analysis of policy making. This distinction allows the paper to identify the development of specific incentives and norms that have influenced the lobbying environment at the European level. By distinguishing between "top down" and "bottom up" business representation the paper identifies the competing influences on business interest interaction at the national and European levels and allows for the comparison of how these have influenced the experience of large and small businesses. The paper concludes that the process of business interest Europeanisation has taken on a very distinct logic at the European level with the development of fora under an activist Commission, but that SME and large firms have reacted to these opportunities in diverse ways. Finally, the paper warns that while it may be that the EU is uniquely open and accessible for those with clearly defined interests, those that lack the organisational resources to match the stringent requirements for interest articulation may find themselves excluded from the emerging European polity.