and influence until today, where it has a become a supranational government, affecting and shaping a wide range of policies. The majority of EU policies apply to a single unified jurisdiction. At the same time does the EU encourage decentralization and promotes the creation of trans-regional institutions financially, which in some cases resemble Type II governance. Interreg is a perfect example of how cross regional cooperation can strengthen economic and social cohesion. So it can be argued, that the EU incorporates both Type II characteristics and I. With the Lisbon treaty multi-level governance became, though not directly, a mean to fill the treaty with life and the Committee of the Regions has since published a white paper that illuminates the essential need for multi-level governance. 4.4 Lobbyism The word lobbying is derived from the word lobby, where members of parliament would gather before and after debates and it was possible to talk with and influence politicians. Nowadays though, lobbying limited to the lobby of a parliament isn’t anymore and takes place many places and takes on various forms. The Council of Europe understands lobbying as a: to influence policy formulation and decision-making with a view to “concerted effort obtaining some designated result from government authorities and elected representatives. In a wider sense, the term may refer to public actions (such as demonstrations) or activities by various institutions (associations, “public affairs” consultancies, advocacy groups, think-tanks, non governmental organisations, lawyers, ect.); in a more restrictive sense, it would mean the protection of economic interest by the corporate sector (corporate lobbying) commensurate to its weight on a national or global scene.” While it is clear, that most lobbyists are active for organisations representing business interests, one can be sure of that there, out the estimated 15.000 to 30.000 lobbyist active in Brussels, still are plenty to target local interests. The big differ in number of lobbyist, is a result of that there is no official statistic counting them, and the definition of who is a lobbyist is quite blurry.
and influence until today, where it has a become a supranational government, affecting and shaping a wide range of policies. The majority of EU policies apply to a single unified jurisdiction. At the same time does the EU encourage decentralization and promotes the creation of trans-regional institutions financially, which in some cases resemble Type II governance. Interreg is a perfect example of how cross regional cooperation can strengthen economic and social cohesion. So it can be argued, that the EU incorporates both Type II characteristics and I. With the Lisbon treaty multi-level governance became, though not directly, a mean to fill the treaty with life and the Committee of the Regions has since published a white paper that illuminates the essential need for multi-level governance. 4.4 Lobbyism The word lobbying is derived from the word lobby, where members of parliament would gather before and after debates and it was possible to talk with and influence politicians. Nowadays though, lobbying isn’t limited to the lobby of a parliament anymore and takes place many places and takes on various forms. The Council of Europe understands lobbying as a: “concerted effort to influence policy formulation and decision-making with a view to obtaining some designated result from government authorities and elected representatives. In a wider sense, the term may refer to public actions (such as demonstrations) or “public affairs” activities by various institutions (associations, consultancies, advocacy groups, think-tanks, non governmental organisations, lawyers, ect.); in a more restrictive sense, it would mean the protection of economic interest by the corporate sector (corporate lobbying) commensurate to its weight on a national or global scene.” While it is clear, that most lobbyists are active for organisations representing business interests, one can be sure of that there, out the estimated 15.000 to 30.000 lobbyist active in Brussels, still are plenty to target local interests. The big differ in number of lobbyist, is a result of that there is no official statistic counting them, and the definition of who is a lobbyist is quite blurry.