Where there is democracy, there is lobbying. In democratic systems, the activity of interest groups is not only considered legitimate, but also as an important indicator of the effective degree of democracy. The interaction between lobbies and public authorities is fundamental, given that the task of the public decision-maker is to satisfy the interests of the community. The decision-making process in the European Union (EU), therefore, is open to the influence of public and private actors, such as regions, local authorities, economic, social and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society and firms. Indeed, it is well known that one of the key objectives of the European Union is to spread a European culture among public administrations (PAs), economic operators and above all among the European citizens. From this perspective, the development of regional offices in Brussels should therefore be considered attributable to the multilevel governance (MLG) approach, a form of policy making characterized by the sharing and division of competences between different levels of government (supranational, national and subnational). This research is inspired by my curiosity after regions found themselves playing a central role in tackling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this dissertation aims to understand the role of the Italian regions within the European multilevel governance through an in-depth analysis of the national reference legislation on the European decision-making process. In particular, the regional level of participation and their role within the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) will be analysed through the analysis of the official document as well as some publications by the European Committee of the Regions. Thanks to the regional offices established in Brussels, in fact, the Italian regions can gain information and promote the interests of their territories through lobbying activities. However, due to the restrictive measures due to the pandemic, regions have found it difficult to make their voices heard in Europe regarding the European Recovery Plan.

THE ITALIAN REGIONS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: BETWEEN LOBBYING AND NETWORKING. THEIR ROLE IN THE NATIONAL RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PLAN

BIASIOLO, CHRISTIAN
2021/2022

Abstract

Where there is democracy, there is lobbying. In democratic systems, the activity of interest groups is not only considered legitimate, but also as an important indicator of the effective degree of democracy. The interaction between lobbies and public authorities is fundamental, given that the task of the public decision-maker is to satisfy the interests of the community. The decision-making process in the European Union (EU), therefore, is open to the influence of public and private actors, such as regions, local authorities, economic, social and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil society and firms. Indeed, it is well known that one of the key objectives of the European Union is to spread a European culture among public administrations (PAs), economic operators and above all among the European citizens. From this perspective, the development of regional offices in Brussels should therefore be considered attributable to the multilevel governance (MLG) approach, a form of policy making characterized by the sharing and division of competences between different levels of government (supranational, national and subnational). This research is inspired by my curiosity after regions found themselves playing a central role in tackling the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, this dissertation aims to understand the role of the Italian regions within the European multilevel governance through an in-depth analysis of the national reference legislation on the European decision-making process. In particular, the regional level of participation and their role within the Italian National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) will be analysed through the analysis of the official document as well as some publications by the European Committee of the Regions. Thanks to the regional offices established in Brussels, in fact, the Italian regions can gain information and promote the interests of their territories through lobbying activities. However, due to the restrictive measures due to the pandemic, regions have found it difficult to make their voices heard in Europe regarding the European Recovery Plan.
2021
THE ITALIAN REGIONS IN THE EUROPEAN UNION: BETWEEN LOBBYING AND NETWORKING. THEIR ROLE IN THE NATIONAL RECOVERY AND RESILIENCE PLAN
lobbying
Regions
governance
NRRP
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Utilizza questo identificativo per citare o creare un link a questo documento: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12608/32974