New Challenges in the European Union Lobbying in the Covid-19 Times

Non-state actors are participating in a range of policy-making arenas within the EU and other governing bodies at the local, regional and global levels of politics. The overarching goal of the paper is to analyze the respective access to, and influence of, a range of interest groups in policy-making in the European Union in the COVID-19 times. In particular, the paper will explore unevenness in the influence of particular types of non-state actors in policy-making processes at the begging of governance from 2020 when the Pandemic was started in the Global order and in the European Union. Expanding regulation and access opportunities after the breakpoint of COVID-19 times was limited which has a significant impact on relationships within EU institutions and other governmental authorities at the national level. Lobbying in general promotes a variety of forms, means of communication and exchange of views, which are fundamental for enabling different non-state actor’s activity. After 2020 there are wide divergences in representation and access to the policy-making process for interest groups which influences the efficiency and effectiveness of actions taken by this groups. Indeed, interest groups influence is dynamic and often depends on the consultation processes at the EU and at other governing institutions in Europe. The degree of balance among the different level of cooperation in regard to representation and access to particular institutions is also dependent on the economic, legal and social context of policy-making in the COVID-19 times. The paper will present goals of interest groups as part of the European Union decision-making process as well as the new forms of influence used by interest groups in the EU decision-making process empowered in Pandemic times. The main research objective is to analyze the cooperation of interest groups with individual institutions and bodies of the European Union, the role of interest groups in shaping European policies, the forms of interest group influence that are important in the decision-making process in the EU in Pandemic COVID-19. The following problems are addressed in the paper: institutional prioritization within the model of how interest groups function in the EU, the role of interest groups within the interest representation in creating European Union policies and how to define the new forms and channel of influence of interest groups in the EU in Pandemic. The following research questions are posed in the paper: which EU institutions are relevant from the point of view of interest groups and why in the Pandemic times? Which institutions are more important than others and what is the result of such a situation? What is the role of interest groups in the creation of European Union policies in Pandemic times? What forms of influence can be used in lobbying campaigns by interest groups in the Pandemic times? Are there any complementary new forms of influence? Paper will by a try to defined and find the answer for the challenges tools for the lobbying activity of the non-state actors after 2020. when it was started COVID-19 pandemic times in Europe.