Peripheries on the periphery of the European Union? The framework and limits of subnational interest representation at the EU level

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to show how the issue of the periphery appears in the institutional system of the European Union. In the first part of our study, we attempt to define the term periphery at the EU level, and show how the issue of the periphery appears in EU documents. In the second part, we scrutinize the connections between the EU development policy and the development opportunities of the peripheral regions, while in the third part, the opportunities for representing EU interests in the peripheral regions will be presented.

Our research is based on in-depth interviews with EU actors (mainly MEPs and members of the Committee of the Regions) conducted in 2021 and the analysys of the documents of EU development policy between 2004 and 2020 (Commission, European Parliament, Committee of the Regions, European Economic and Social Committee).

According to the results of our research, the interests of the more advanced, well-organized actors are much more likely to appear and be integrated into the various decision-making processes, while in the case of the peripheries, even the identification of needs is often difficult. Regardless of whether the individual interests appear through the multi-level governance system of cohesion policy or through other institutionalized or informal channels of interest representation at the EU level, their role in shaping development policy is indisputable. However, if the interests do not emerge, there is little chance of developing (focused) interventions that match the specificities of the peripheries, and therefore also of mitigating regional differences.