Access Of Experts: Information And EU Decision Making

This paper examines patterns of participation in the large expert group system under the European Commission. The authors explore competing propositions about the character of the Commission's information system, and test four hypothesis about what affects participation in the EU expert group system. The authors separate between three kinds of information providers: scientists, societal actors and government officials. The empirical section of the paper builds upon an analysis of a data set covering all of Commission expert groups (N=1237). Although scientists, and interest groups, industries and NGOs are prevalent information providers for the Commission, they show that the informational foundation is strongly biased towards officials from national administrations.