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When the EU Council responds to public opinion: Negotiating European policy integration

Author

Listed:
  • Nikoleta Yordanova

    (Institute of Political Science, 4496Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands)

  • Anastasia Ershova

    (School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, 1596Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, UK)

  • Aleksandra Khokhlova

    (Institute of Political Science, 4496Leiden University, Leiden, the Netherlands)

  • Saad Obaid Ul-Islam

    (Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (CAIDAS), 9190University of Würzburg, Wurzburg, Germany)

  • Goran GlavaÅ¡

    (Center for Artificial Intelligence and Data Science (CAIDAS), Faculty of Mathematics and Computer Science, 9190University of Würzburg, Wurzburg, Germany)

Abstract

While the Council of the European Union has long been deciding on EU policy insulated from public scrutiny, we argue that enhanced transparency and EU politicisation have strengthened the linkage between its positions and public opinion. We further expect the Council to be more responsive to public opinion in member states, in which citizens view EU policy action as salient and are relatively united in their stance on it. To assess these expectations, we used semi-supervised machine learning to estimate the Council's positions on the expansion of the EU policy authority in legislative acts during the post-Lisbon period (2009–2019) and the Eurobarometer to measure public support for EU action in 21 policies across member states. The results offer evidence of territorial responsiveness of the Council.

Suggested Citation

  • Nikoleta Yordanova & Anastasia Ershova & Aleksandra Khokhlova & Saad Obaid Ul-Islam & Goran GlavaÅ¡, 2025. "When the EU Council responds to public opinion: Negotiating European policy integration," European Union Politics, , vol. 26(3), pages 453-476, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:eeupol:v:26:y:2025:i:3:p:453-476
    DOI: 10.1177/14651165251340212
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