Business Interest in the EU: Integration without Supranationalism?

Abstract The EU has deeply transformed the economic and political environment of business and thus the representation of economic interests has become Europeanized. But what is the effect of this Europeanization at the EU level? We focused on the interplay of change at the domestic and European level and asked how the specific ways in which national organizations seek to have a European presence generate variations in the European system. We present an analytical model and provide empirical evidence to demonstrate that Europeanization is not concomitant with supranationalism. Thus, our research findings fit neatly into the debate on integration without supranationalism. The data analysis highlights the importance of national economic resources, the length of EU membership and the associations' scope. In the conclusion, we give reasons why a Europeanized system of business interest representation is not inherently set to become supranational.