Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rcrh6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T19:26:09.809Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Border clashes: the distributive politics of professional liberalisation in Greece, 2010–2018

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 July 2019

Francesco Stolfi Open the ORCID record for Francesco Stolfi [Opens in a new window]  and
Natalia Papamakariou
Francesco Stolfi*
Affiliation:
Department of Modern History, Politics and International Relations, Macquarie University, Australia
Natalia Papamakariou
Affiliation:
Greek Ministry of Economy and Development/General Secretariat for Industry, Greece E-mail: [email protected]
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article studies the political conflict surrounding the implementation of the European Union’s Services Directive in Greece between 2010 and 2018, the period in which the country was subject to external conditionality by external institutions. Focusing on the opening of jurisdictional boundaries for four professions (tourist guides, taxi owners, lawyers and engineers) that differ in terms of power and of organisational structure, we find that power differences, including control of the professions’ institutions of interest aggregation and representation, explain the liberalisation outcomes across the four professions. This article thus puts the spotlight on the role of domestic interest groups in the implementation of EU legislation and directs researchers’ attention to the broader issue of bias in interest intermediation, a classic, but lately understudied, issue in the study of politics.

Keywords

ComplianceGreeceinterest groupsliberalisationprofessionsServices Directive
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Public Policy , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , March 2021 , pp. 90 - 110
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Afonso, A (2011) Employer Strategies, Cross-class Coalitions and the Free Movement of Labour in the Enlarged European Union. Socio-Economic Review, 10, 705–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Afonso, A, Zartaloudis, S and Papadopoulos, Y (2015) How Party Linkages Shape Austerity Politics. Journal of European Public Policy, 22(3), 315–334.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arts, B and Verschuren, P (1999) Assessing Political Influence in Complex Decision-making: An Instrument Based on Triangulation. International Political Science Review, 20(4), 411–424.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Atkinson, A (2015) Inequality. Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Batory, A (2016) Defying the Commission. Public Administration, 94(3), 685–699.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumgartner, F and Leech, B (1998) Basic Interests. Princenton, NJ: Princenton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baumgartner, F, Berry, J, Hojnacki, M, Kimball, D and Leech, B (2009) Lobbying and Policy Change. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bernhagen, P, Dür, A and Marshall, D (2014) Measuring Lobbying Success Spatially. Interest Groups & Advocacy, 3(2): 202–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beyers, J (2004) Voice and Access: Political Practices of European Interest Associations. European Union Politics, 5(2): 211–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beyers, J and Braun, C (2014) Ties That Count: Explaining Interest Group Access to Policymakers. Journal of Public Policy, 34(1): 93–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beyers, J, De Bruycker, I and Baller, I (2015) The Alignment of Parties and Interest Groups in EU Legislative Politics: A Tale of Two Different Worlds? Journal of European Public Policy, 22(4), 534–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beyers, J, Eising, R and Maloney, W (2008) Researching Interest Group Politics in Europe and Elsewhere: Much We Study, Little We Know? West European Politics, 31(6), 1103–1128.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Binderkrantz, A, Christiansen, P and Pedersen, H (2014) A Privileged Position? The Influence of Business Interests in Government Consultations. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 24, 879–896.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Börzel, T (2000) Why There Is No “southern problem”. On environmental Leaders And Laggards in the European Union. Journal of European Public Policy, 7: 141–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouwen, P (2002) Corporate Lobbying in the European Union: The Logic of Access. Journal of European Public Policy, 9(3), 365–390.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouwen, P (2004) The Logic of Access to the European Parliament. Journal of Common Market Studies, 42(3), 473–495.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Braun, C (2012) The Captive or the Broker? Governance, 25, 291–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brook, R (2011) Cheaper by the Hour. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.Google Scholar
Brunsden, J (2019) Brussels Acts Against All EU Members Over Single Market Failings. Financial Times, June 7.Google Scholar
Bunea, A (2013) Issues, Preferences and Ties: Determinants of Interest Groups’ Preference Attainment in the EU Environmental Policy. Journal of European Public Policy, 20(4), 552–570.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Callanan, M (2011) EU Decision-Making: Reinforcing Interest Group Relationships with National Governments? Journal of European Public Policy, 18(1), 17–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chalmers, AW (2013) Trading Information for Access: Informational Lobbying Strategies and Interest Group Access to the European Union. Journal of European Public Policy, 20(1), 39–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chatzopoulou, S (2015) When Do National Administrations Adapt to EU Policies? Variation in Denmark and Greece. International Journal of Public Administration, 38(2), 104–115.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Davies, G (2007) The Services Directive. European Law Review, 32(2), 232–245.Google Scholar
Dimitrova, A and Steunenberg, B (2013) Living in Parallel Universes? Implementing European Movable Cultural Heritage Policy in Bulgaria. Journal of Common Market Studies, 51(2), 246–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dimitrova, A and Steunenberg, B (2017) The Power of Implementers: A Three-Level Game Model of Compliance with EU Policy and Its Application to Cultural Heritage. Journal of European Public Policy, 24(8), 1211–1232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dür, A (2008) Measuring Interest Group Influence in the EU. European Union Politics, 9(4), 559–576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dür, A and De Bièvre, D (2007a) Inclusion Without Infuence? NGOs in European Trade Policy. Journal of Public Policy, 27(1), 79–101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dür, A and De Bièvre, D (2007b) The Question of Interest Group Influence. Journal of Public Policy, 27(1), 1–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dür, A and Mateo, G (2010) Bargaining Power and Negotiation Tactics. Journal of Common Market Studies, 48(3), 557–578.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dür, A and Mateo, G (2013) Gaining Access or Going Public? European Journal of Political Research, 52, 660–686.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dür, A and Mateo, G (2016) Insiders Versus Outsiders. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dür, A, Bernhagen, P and Marshall, D (2015) Interest Group Success in the European Union. Comparative Political Studies, 48(8), 951–983.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Eckstein, H (1975) Case Study and Theory in Political Science. In Greenstein, FI and Polsby, NW (eds.), Handbook of Political Science – vol. 7 Strategies of Inquiry. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley, 79–137.Google Scholar
Eising, R, Rasch, D, Rozbicka, P, Fink-Hafner, D, Hafner-Fink, M and Novak, M (2017) Who says what to whom? Alignments and arguments in EU policy-making. West European Politics, 40(5), 957–980.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Euro2day (2013) Kόντρα προέδρου TEE μϵ αντιπρόϵδρο Xημικών [The President of TCG against the Vicepresident of chemical engineers]. August 13. http://www.euro2day.gr/chameleon/article-blog-chameleon/1121938/tee-kontra-proedroy-me-ton-antiproedro.html (accessed 19 May 2018).Google Scholar
European Commission (2010) The Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece. European Economy, Occasional Papers 61, May 2010.Google Scholar
European Commission (2011) The Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece Third Review – Winter 2011. European Economy – Occasional Papers 77, February 2011.Google Scholar
European Commission (2013) The Second Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece Second Review. European Economy – Occasional Papers 148, May 2013.Google Scholar
European Commission (2017) Compliance Report. The Third Economic Adjustment Programme for Greece. Second Review, June 2017.Google Scholar
Exadactylos, T and Zahariadis, N (2014) Quid pro Quo: Political Trust and Policy Implementation in Greece During the Age of Austerity. Politics & Society, 42(1), 160–183.Google Scholar
Falkner, G and Trieb, O (2008) Three Worlds of Compliance or Four? Journal of Common Market Studies, 46(2), 293–313.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Falkner, G, Treib, O, Hartlapp, M and Leiber, S (2005) Complying with Europe. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Featherstone, K (2005) Introduction: ‘Modernization’ and the Structural Constraints of Greek Politics. West European Politics, 28(2), 223–241.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fraussen, B, Beyers, J and Donas, T (2015) The Expanding Core and Varying Degrees of Insiderness. Political Studies, 63, 569–588.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gemenis, K and Nezi, R (2015) Government–Opposition Dynamics During the Economic Crisis in Greece. The Journal of Legislative Studies, 21(1), 14–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grant, W (2000) Pressure Group and British Politics. London: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Grossman, E (2006) Europeanization as an Interactive Process. Journal of Common Market Studies, 44(2), 325–348.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Haverland, M, Steunenberg, B and Van Waardn, F (2011) Sectors at Different Speeds. Journal of Common Market Studies, 49(2), 265–291.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Héritier, A (1997) Market-Making Policy in Europe. Journal of European Public Policy, 4(4), 539–555.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hobolt, S (2018) The Crisis of Legitimacy of European Institutions. In Castells, M, Bouin, O, Caraça, J, Cardoso, G, Thompson, JB and Wieviorka, M (eds.), Europe’s Crises. Cambridge: Polity Press, 243–266.Google Scholar
Hope, K (2017) Syriza Revives Radical Policies to Placate Supporters. Financial Times, August 29 https://www.ft.com/content/1790e168-898c-11e7-bf50-e1c239b45787.Google Scholar
Hopkin, J (2001) A ‘Southern Model’ of Electoral Mobilization? Clientelism and Electoral Politics in Spain. West European Politics, 24(1), 115–136.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Höpner, M and Schäfer, A (2010) A New Phase of European Integration: Organised Capitalisms in Post-Ricardian Europe. West European Politics, 33(2), 344–368.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Katsimi, M and Moutos, T (2010) EMU and the Greek Crisis. European Journal of Political Economy, 26, 568–576.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
KEPE (2015) The Effects of Liberalization of Professional Requirements in Greece. Athens: KEPE.Google Scholar
Kitschelt, H (2000) Linkages Between Citizens and Politicians in Democratic Polities. Comparative Political Studies, 33(6/7), 845–79.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitschelt, H and Rehm, P (2014) Occupations as a Site of Political Preference Formation. Comparative Political Studies, 47(12), 1670–1706.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kitschelt, H and Wilkinson, S (2007) Citizen-Politician Linkages. In Kitschelt, H and Wilkinson, S (eds.), Patrons, Clients and Policies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1–49.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klüver, H (2013) Lobbying in the European Union. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Klüver, H (2018) Setting the Party Agenda: Interest Groups, Voters and Issue Attention. British Journal of Political Science Early View, 34 (4):589–610.Google Scholar
König, T and Luetgert, B (2009) Troubles with Transposition? Explaining Trends in Member-State Notification and the Delayed Transposition of EU Directives. British Journal of Political Science, 39(1), 163–194.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kopecký, P, Mair, P and Spirova, M (eds.) (2012) Party Patronage and Party Government in European Democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korpi, W (1985) Power Resources Approach vs. Action and Conflict. Sociological Theory, 3(2), 31–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koukias, D (1994) οργάνωση Συμϕϵρόντων στην Eλλάδα [The Organization of Interests in Greece]. Athens: Exantas.Google Scholar
Lakasa, A (2011) ϵκλέγϵσθαι, σϵ ένα ϵπάγγϵλμα που μοιάζϵι… κλϵιστό [You have been elected, into a profession that looks … closed]. Kathimerini, March 12.Google Scholar
LaPalombara, J (1964) Interest Groups in Italian Politics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lavdas, K (2005) Interest Groups in Disjointed Corporatism. West European Politics, 28(2), 297–316.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyrintzis, C (1984) Political Parties in Post-Junta Greece: A Case of ‘Bureaucratic Clientelism’?. West European Politics, 7(2), 99–118.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mahoney, C (2007) Lobbying Success in the United States and the European Union Journal of Public Policy, 27(1), 35–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maloney, W, Jordan, G and McLaughlin, A (1994) Interest Groups and Public Policy: The Insider/Outsider Model Revisited. Journal of Public Policy, 14(1), 17–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKay, A (2012) Buying Policy? The Effects of Lobbyists’ Resources on Their Policy Success1. Political Research Quarterly, 65(4), 908–923.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mitsopoulos, M and Pelagidis, T (2013) The 2010 Greek Economic Crisis and the Conditionality Programme. In Kalyvas, S, Pagoulatos, G and Tsoukas, H (eds.), From Stagnation to Forced Adjustment: Reforms in Greece, 1974–2010, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 212–246.Google Scholar
Monastiriotis, V and Antoniades, A (2013) Reform That! Greece’s Failing Reform Technology. In Kalyvas, S, Pagoulatos, G and Tsoukas, H (eds.), From Stagnation to Forced Adjustment: Reforms in Greece, 1974–2010. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 48–67.Google Scholar
Olson, M (1971) The Logic of Collective Action: Public Goods and the Theory of Groups. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Otjes, S and Rasmussen, A (2017) The Collaboration Between Interest Groups and Political Parties in Multi-party Democracies. Party Politics, 23(2), 96–109.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Page, E (1999) The Insider/Outsider Distinction. British Journal of Politics and International Relations, 1(2), 205–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pagoulatos, G (2003) Greece’s New Political Economy. Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire and New York: Palgrave Macmillan.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Papamakariou, N (2017) Η Απϵλϵυθέρωση των Κλϵιστών Επαγγϵλμάτωνστην Ελλάδα [The liberalization of closed professions in Greece]. Master’s Thesis, Athens University of Economics and Business.Google Scholar
Paster, T (2014) Why Did Austrian Business Oppose Welfare Cuts? How the Organization of Interests Shapes Business Attitudes Toward Social Partnership. Comparative Political Studies, 47(7), 966–992.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Paterson, I, Fink, M, Ogus, A, Merz, J, Fink, F and Berrer, H (2003) Economic impact of regulation in the field of liberal professions in different Member States. Report for the EU Commission, Directorate General Competition, Vienna: Institute for Higher Studies.Google Scholar
Pritoni, A (2019) Exploring the impact of partisan gatekeeping on interest group representation and bias: the case of Italy (1987–2015). Interest Groups & Advocacy, 8(1), 68–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rasmussen, A and Carroll, B (2014) Determinants of Upper-Class Dominance in the Heavenly Chorus: Lessons from European Union Online Consultations. British Journal of Political Science, 44(2), 445–459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rueda, D (2008) Left Government, Policy, and Corporatism World Politics, 60(3), 349–389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmälter, J (2018) Willing and Able? Journal of European Public Policy, 25(4), 506–525.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmidt, S (2009) When Efficiency Results in Redistribution. West European Politics, 32(4), 847–865.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schmitter, P and Streeck, W (1999) The Organization of Business Interests. Discussion Paper 99/11, Cologne: Max Planck Institute for the Study of Societies.Google Scholar
Slepcevic, R (2009) The Judicial Enforcement of EU Law Through National Courts: Possibilities and Limits. Journal of European Public Policy, 16(3), 378–394.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, M (2000) American Business and Political Power. Chicago and London: Chicago University Presss.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sotiropoulos, D (2013) The Paradox of Non-reform in a Reform-Ripe Environment. In Kalyvas, S., Pagoulatos, G and Tsoukas, H (eds.), From Stagnation to Forced Adjustment: Reforms in Greece, 1974–2010. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 9–31.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sotiropoulos, D (2018) Political party–interest group linkages in Greece before and after the onset of the economic crisis. Mediterranean Politics, Early View, doi: 10.1080/13629395.2018.1428149 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stephen, F and James, L (2000) Regulation of the Legal Profession. In Bouckaert, B and De Geest, G (eds.), Encyclopedia of Law and Economics, Volume III. The Regulation of Contracts. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar, 987–1017.Google Scholar
Streeck, W (2009) Re-forming Capitalism. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ta Nea (2010) Θα βάλουμϵ λουκέτο [We will put a padlock], August 2.Google Scholar
Thomann, E and Sager, F (2017) Moving Beyond Legal Compliance: Innovative Approaches to EU Multilevel Implementation. Journal of European Public Policy, 24(9), 1253–1268.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thomson, R (2007) Time to Comply: National Responses to Six EU Labour Market Directives Revisited. West European Politics, 30(5), 987–1008.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Toshkov, D (2010) Taking Stock: A Review of Quantitative Studies of Transposition and Implementation of EU Law. Institute for European Integration Research. Working Papers 2/2010.Google Scholar
Trantidis, A (2016) Clientelism and Economic Policy, Greece and the Crisis. London and New York: Routledge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Treib, O (2014) Implementing and Complying with EU Governance Outputs. Living Reviews in European Governance, 9, 1.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Truman, D (1951) The Governmental Process, Political Interests and Public Opinion. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press Publishers.Google Scholar
Versluis, E (2007) Even Rules, Uneven Practices. West European Politics, 30, 50–67.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weber, M (1978) Economy and Society. Berkeley: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Wiberg, M (2014) The EU Services Directive. The Hague: T.M.C. Asser Press.Google Scholar
Witko, C (2009) The Ecology of Party-Organised Interest Relationships. Polity, 41(2), 211–234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woll, C and Jacquot, S (2010) Using Europe. Comparative European Politics, 8, 110–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wonka, A (2017) German MPs and Interest Groups in EU Multilevel Policymaking: The Politics of Information Exchange West European Politics, 40(5), 1004–1024.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahariadis, N (2017) Bargaining Power and Negotiation Strategy. Journal of European Public Policy, 24(5), 675–694.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Stolfi and Papamakariou supplementary material

Stolfi and Papamakariou supplementary material 1

Download Stolfi and Papamakariou supplementary material(File)
File 22.8 KB