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Representing the Public Interest: When Do Elites in Brussels Address Public Interest in EU Policy Debates?

Modern-day EU policy processes have the potential for being politicized and becoming salient among the media and broad segments of society. EU policy elites no longer act under the radar of public scrutiny, and are expected to act according the interests of European citizens. Although most studies concur that public pressure and responsiveness have become important ingredients of the contemporary EU policy arena, there is still little known about when and how elites appeal to public interests in justifying their actions. This paper analyzes under which conditions and how political elites involved in EU legislative procedures appeal to public interests in European news media. The empirical analysis is based on a large scale content analysis that was conducted in the context of the INTEREURO project. The dataset consists of 3,259 media statements in six European media outlets on a random sample of 125 legislative proposals adopted by the European Commission between 2008–2010. The results demonstrate that public interests are articulated in the media, predominantly when the issue-context is politicized, and then primarily by the Members of the European Parliament. Moreover, elites that address public interests in the media are usually more supportive rather than opposed to the Commission’s legislative initiatives.