Table Of ContentPalgrave Studies in European Political Sociology
Inside European
Parliament Politics
Informality, Information and Intergroups
Laura Landorff
Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology
Series Editors
Carlo Ruzza
Department of Sociology and Social Research
University of Trento
Trento, Italy
Hans-Jörg Trenz
Department of Media, Cognition and Communication
University of Copenhagen
Copenhagen, Denmark
Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology addresses contemporary
themes in the field of Political Sociology. Over recent years, attention has
turned increasingly to processes of Europeanization and globalization
and the social and political spaces that are opened by them. These pro-
cesses comprise both institutional-constitutional change and new dynam-
ics of social transnationalism. Europeanization and globalization are also
about changing power relations as they affect people’s lives, social net-
works and forms of mobility. The Palgrave Studies in European Political
Sociology series addresses linkages between regulation, institution build-
ing and the full range of societal repercussions at local, regional, national,
European and global level, and will sharpen understanding of changing
patterns of attitudes and behaviours of individuals and groups, the politi-
cal use of new rights and opportunities by citizens, new conflict lines and
coalitions, societal interactions and networking, and shifting loyalties and
solidarity within and across the European space. We welcome proposals
from across the spectrum of Political Sociology and Political Science, on
dimensions of citizenship; political attitudes and values; political commu-
nication and public spheres; states, communities, governance structure
and political institutions; forms of political participation; populism and
the radical right; and democracy and democratization.
More information about this series at
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Laura Landorff
Inside European
Parliament Politics
Informality, Information and Intergroups
Laura Landorff
Department of Culture
and Global Studies
Aalborg University
Aalborg, Denmark
Palgrave Studies in European Political Sociology
ISBN 978-3-030-04205-9 ISBN 978-3-030-04206-6 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-04206-6
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A
cknowledgements
My research on the European Parliament’s Intergroups started with a
term paper that I wrote as an M.A. student during the European Studies
research project semester at Aarhus University in 2009 and ends now with
the publication of this book. It has been an exciting, eventful, precious,
and at times challenging journey. At this point, I would like to express my
deepest thanks to a number of people who supported me during this time.
I am deeply indebted to my interview partners who dedicated their
precious time to my research project. Without you, this book would have
not been possible. Moreover, I wish to thank the European Parliament
for granting me with a study visit in 2012 and thus, for supporting my
research on-site.
I would like to express my sincere appreciation to my former super-
visors Ulrike Liebert (University of Bremen), Margrit Schreier (Jacobs
University Bremen), Ann-Christina Lauring Knudsen (University of
Aarhus) and Niilo Kauppi (University of Jyväskylä) for their valuable
guidance, advice and helpful comments throughout the Ph.D. process. I
am very grateful and honoured to have been supported by such an inter-
national, multi- and interdisciplinary team of scholars.
The Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences
(BIGSSS) has been my academic home from September 2011–2016.
I am very thankful for the academic, institutional and administrative
support I received at all times. The BIGSSS Ph.D. scholarship allowed
me several field stays in the European Parliament as well as numerous
conference and summer school participations where I presented my
v
vi ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
research and received valuable comments on my work. In particular, I
wish to thank Arndt Wonka, coordinator of the research field on Global
Governance and Regional Integration at BIGSSS. Your constructive
feedback and continuous encouragement meant a lot. Moreover, a spe-
cial thanks goes to my former Ph.D. colleagues at BIGSSS who became
dearest friends, in particular to Anna Hokema, Ines Spieler, Juliane Klein
and Caterina Bonora. Tusind tak for your great company and contin-
uous support. I also like to extend my gratitude to Herwig Reiter for
the extensive exchange on qualitative research and data analysis during
numerous workshops at BIGSSS.
Furthermore, I am very grateful to the German Academic Exchange
Service (DAAD) for funding my research stay at the University of
Strasbourg, France in the autumn of 2013. In addition, I like to thank
the Aarhus University Research Foundation (AUFF) for financing my
stay as a visiting Ph.D.-student at Aarhus University in the autumn of
2014.
I also wish to extend my gratitude to my former professors and
colleagues at the School of Culture and Society/European Studies
at the University of Aarhus, in particular to Ann-Christina Lauring
Knudsen, Lisanne Wilken, Christoffer Kølvraa, Hagen Schulz-Forberg
and Christina Fiig. I also like to thank Knud Erik Jørgensen at the
Department of Political Science. Thank you very much for your inspira-
tion, encouragement and promotion. You planted a seed for this book as
well as for my own personal development as a researcher.
I am also very grateful to my new academic home at the Department
of Culture and Global Studies at the University of Aalborg. In particular,
I like to thank my colleagues Lise Rolandsen Agustin, Søren Dosenrode,
Wolfgang Zank and Anita Nissen for their valuable comments on earlier
drafts of this book. Moreover, I wish to thank the Head of Department,
Marianne Rostgaard, as well as the Vice Head of Department, Lise-
Lotte Holmgreen. Thanks to their support, I was able to enjoy a writing
retreat at the beautiful site of Klitgården Refugium to finish this book.
My deepest gratitude goes to my parents for all their support and love,
for raising me to be the person that I am. This book is dedicated to you.
c
ontents
1 Introduction 1
2 Opening up Institutional Black Boxes: The European
Parliament from a Sociological Perspective 31
3 Intergroups in the European Parliament:
Institutionalisation and Regulation 61
4 Who Are the MEPs Making up Intergroups?
A Sociopolitical Analysis 81
5 Finding Allies: The Intergroup as Bridging Social Capital 109
6 Seeking Information: The Intergroup as Informational
Capital 135
7 Conversion and Mobilisation of Political Capital 159
8 Conclusion 187
Appendix A 201
Appendix B 209
vii
viii CONTENTS
Appendix C 215
Appendix D 239
Appendix E 243
Index 249
A
bbreviAtions
AEM A ssociation Européenne des Élus de Montagne (Association
of Elected Representatives from Mountain Regions)
AER A ssembly of European Regions
AFCO C ommittee on Constitutional Affairs
AFET C ommittee on Foreign Affairs
AGRI C ommittee on Agriculture and Rural Development
ALDE A lliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe
AREV A ssemblée des Régions Européennes Viticoles (Assembly
of European Wine Regions)
ATD A gir Tous pour la Dignité
BUDG C ommittee on Budgets
CAAT C entre for Alternatives to Animal Testing
CAP C ommon Agricultural Policy
CARDOC C entre archivistique et documentaire du Parlement européen,
Luxembourg
CEMR C ouncil of European Municipalities and Regions
CoR C ommittee of the Regions
CFSP C ommon Foreign and Security Policy
CMO C ommon Market Organisation
CNAOC C onfédération Nationale des Producteurs de Vins et Eaux-de-
Vie de Vin à Appellations d’Origine Contrôlées
COD C o-decision procedure/Ordinary Legislative Procedure
CPMR C onference of Peripheral Maritime Regions
CSO C ivil Society Organisation
CULT C ommittee on Culture and Education
CV Curriculum Vitae
ix
