Interest Groups (Leaving Cert Business): Revision Notes
📚 Revision Notes
Interest Groups
infoNote
Special interest groups, are organisations that aim to influence public policy and decision-making processes to benefit their specific interests or causes despite not being an official part of the political process.
Role of Interest Groups
Interest Groups influence the EU with methods such as:
- Lobbying: Special interest groups engage directly with EU officials. They aim to influence legislation and policy decisions and advocate for their interests.
- Information Campaigns: Interest groups run public relations efforts to educate and inform both the public and EU policymakers about their issues.
- Protests: Special interest groups organise demonstrations and other public events to draw attention to their causes. By creating visible public pressure, they aim to influence EU policymakers and raise awareness of their issues.
Ryanair is an example of a company which lobbies the European Commission to influence its decisions. In recent years they have been advocating to protect overflights from French strike action.
*Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary hit with a pie while demonstrating outside the European Commission *