This volume examines the role of law in increasing the legitimacy of European decision-making by structuring and facilitating diverse forms of participation, representation, and deliberation. The important role of interest groups in the current debates over the legitimacy of the European Union is examined. Models of functional participation, including committees, agencies, and social dialogue are analysed in the light of a detailed empirical study of EC occupational health and safety policy.

• 1: Functional Participation: the Missing Link in the EU's Legitimacy Debate


• 2: Functional Participation in Social Regulation: the Case of European Occupational Health and Safety Policy


• 3: The European Economic and Social Committee


• 4: Tripartite Advisory Committees: The Advisory Committee on Safety and Hygiene


• 5: Information Agencies: the European Agency for Safety and Health Protection at Work


• 6: The European Social Dialogue


• 7: Functional Participation Across Stages and Modes of Policy Making


• Conclusion


• Bibliography

Stijn Smismans is a Jean Monnet Fellow at the European University Institute, Florence.