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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: papamn298@gmail.com
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail: francesco.stolfi@mq.edu.au
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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

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