Multilevel Lobbying and Governance: How Political Actors’ Interactions Shape EU Legislative Duration

This dataset compiles information on European Union legislative proposals and associated public consultations in order to examine the relationship between interest group participation, institutional dynamics, and legislative decision-making duration. The dataset integrates information on legislative procedures, public consultation activities, interest group responses, and institutional variables, enabling systematic analysis of the policymaking process within the European Union. The unit of analysis is an individual legislative proposal and its associated public consultation process. For each proposal, the dataset records basic descriptive information including the consultation title, whether the consultation is directly related to a legislative initiative, the official title or code of the legislative proposal, and the web link to the consultation or legislative documentation. Temporal variables capture the date the consultation or legislative file was created and the date the legislation was finally adopted. Based on these dates, the dataset calculates the legislative duration, which serves as an indicator of decision-making speed within the legislative process. Additional procedural variables include the number of amendments proposed by the European Parliament during the first reading stage and the time span of the public consultation period, allowing researchers to examine how consultation timing relates to legislative progress. A central component of the dataset focuses on the participation and preferences of interest groups in public consultations organized by the European Commission. The dataset identifies the organizational affiliation of respondents and categorizes them into different interest group types, particularly distinguishing between resource-rich groups (e.g., business associations, large firms, or well-funded organizations) and resource-poor groups (e.g., civil society organizations, NGOs, or smaller advocacy groups). For each consultation, the dataset records the sentiment expressed by participating groups toward the legislative proposal, including the number of responses supporting the proposal and the number opposing it. The data further disaggregate opposition responses by group type, enabling comparisons between resource-rich and resource-poor actors in terms of their preferences and influence. The dataset also incorporates several contextual variables related to institutional and political conditions in the European Union legislative process. These include indicators of member state preference alignment derived from the classification of items on the Council agenda, distinguishing between cases with greater preference homogeneity and those with greater preference heterogeneity. Additional institutional variables capture legislative complexity, institutional turnover related to parliamentary cycles, and an indicator for the period affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The dataset also records the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, which may influence legislative priorities and negotiation dynamics. To account for policy variation across legislative domains, the dataset includes categorical indicators for policy areas corresponding to European Commission Directorates-General. Sixteen policy sectors are represented, including internal market and services, environment, competition, energy and transport, taxation and customs union, health and consumer protection, justice and security, education and culture, maritime affairs and fisheries, research, economic and financial affairs, budget, and migration and asylum. These classifications allow comparative analysis across policy fields. Overall, the dataset provides a structured resource for studying the interaction between public consultation participation, interest group preferences, and legislative outcomes in the European Union. It is particularly suited for quantitative analyses of legislative duration, lobbying influence, and institutional decision-making dynamics. Researchers in political science, public policy, and European studies may use the dataset to explore how consultation feedback, interest group resources, and institutional factors shape the speed and trajectory of EU legislative processes.本数据集汇编了欧盟立法提案及相关公共咨询（public consultation）的相关信息，旨在探究利益集团（interest group）参与、制度动态与立法决策时长之间的关联。数据集整合了立法程序、公共咨询活动、利益集团反馈及制度变量等多维度信息，可用于系统性分析欧盟的政策制定进程。本数据集的分析单元为单独立法提案及其配套的公共咨询流程。针对每一项提案，数据集记录了基础描述性信息，包括咨询标题、咨询是否与立法倡议直接相关、立法提案的官方标题或编号，以及指向咨询或立法文件的网络链接。时间变量涵盖了咨询或立法文件的创建日期，以及立法最终通过的日期；基于上述日期，数据集计算出立法时长，以此作为立法进程中决策速度的衡量指标。额外的程序变量包括欧洲议会（European Parliament）一读阶段提出的修正案数量，以及公共咨询周期的时长，可用于研究者分析咨询时机与立法进展之间的关联。数据集的核心组成部分聚焦于欧盟委员会（European Commission）组织的公共咨询中，利益集团的参与情况与政策偏好。数据集会识别受访者的所属机构，并将其划分为不同的利益集团类型，尤其区分资源充裕型集团（如行业协会、大型企业或资金充足的组织）与资源匮乏型集团（如公民社会组织、非政府组织或规模较小的倡导团体）。针对每一项咨询，数据集会记录参与团体对立法提案的态度倾向，包括支持提案的反馈数量与反对提案的反馈数量。数据还会按集团类型对反对意见进行细分，从而可对比资源充裕与匮乏主体在政策偏好与影响力层面的差异。数据集还纳入了多项与欧盟立法进程中制度与政治环境相关的情境变量。其中包括基于欧盟理事会（Council of the European Union）议程项目分类得出的成员国偏好一致性指标，以此区分偏好同质化程度较高与较低的案例。其他制度变量涵盖立法复杂性、与议会周期相关的制度更迭情况，以及受COVID-19疫情影响时期的标识变量。数据集同时记录了欧盟理事会的轮值主席国，该因素可能会影响立法优先级与谈判动态。为考量不同立法领域的政策差异，数据集包含了对应欧盟委员会总司（Directorates-General）的政策领域分类标识。数据集涵盖16个政策部门，包括内部市场与服务、环境、竞争、能源与交通、税收与关税同盟、卫生与消费者保护、司法与安全、教育与文化、海事事务与渔业、科研、经济与金融事务、预算、移民与庇护等。上述分类可支持跨政策领域的比较分析。总体而言，本数据集为研究欧盟公共咨询参与、利益集团偏好与立法结果之间的互动关系提供了结构化的研究资源，尤其适用于立法时长、游说影响力及制度决策动态的量化分析。政治学、公共政策及欧洲研究领域的研究者可借助本数据集，探究咨询反馈、利益集团资源与制度因素如何塑造欧盟立法进程的速度与走向。