The Overlooked Actors in the EU Studies: Examining the Strategies and Objectives of Religious Actors in the European Union. Bruges Political Research Papers 81/2020.

Mgaloblishvili, Anastasia (2020) The Overlooked Actors in the EU Studies: Examining the Strategies and Objectives of Religious Actors in the European Union. Bruges Political Research Papers 81/2020. [Policy Paper]

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Abstract

In the context of the European Union, religious actors hold a unique position. Despite being defined as civil society organizations by the EU, according to Article 17 on the Treaty of the Functioning of the European Union, religious actors and non-confessional organization enjoy an “open, transparent, and regular dialogue” with the EU. Aside from making them the only civil society actors singled-out in the TFEU, the ramifications of Article 17 also include annual high-level religious leaders’ meetings with EU institutions as well as highprofile EU officials such as the Vice Presidents of the European Commission and of the European Parliament, who are charged with dialogue with religious actors. Despite their special standing and active participation, religious actors have been overlooked in the EU studies. As a result, this paper focuses on the most transnationally active religious actors – the Catholic and the Orthodox Churches – and examines their objectives and strategies through the institutionalist theories in Political Science. In doing so, it finds that religious actors represent strategic political actors who are mainly driven by their self-interest.

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