Power to the connected? Determinants of member states’ bargaining success in the making of the EU Digital Single Market

This research investigates the determinants of European governments’ bargaining success in negotiations related to the EU’s Digital Single Market (DSM). Investigating the making process of the recent Geoblocking Regulation and the Directive establishing the Electronic Communications Code, this article shows how member states’ capabilities to form coalitions at the EU level can be dependent upon their resources in Brussels and the efficiency of their coordination processes, translating in turn into asymmetries of influence. Drawing on interviews with national negotiators and EU officials, these two case studies indicate configurations in which states’ varying capabilities to liaise with EU institutions may partly determine their bargaining success in the adoption process of EU digital policies. This research confirms in particular that informal coordination mechanisms mobilised by the most digitally advanced countries of the EU can grant them significant influence over the shaping process of DSM legislations.