title: Russian corporate lobbying in the member states of the European Union
Creators: name: Stopfer, Marina
Publisher: name: :none
Year: 2022

description: Die Masterarbeit widmet sich der Identifizierung der Besonderheiten der Lobbying-Aktivitäten russischer Unternehmensstrukturen in den EU-Ländern. Deutschland und Österreich werden als die wirtschaftlich am weitesten entwickelten Staaten, Italien und Ungarn als Länder mit weniger entwickelter Wirtschaft in die Analyse aufgenommen. Die Studie ergab, dass russische Konzerne im Bereich Corporate Lobbying die gleichen Methoden anwenden wie Konzerne aus anderen Ländern, die ihre wirtschaftlichen Interessen in der Europäischen Union verfolgen. Art und Ziele ihrer Lobbyarbeit sind jedoch grundlegend verschieden. Eng mit dem russischen Staat verbunden und faktisch dessen Wirtschaftsakteure, betrieben russische Unternehmensstrukturen im 21. Jahrhundert immer weniger „klassisches“ Lobbying und führten immer mehr einen Wirtschaftskrieg mit dem Ziel, europäische Länder dem geopolitischen Einfluss Russlands zu unterwerfen.
description: The research is devoted to the analysis of lobbying activities of Russian corporations in the EU countries. The member states differ in their level of economic development, therefore, in order to identify the specifics of Russian lobbying in the EU, it was necessary to consider both the most economically developed states and countries with a lower level of economic development. Among them there are Germany and Austria, Italy and Hungary. The analysis of the sphere of corporate lobbying in Europe testifies to the uniformity of the nature of the lobbying influence of Russian corporate structures from other states operating in the European Union and realizing their economic interests through lobbying activities. The study demonstrates that in both cases lobbying influence is carried out through politicians and public figures or public associations. However, the activities of corporate lobbyists from Russia are fundamentally different to similar activities in other countries. There at two reasons for this. Due to the structure of the European industry, Europe's needs for trade with Russia consist mainly of energy supplies (oil, gas, as well as uranium). Other industrial goods from Russia are not of particular interest to the European Union at the moment. Their quality and cost make them uncompetitive in the EU markets. However, the same specifics of the economic development of the EU countries have predetermined a significant need for energy carriers and a number of other raw materials. And Russia can fulfill these requirements since it is a universal supplier of natural gas. It provides relatively low transportation costs for the transportation of natural gas to the European Union. It is possible to replace Russia as an energy supplier, but this involves significant costs for the restructuring of transport infrastructure and logistics. Thus, this creates a situation of relative dependence of the European Union on Russian energy suppliers. In addition, due to the specific nature of the relationship between the Russian authorities and corporate structures in the country, its energy corporations are actually turning into representatives of Russia's political interests in the European Union. Their main goal was the geopolitical subordination of European countries by economic methods. The study revealed that Russian corporations made the greatest efforts to lobby in the developed countries, as this allowed them to control not only the energy sector, but also the high-tech industries of the European industry which were dependent on it. At the same time, politicians in Germany and Austria were willing to contact Russian corporations, defending the interests of their countries and their economies. In Italy and Hungary, the lobbying efforts of Russian corporations were less pronounced due to the lesser importance of the economies of these countries. The beginning of Russia's "special operation" in Ukraine demonstrated not only the predominantly militaristic nature of Russian corporate lobbying, but also the limited potential of the EU's capabilities in countering it.