EU structuring effects on civic organizations: learning from experience, learning from comparison

This article proposes an analytical framework designed to permit a comparison of EU impact on voluntary organizations based in different national and regional settings, including the European Union. The empirical part of this paper applies the proposed framework of analysis to civil society organizations based in France, the UK and Spain. According to the data collected, the EU has significant structuring effects on its western member states. The EU has not only contributed to the transformation of the voluntary sector’s landscape in some member states, it has also supported significant organizational and normative changes among voluntary organizations. This article argues that many of the dynamics at work in Europe may be of some relevance for current developments in candidate and third countries (and formulates some hypotheses in this direction). Comparative studies in this field including third countries would also contribute significantly to a refinement of the proposed analytical framework.