MEMBER STATES INFLUENCE ON EU POLICY

Source: ECFR

Ranking

1. Germany
2. France
3. Netherlands
4. Italy
5. Poland
6. Spain
7. Hungary
8. Sweden
9. Austria
10. Belgium
11. Luxembourg
12. Ireland
13. Estonia
14. Greece
15. Finland
16. Denmark
17. Portugal
18. Slovakia
19. Bulgaria
20. Czech Republic
21. Lithuania
22. Romania
23. Croatia
24. Cyprus
25. Latvia
26. Malta
27. Slovenia

Note: 

To influence EU policies, member state governments must be able to successfully bargain with the other governments represented in the Council and with the EP and the Commission. In order to gain enough votes to reach a decision, Council members must form coalitions with one another. While doing so, they must take into account the configuration of preferences among the rest of the members as well as the importance of the legislation for themselves and other members. These factors influence what kind of coalitions member states can possibly form, which in turn determines the character of policy outcomes. A member state’s potential to form powerful coalitions with like-minded members who care about the negotiated legislation largely determines whether it will obtain favorable policy outcomes. Moreover, since there are multiple voting rules in the Council (unanimity and qualified majority voting), the impact of member states’ coalition potential on their bargaining success will vary depending on the voting rule.

Generally speaking 

1. France and Germany have positive relations across the board; each country recognises the value of working closely with the other, complementing all other member states’ recognition of them as key partners.
2. The relationship between the Netherlands and Germany is balanced and strong.
3. The relationship between Sweden and Finland is balanced and strong.
4. Poland has formed a robust partnership with Hungary, as has the Czech Republic with Slovakia. There is an extremely high level of consensus within each pair, but there is no comparable consensus between them. This suggests that the Visegrád group is a 2+2 relationship that includes some inbuilt rivalry and disagreement – which can significantly constrain its members’ collective impact.
5. The relationships between Baltic states are close, but they are not always balanced.
6. Greece and Cyprus have a close relationship.
7. Spain is more closely connected to France than Italy.
8. Denmark, Austria, Ireland, Romania, Bulgaria, Croatia, and Slovenia appear to have no close partners in the EU.
9. Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, and Lithuania seem to have only one close partner each. Thus, these countries have relatively weak or unbalanced relationships with other member states.
10. Ireland most often contacts Germany. The Irish perceive themselves as having greater shared interests with the Dutch, but the Dutch do not perceive themselves as having significant shared interests with the Irish.