The Europeanisation of interest groups: EU conditionality and adaptation of interest groups to the EU accession process in the Republic of Macedonia Lidija Hristova and Aneta Cekik * Institute for Sociological, Political and Juridical Research, Ss. Cyril and Methodius University, Bul. Partizanski odredi bb. PO 435, Skopje 1000, Republic of Macedonia (Received 25 December 2012; accepted 12 December 2014) This article examines the effects of the EU accession process on the representation of interests in R. Macedonia. Based on interview data from several types of interest groups, we conclude that the EU accession process has contributed towards the greater inclusion of highly Europeanized sectors of civil society in national decision-making. However, these developments are not so substantial as to justify the conclusion that interest groups have become systematically involved in national politics as a result of EU pressure. Our findings also confirm several modes of participation of interest groups in EU-level interest representation, although with limited scope and effects. Keywords: Europeanisation; interest groups; civil society; the Republic of Macedonia Introduction The domestic impact of the EU in post-communist accession states has been studied extensively (Vachudova 2001; Emerson and Noutcheva 2004; Schimmelfennig and Sedelmeier 2004; Grabbe 2006). While scholarly research has focused on adjustments to EU demands in the fields of public policy and political institutions, research into interest groups in the context of EU accession has remained modest (for exceptions, see Fink-Hafner 1998; Pérez-Solórzano Borragán 2001, 2006). On the other hand, a number of recent studies claim that the political and administrative level of (successful) transformation in new member states has not been accompanied by wider social and cultural changes (Agh 2009; Börzel 2010; Sissenich 2010), that is, the effects of Europeanisation on civil society have been far weaker than the impact of Europeanisation on political institutions and legal systems. These analyses are supported by several research studies which have con- cluded that the involvement of civil society in domestic policy-making is limited and that there is a lack of experience in the representation of interests at the EU level. 1 This article is concerned with the Europeanisation of interest groups in one of the EU acceding states – the Republic of Macedonia. By reviewing the adaptation of interest groups to the process of EU accession, the article explores the extent and kind of changes that have occurred in the represen- tation of Macedonian civil society interests. By means of interviews with interest groups, analysis of official documents, and various secondary sources, the article seeks to capture the current state of affairs in national interest representation and to identify the effects of EU accession, as well as the particular activities and behaviour of interest groups at the domestic and EU levels. © 2015 Taylor & Francis *Corresponding author. Email: anetac@isppi.ukim.edu.mk East European Politics, 2015 Vol. 31, No. 1, 23–38, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21599165.2014.1000485