This paper challenges this assumption as it argues that the EU may also originate changes in social movements and protest groups engaged in contentious action. The existence of a participatory regime at the EU level based on expertise could contribute to the emergence of a counter-movement: an arena where symbolic protest and more or less populist arguments predominate (Eder 2001). In this line, this article shows to which extent social movements and protest groups engage into a new dynamics of Europeanization, that is, counter-loading (as opposed to down-loading, up-loading and cross-loading). Counter-loading describes a process in which CSOs unable or unwilling to fit the model of the « Brussels consensus » are indirectly encouraged to deal with specific topics or/and pursue contentious action. This dynamics imply that the agenda’s and strategies of social movements and protest groups are indirectly shaped by the EU. In this case, instead of down-loading EU requirements and rules, protest groups would use the EU as a counter-model (e.g. if the EU promotes consensual forms of participation, as a reaction, CSOs would engage in contentious patterns of action).
The qualitative analysis of the agenda and repertoires of action of social movements engaged in contentious forms of action at the EU level contributes to a give a broader picture of the participation regime at the EU level. This original empirical contribution also bridges divides between academic studies on the participation of civil society on EU governance and studies on contentious policies and the Europeanization of social movements. This article explores counter-loading as a new possible dynamics of the Europeanization process, and thus, it is also an original contribution to studies in this field. The empirical evidence will be derived from the analysis of NGOs and social movements involved in the European Social Forum (ESF) held in Malmö in September 2008.
