The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World

by Anu Bradford

For many observers, the European Union is mired in a deep crisis. Between sluggish growth; political turmoil following a decade of austerity politics; Brexit; and the rise of Asian influence, the EU is seen as a declining power on the world stage.

Columbia Law professor Anu Bradford argues the opposite in her important new book The Brussels Effect: the EU remains an influential superpower that shapes the world in its image. By promulgating regulations that shape the international business environment, elevating standards worldwide, and
leading to a notable Europeanization of many important aspects of global commerce, the EU has managed to shape policy in areas such as data privacy, consumer health and safety, environmental protection, antitrust, and online hate speech. And in contrast to how superpowers wield their global
influence, the Brussels Effect - a phrase first coined by Bradford in 2012- absolves the EU from playing a direct role in imposing standards, as market forces alone are often sufficient as multinational companies voluntarily extend the EU rule to govern their global operations.

The Brussels Effect shows how the EU has acquired such power, why multinational companies use EU standards as global standards, and why the EU's role as the world's regulator is likely to outlive its gradual economic decline, extending the EU's influence long into the future.

Genres: Politics, Nonfiction, Economics, History, Law, International Affairs, Business

424 pages, Hardcover

Published March 2, 2020

About the author

Anu Bradford is Henry L. Moses Professor of Law and International Organization at Columbia Law School. She is also a director for the European Legal Studies Center and Chazen Senior Scholar at Columbia Business School. Her writing focuses on European Union law, international trade law, and comparative and international antitrust law. Before joining the Law School faculty in 2012, she was an assistant professor at the University of Chicago Law School.
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Bradford earned her S.J.D. degree in 2007 and LL.M. degree in 2002 from Harvard Law School, and also holds a law degree from the University of Helsinki. After completing her LL.M. studies as a Fulbright Scholar at Harvard Law School, Bradford practiced antitrust law and EU law at Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in Brussels for two years before returning to Harvard for her doctoral studies. She has also served as an adviser on economic policy in the Parliament of Finland and as an expert assistant to a member of the European Parliament.

Bradford grew up in Finland, and lives today in New York with her husband and three children.

Reviews

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World, by Anu Bradford, is an interesting and exhaustive look at what the author terms "The Brussels Effect". This is a play on the California Effect, whereby an intranational entity that sets high regulatory standards can affect the standards of other entities based on how private markets operate. As a business that may export or wish to operate within the European Union (or California, for that matter), adhering to, say, rigorous environmental standards is necessary to enter the market. When the population of an entity is large, and/or desirable to trade in, the entity is able to engage in "regulatory hegemony" whereby their regulations become standard across corporate entities. The European Union, as a political entity of many European States, has such clout, and its large and affluent consumer market is mana from heaven for most firms, not to mention the prestige of products from some of its members (French cheese, Italian wine, German cars etc. etc.). European nations have high regulatory standards, and do not adhere to the Americanized culture of perceived small government. European regulators are active, activist and expanding, and this has an affect on any firm or organization globally that wishes to operate within its markets. The author looks at numerous case studies, from environmental regulations, GMO products, and most interestingly, privacy and terms of service for big tech firms. The court cases against Google, Microsoft and the like within European courts have had a massive impact on how tech firms operate. Cookie preferences, opt-out options for data collection, and so much more all have their origin points within European courts and regulatory agencies, and although corporations often fight tooth and nail to avoid such regulations, once they are in place, they set them as standards.

From the perspective of a large firm, like Google, it is difficult and expensive to set up different standards for different markets. Unifying standards across markets means that a global company need only create one standardized unit of a product, and this product could be sold in any market globally, with only small tweaks, or none at all. The conventional wisdom is that a company is constantly seeking to find the lowest common denominator. So when standards are high in a market that is desirable to trade in, a company will examine the costs and benefits of either complying, or leaving the market. With a market as large and affluent as the European Union, it would be difficult for a firm to leave, and may trap them out of a large portion of the global market. Therefore, complying is the often the most cost effective choice. A knockoff benefit to this is that these standards are often applied globally, meaning many more jurisdictions can benefit (or free ride) off of the high standards set by European regulatory agencies. It also means that European entities have a lot of sway within the regulatory agencies and markets of other nations or trans-national bodies. Europe has been slow to capitalize on the soft power of this result, but in recent years, has begun to set "The Brussels Effect" as foreign policy. Trade agreements negotiated with other nations allow the EU direct policy oversight over foreign entities businesses, meaning that they can encourage and spread such regulatory pressures. Once again, the desire to access the European market often overcomes the immediate pains of increasing or changing standards.

This book goes into exhaustive and well researched detail on the effects of the EU's "regulatory hegemony" and makes a convincing theory. The author also looks at potential challenges to the Brussels Effect, including growing entities like China, that may not be able to set global standards fully yet, but are poised to do so in future. The US, as a premier market of choice for most firms, is an interesting study. Certainly powerful enough to set its own standards and apply them globally (and it does), it nonetheless benefits from the "off-shoring" of regulatory implementation. Government involvement in business is a political hotbed in the US, meaning regulatory agencies are often constrained by politics, and struggle to set even basic standards at a universal level. The EU's regulatory push challenges US firms to improve their quality standards, but it also benefits US consumers with safer products, more rights in terms of electronic privacy, and better environmental standards - all things that successive US administrations can claim are market driven benefits, but in reality are driven by a foreign entities regulatory policy.

This book was a fascinating case study on alternative and soft power, and how it affects other regions of the globe. It is also a fascinating examination of regulatory standards and how they effect consumer standards, product safety, environmental regulations, and privacy standards, among other things. A really unique perspective is present in this book, that examines regulation from a global perspective, and touches on the changing nature of trade, geopolitics and the like going into the future.

[OutboardCap · Rating 3 out of 5]

The year is 2023. The United States administrative law code lives under BRUSSELS EFFECT. All American bureaucrats are Europeanized. American bureaucrats live to enact EU regulations. Welcome to America's EU REGULATORY FUTURE.

OutboardCap remembers life before the Brussels effect – before the waste management standards, food safety standards, internet privacy laws, environmental protections, and mandatory pillow sizes. He lives on the war-torn outskirts of Washington D.C, where he hides his beautiful Mark Zuckerberg from the clutches of the brutal nanny state.

As elderly unelected European bureaucrats prowl the countryside searching for unregulated tech companies, Cap will stop at nothing to protect sweet Facebook's purity. In his ill fitted suit, Cap gives his 40 hours per week to a gang of Belgian technocrats: the ultimate act of courage and sacrifice. But is Outboard prepared for the overwhelming demonstration of power and domination? The encounter brings him face-to-face with his worst fears... and his most unspeakable state power fantasies.

Acclaimed author and pro domme Ursula Von der Leyen presents a tantalizingly political vision of the future. Her powerful, vivid, fly-on-the-wall passages of twenty-seven on one legal action push the boundaries of European soft power. The EUROCRATS have their way with Outboard's freedom, banning and taxing and restricting in one of the hottest scenes in the history of the genre. And interspersed throughout the sizzling prose, a suspenseful narrative full of imaginative world-building unfolds.

Experience the true power of Eurocrats in Italian suits. Prepare to pay the ultimate noncompliance fine. Explore the mind-bending world of BRUSSELS EFFECT, the first book in Von der Leyen's brand new series.



(Seriously though, it's fine. Nothing super revolutionary is presented here, but it gives you a good foundation for how exactly this sort of thing works, be it in California or globally. It's very competent and short, but repeats itself a little, as is normal for an academic work.)

[Benji · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a privileged European I want to conquer the world all over again, this time without military means but rather through our legal juggernaut, an army of PhDs.

An adventure in environmental cultural imperialism, bringing the good life to the toiling masses by gentle and soft coercion.

Do you want to pay the price for my European ideological luxuries?

[Pedro · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some useful data, but very biased. Neglects the negative effect of the "Brussels Effect" on developing countries.

[André Morais · Rating 4 out of 5]

In a nutshell, the author presents the Brussels Effect as the EU’s capacity to spill-over its regulatory power to countries, companies and markets outside its territorial boundaries, thus setting the economic players’ conduct.
Following an introductory chapter on the Brussels Effect’s theory, the author moves on to present her four case studies: market competition, digital economy, consumer health and safety, and environment. The book closes with a critical assessment of the Brussels Effect.
In my opinion, the author’s explanation of the Brussels Effect relies on product non-divisibility, which makes economic players reliant on having to fulfill the EU’s regulatory provisions and the EU citizens’ purchase power, which overcomes that of China, e.g.
I believe that this book is a really comprehensive and exhaustive analysis of the EU’s overseas regulatory capacity. Nevertheless, it falls short of providing an explanation for the EU’s incapacity of harvesting innovative and disruptive companies. Even what one could see as Europe’s weakness - the large need to import - the author presents it as a strength, claiming that is Europe’s reliance on imports - different from China’s over-reliance on exports - that makes the Brussels Effect possible. However, I can’t help but wonder how will that work in the long term?
Another interesting topic would be “regulatory exhaustion”, arising from the “mass production” of legislation by European institutions, along with a more detailed analysis of financial regulation, which, for professional reasons, I’m particularly keen on.

[Keenan · Rating 4 out of 5]

An eye-opening look into the reasons why the European Union is so regulation focussed, how its structure allows for regulation to come about, and how these two in tandem have manifested into the EU becoming a global regulatory behemoth. In everything from competition law to data privacy to food and chemical safety, standards and rules and directives set out by the EU (and the Commission in particular) have had global reach, bringing increasing order to a world that is less cooperative on the multinational level. A convincing case is made that despite the EU's faults, in the sphere of policy making and regulation the world's first true technocracy has worldwide influence and is increasing welfare for citizens in countries both within and beyond its borders, leveraging a myriad of hard power and soft power tools to achieve its many policy aims. Overly technical at times but a fascinating read nonetheless!

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bradford lays out a variety of examples of what she calls the Brussels Effect, the way EU standards ripple out across the world, shaping regulations far beyond its borders, and discusses both positive and negative aspects of this influence. Surprisingly interesting, given that economics is usually a subject that bores me to tears and the writing is dry as a desert.

[Filip Batselé · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book ought to be mandatory reading for anyone with somewhat of an interest in the EU. Bradford has conducted a true tour de force in gathering sources for this book, which shows how the EU's lawmaking can have a global reach through companies that adopt EU practices for their whole supply chain, or via legal transplants of other countries. The book is well written and logically structured; covers theory, practice, and is also clear in its division of empirical statements/normative evaluations.

[Helinä · Rating 4 out of 5]

Silmiä avaava lukukokemus EU-sääntelystä, jota juristina on tuijottanut niin läheltä, että on ollut vaikeaa havainnut sen globaalia vaikutusta.

[Dylan Halky · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Everest was reading this solely on the plane to and from Florida but it was actually very interesting ✈️✈️

[Erik Champenois · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Brussels Effect" shows how the European Union operates as a regulatory superpower, exerting significant influence in the global economy in spite of its less significant military power and its otherwise diminishing economic power. The "Brussel's Effect" is the EU's unilateral power to regulate global markets - an effect that comes about when five conditions (not necessarily limited to the EU) are true: (1) when the market size is significant enough for companies exporting into the market to adjust to that market's standards rather than forego the market, (2) when the market has a high regulatory capacity, (3) when stringent regulations are promulgated, (4) when targets are inelastic making it hard for companies to evade rules by relocating (capital being the example of a highly elastic target), and when (5) when non-divisibility applies, i.e., when it is difficult to separate a firm's production or services across multiple markets.

In other words, companies that would otherwise prefer not to follow EU regulations will follow these regulations not just within the EU but GLOBALLY - because the cost of following more stringent EU regulations outweighs the cost of having to offer different products or services across different markets. The most stringent regulations mandated by a significant market will be followed globally rather than the less stringent regulations mandated by other significant markets because of scale or product or process efficiencies alongside the desire to operate in all profitable markets.

Of course, this effect does not apply to all products and services - but it does apply to a significant number of global services. Bradford cover specific examples across the global industries of market competition (antitrust vs. mergers and acquisitions), digital economy, consumer health and safety, and the environment. She shows how EU regulations against anti-competitive practices operate for companies seeking to operate anticompetitively outside of the EU market. For example, the EU has slapped several fines on Google for anticompetitive practices happening at U.S. or global levels (often with Microsoft or other American companies litigating within the EU) - and Google has had to comply and/or pay fines as the cost of being able to continue to do business within the EU. Likewise, EU regulations on data protection and online hate speech have in many instances been adapted by tech companies globally, given the costs and technological difficulties of separating compliance between less stringent market regulations and more stringent market regulations online. Likewise, food safety, chemical safety, and environmental regulations have been promulgated by the EU and taken up worldwide. Bradford discusses both the de facto uptake of EU regulations worldwide and the de jure uptake of such regulations - with many countries directly copying or adapting EU regulations within their own markets. All this to say that in spite of Asia's growing geopolitical importance and the EU's diminished geopolitical importance, the EU continues to exert outsized global economic power through its regulatory regime.

Towards the end, "The Brussels Effect" (itself written towards the end of Trump's first presidency, published in 2020) discusses the potential future of the Brussel's effect, including possible challenges to the continuation of the effect. First, whether the Brussels Effect may someday be outrun by a "Beijing Effect". She argues that this is unlikely to happen in the foreseeable future, given China's weak consumer demand alongside its significantly lower GDP per capita, and exacerbated by potential (now real) economic slowdown, itself driven by an aging population and resistance to reforms. The key to the EU's regulatory influence is the dependence of foreign firms on access to the EU market, but such access is restricted in China both legally and through weak consumer demand. Even if China were to someday overcome these challenges, the Brussels Effect would likely in some ways persist given the adaption of EU standards by China, as well as by an overall path dependency of EU regulations worldwide.

Second, will a retreat of globalization and a potential fracturing of the global economy unravel the Brussels Effect? This question is even more pertinent given the trajectory of the global economy in the second Trump administration. Bradford argues, however, that "if anything, the retreat of global institutions will leave a greater regulatory vacuum for the de facto Brussels Effect to fill" (p. 270). After all, as she discusses earlier in the book, the Brussels Effect shows the power of the EU to unilaterally affect global standards, as opposed to acting multilaterally through trade agreements and treaty regimes. In that sense, the Brussels Effect may actually mitigate the weakening of international cooperation and institutions in some areas. As she argues, "In these areas, President Trump and other nativists are - effectively even if inadvertently - trading globalization for Europeanization" (p. 271). If the U.S. wanted to exert greater regulatory power, it ought to have done so through trade agreements such as the TPP and the TTIP. Unfortunately, we have instead made the choice to weaken our power globally.

Third, Bradford briefly covers whether technological developments might weaken non-divisibility, with 3D printing and geo-blocking offered as two options - and with the conclusion being that there are limits to how much new technology can upset the Brussels Effect. Finally, internal challenges are covered: whether anti-EU sentiments might cause an internal weakening of the Brussels Effect through a realignment within the EU away from Brussels. While possible, Bradford argues that the EU's regulatory power could also remain largely unaffected by anti-EU sentiments, which are generally not focused on the single market but more concerned about budgets 0r migration. Even if anti-EU parties gain leverage over the European Parliament and the European Council, the Commission would be able to continue to govern in several significant areas non-legislatively. Meaning that anti-EU parties would have to absolutely dominate for them to be able to effectively end the Brussels Effect as such.

The writing is dense and obviously influenced by the author's profession as a law professor - but is absolutely fascinating reading for anyone who like me are apt to geek out at reading about regulatory superpowers. "The Brussels Effect" gives a whole new view to an important dimension of global power, illuminating the global economy and future potential trajectories in the process. Highly recommended reading for anyone interested in the EU or the world economy.

[Michele Wucker · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE BRUSSELS EFFECT convincingly describes how the European Union has built and wielded global influence over regulations far beyond its borders, and what that influence might mean for the future. In this extensively researched and clearly argued book, author Anu Bradford refreshingly resists sinking into the hand-wringing muck of the conventional wisdom of the policy establishment. Her coining of "the Brussels effect" has already found its way into the new vernacular. She challenges readers to reconsider the relative roles of governments and markets on making the rules of the global economy -and how important it is to focus on that process as a "race to the top" that can make us all safer.

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting account of the soft power of Brussels and always enjoyable to see Americans getting a taste of their own medicine (for once having to dance to another country's tune rather than being the bandmaster), but rather dry and academic and with traces of the humourless self-righteousness so common among Europhiles.

[Daria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book I should have read a long time ago. This book is about the EU's power to unilaterally regulate global markets - meaning where the EU introduces a high standard in, for example, consumer protection, companies which do not want to lose access to the hundreds of millions of consumers living in the EU adapt their practices to meet the standards and then roll out this to all their globally sold products due to the technical inability to produce different products or where, for instance, it is not economic to do so. A small complaint would be that the repetitions were a bit much for me but I greatly enjoyed the case studies part in particular.
A very nice phrase which I wholeheartedly agree with is the following: "My pride of the EU's many accomplishments is as profoundly felt as are my frustrations about its repeated failures."

[Florian, Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Brussels Effect" is one of those books where you think it's enough to read an essay about it to understand the idea: Because of the importance of the European market, the EU often succeeds in making its laws a global standard - because companies voluntarily abide by them worldwide, or because EU laws become models for other countries. Nevertheless, it is worth reading the whole book by Anu Bradford, who describes in detail the conditions that must be met for the Brussels effect to be effective - and wonders whether the EU can continue to succeed in playing out its regulatory power as it has in the past.

[Adrián · Rating 5 out of 5]

What an insightful read on the European Union and its normative power. A. Bradford clearly demonstrated that the EU is here to stay and thrive due to the path dependency of its policies and treaties. The EU through its Brussels Effect left an imprint in numerous business sectors and achieved unintentional standard setting across the world owing to its regulatory capacity. The ties of the EU vis-a-vis the rest of the world are hard to be reversed and I believe that more is coming, especially in the digital sector.

[Joao Lovato · Rating 5 out of 5]

A crucial book to understand the EU’s regulatory hegemony nowadays. The book shows with countless details that the European Union global influence is still strong. Although the book is very well explained and presents manifold examples, it might be a bit hard to read if you don’t understand some terms utilized, therefore it is recommended if you already have a previous knowledge of the EU institutions, economics, international institutions and law.
In sum, The Brussels Effect was one of my favorite books I’ve read this year, highly recommended.

[Ethan Ahrend · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt like I was reading the exact same chapter over and over. I think Bradford made a lot of valid points and described the influence between Euro and western societies well. Her writing wasn't really the easiest to get through in my opinion, and it was just redundant. Maybe political science fans can appreciate this more than I can, but I felt like this could've just been an article or a few short chapters.

[Peter Vegel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the easiest read since it is more of an academic text than a monograph. Overall has a strong thesis but the GDPR part is outdated (others maybe too that I'm not aware of). Another point of criticism is that the author quotes a lot of people without giving their affiliation, so up to you to guess if they are government, researcher, business, lobbyist, ...

[Michal · Rating 2 out of 5]

In general the idea is good and it helped me to better understand how European Union works, what is good about it and what is not. But the writing is poor. Very repetitive, too wordy, yet not explaining enough, not on the point, etc. I think the most important part is only the second part of the book.

[Mehmet Kalaycı · Rating 3 out of 5]

The hypotheses put forward by the author are certainly interesting but I found the reading of the book a little difficult. The case studies require parallel research if one wants to better understand what the author is talking about.

[Ben Huntsman · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of an extended paper than a book, but the underlying theory is compelling and highly relevant for the post-Brexit world. With the EU’s ambition vis-a-vis Big Tech and climate only increasing, the Brussels Effect seems increasingly salient.

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

Superb!

[Brock Bank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and well presented if dry, but that’s to be expected of a book primarily anchored by case studies.

[Michael Pepe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I especially enjoyed the comparisons between the EU and USA. Great read.

[Reinier Jansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very strong thesis and explanation of why the european union is influential in the world. Logical use of case studies and clear dismjssal of possible anti arguments.

[George · Rating 3 out of 5]

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[Kostis Krimizis · Rating 2 out of 5]

interesting idea, superficial execution

I would expect more from a European professor in Columbia. This seems more as an approach to explaining eu institutions, instead of explaining the reasons for the Brussels effect. Why not the dc effect, what is the reason this term does not exist?

[Thilo Hamann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this book as it gives another clear reason of the importance of the EU