In her important new book, Columbia Law professor Anu Bradford argues 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.

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. 

The Brussels Effect in the News

BOOK REVIEWS:

• Book Review - "The Brussels Effect", Foreign Affairs, Mar/ Apr 2020

• Book Insight - "How the ‘Brussels Effect’ Helps the EU Rule the World", Washington Post, Mar 22, 2020

• Book Insight - "Charlemagne - The parable of the plug", Economist, Feb 7, 2020 

• Book Review - "The Brussels Effect, by Anu Bradford", Financial Times, Jan 27, 2020

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ACADEMIC REVIEWS:​

• "The European Union as a Global Regulatory Power", Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, Dec 03, 2020

• "The Brussels Effect", SUERF - The European Money and Finance Forum, Nov 2020

• "Brussels Effect: How the European Union Rules the World", European Law Review, Oct 2020

• The Brussels Effect", Politique étrangère, Sep 16, 2020

• "PMOFR Book Review: Anu BRADFORD, The Brussels Effect", European Law Blog, Jul 9, 2020

• "Anu Bradford, The Brussels Effect", Europarättslig tidskrift, 2020/3

• "Anu Bradford, The Brussels Effect", Revue française d'administration publique, 2020/3

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AUTHOR ESSAYS AND OP-EDS:​

• "The Brussels Effect Comes for Big Tech", Project Syndicate, Dec 17, 2020 (Reprinted in Multiple Outlets including Japan Times, Taipei Times, El Pais, Irish Examiner, and Daily Star.)

• "No subestimemos el poder de la UE: así influye en el mundo", El Pais, Aug 23, 2020

• "Why the European Union is not doomed to fail", Prospect, May 6, 2020

• "How Europe Rules the Digital Economy", Project Syndicate, Apr 20, 2020 (German Reprint in MIT Technology Review)

• "No, Brexit Won’t Free the U.K. From EU Regulations", Wall Street Journal, Feb 7, 2020

• "When it Comes to Markets, Europe is no Fading Power", Foreign Affairs, Feb 3, 2020

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INTERVIEWS:​

• "La Covid-19 ha aumentado el poder de la UE en el mundo", La Vanguardia, Dec 27, 2020

• "EU hallitsee maailmaa – professori Anu Bradford paljastaa miten", Ulkopolitiikka, Dec 3, 2020

• "Fortællingen om det svage EU er falsk", Altignet, Nov 20, 2020

• "’Bruxelles-effekten’ har gjort EU til global supermagt", Information, Jul 16, 202o

• "‘The EU Rules the World’ Says Anu Bradford in Groundbreaking New Book", Columbia Law

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​VIDEOS: 

• TV Interview - CNBC Squawk Box - Europe, CNBC, Feb 25, 2020

• Video Book Talk - "Eurasia Live with Ian Bremmer", Eurasia Group, Feb 19, 2020

• TV Booktalk - "The Chazen Institute Hosts The Brussels Effect", C-SPAN2, Jan 19, 2020

PODCASTS: ​

• "Will the EU continue to be the boss of regulation or will there be a Beijing effect?", Agenda Publica Conversations, Jan 16, 2021

• "Breaking down the 'Brussels Effect'",  Microsoft - Tech Fit 4 Europe, Oct 2020

• "A conversation on ‘The Brussels Effect’ with Professor Anu Bradford", EU Law Live, Oct 14, 2020

• "The “Brussels Effect”", American Society of International Law, Jun 2, 2020

• "EU Confidential #148: The Brussels Effect", Politico, Apr 16, 2020

• "The Brussels Effect", ABC Radio National Australia, Apr 11, 2020

• "Is the EU a superpower?", Bruegel, Mar 3, 2020

• "The EU as regulatory superpower: Can EU law be a geopolitical tool?", ECFR, Mar 2, 2020

• "How is the EU setting standards around the World?", ECIPE, Mar 2, 2020

ADDITIONAL NEWS AND MEDIA:

• "Die beste aller Weltmächte", Der Spiegel, Jan 22, 2021

• "EU hoopt op minder handelsruzies met Biden aan het roer", Het Financieele Dagblad, Jan 16, 2021

• "Regulation alone will not strengthen Europe’s digital sector", Financial Times, Dec 20, 2020

• "Facebook, Google und Co. machen was sie wollen, aber jetzt will die EU die Anarchie im Netz beenden", Aargauer Zeitung, Dec 15, 2020

• "Why techplomacy is more important than ever", The Parliament Magazine, Dec 10, 2020

• "Na Trump is het tijd voor ‘Make Europe Great Again'", NRC Handelsblad, Dec 3, 2020

• "Going After Big Tech Is One Thing Global Leaders Agree On", Bloomberg, Dec 3, 2020

• "Le Numérique A Besoin D’Un Régulateur Mondial Et Pourquoi L’UE Pourrait Tenir Ce Rôle", Forbes France, Dec 2, 2020

• "What is the Brussels Effect, and what does it mean for global regulation?" Microsoft Corporate Blog, Oct 26, 2020

• "Vivir mejor: El futuro es Europa", La Vanguardia, Sep 15, 2020

• "Setting the 5G standard", The Parliament Magazine, Sep 7, 2020

• "Globalisation need not mean deregulation", Financial Times, Aug 20, 2020

• "Der Brüssel-Effekt", Die Presse, Jul 23, 2020

• "’Bruxelles-effekten’ har gjort EU til global supermagt", Information, Jul 16, 2020

• "Así domina el mundo la Unión Europea, según la creadora del 'efecto Bruselas'", El Confidential, Jul 13, 2020

• "'Supersaaie' wet kan (financiële) wereld op zijn kop zetten", Nieuwsuur, Jun 18, 2020 (Video at 3:39)

• "Harmaista standardeista tuli geopoliittisen pelin välineitä", Ulkopolitiikka, May 22, 2020

• "Under­vurderet supermagt", Weekendavisen, May 19, 2020

• "The covid-19 pandemic puts pressure on the EU", Economist, May 14, 2020

• "Het Brussels-effect: 'China kopieert vaak de Europese regels'", Knack, May 13, 2020

• "Privacy in a pandemic", Economist, Apr 23, 2020

• "POLITICO EU Influence: The Brussels Effect", Politico, Apr 17, 2020

• "Dit ‘Brussel-effect’ maakt Europa tot supermacht"​, NRC Handelsblad, Apr 16, 2020

• "Wie die EU still und leise die Weltwirtschaft lenkte", Perspective Daily, Apr 1, 2020

• "Moni globaali kisa käydään EU:n ehdoin", MustRead, Mar 25, 2020

• "How the European Union Rules the World", Global Finance Magazine, Mar 23, 2020

• "Brussel had niet tot doel ‘to rule the world’ – maar doet dat wel", NRC Handelsblad, Mar 6, 2020

• "Will My Data Be Online Forever?", Gizmodo, Mar 3, 2020

• "Europe (and yes, that includes Britain) can still be a superpower", The Guardian, Mar 1, 2020

• "Europa regiert die Welt", Suddeutsche Zeitung, Mar 1, 2020

• "The EU wants to set the rules for the world of technology", Economist, Feb 19, 2020

• "How Brussels is writing the world's rulebook", Financial Review, Feb 17, 2020

• "Europeans Should Say Thank You to Boris Johnson", Bloomberg, Feb 3, 2020

• "Technology: how the US, EU and China compete to set industry standards​", Financial Times, Jul 24, 2019

• "As their cause crumbles, Brexiters turn to fantasy and bitter recriminations", The Guardian, Jun 10, 2018

• "Hot U.S. Import: European Regulations", Wall Street Journal. May 7, 2018

• "The GDPR Is in Effect: Should U.S. Companies Be Afraid?", Business Insider, Jan 18, 2018

• "Why the whole world feels the ‘Brussels effect’", Financial Times, Nov 15, 2017

• "Why the ‘Brussels effect’ will undermine Brexit regulatory push", Financial Times, July 12, 2017

Reviews, Quotes, and Endorsements

Public Events

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 research and teaching focus 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. 

Conversation with the Author