Expert Analysis | Europe’s Regulatory Power Needs a Geopolitical Strategy
As global competition intensifies over technology standards, supply chains, and digital governance, the European Union finds itself in a paradoxical position: it remains the world’s most influential regulatory power, yet continues to treat this influence largely as a by-product of governance rather than a tool of geopolitical strategy. While Brussels has successfully exported its rules across areas such as data protection, sustainability, and competition policy, other major powers are increasingly leveraging regulatory frameworks and standard-setting processes as instruments of statecraft. Drawing on China’s strategic use of legal and regulatory influence, Benedetta Girardi argues that the EU must begin viewing its regulatory power as a geopolitical asset if it wants to preserve and advance its position in an increasingly contested international order.