The remarkable belief that regulatory leadership could project influence was most forcefully advanced by Anu Bradford (2012; 2020). She argued that the EU economy was so large that the regulations it promulgated were becoming the global standard. Thereby presumably making the EU a global power. She called it the Brussels effect. Was the EU ever a “superpower” because of its regulations? If it was, what economic benefit would Europeans have gotten? And if not, what does pursuing this mean for the EU in a transforming global economy? The USA’s recent intervention in Venezuela wipes away the delusion that regulation in a neo-mercantilist structure provides influence, let alone projects power: the reality is that real technological and economic strength and military power underpin the projection of influence. Recent European compromises on digital regulation, semiconductors, and the green transition also show that the Brussels effect is more limited than previously thought and Europe’s incapacities in the real world of techno-business more salient. This is not simply a result of Europe’s relative importance in the global economy but rather a reflection of Europe limited capabilities in economically propulsive technologies. All of this raises hard questions about Europe’s future.
