In the Media and Public Debate

My research on EU regulation, better regulation and simplification regularly reaches beyond academia. Below is a selection of recorded talks, media coverage and public-facing writing.

Recorded talks

SNS seminar, Regelförenkling – nyckeln till stärkt konkurrenskraft? (2026), invited keynote on regulatory simplification and competitiveness — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGiF49w5JwM&t=747s

Theories of Regulation & Governance webinar (2025), invited keynote on regulatory offsetting in the EU — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sm7nygK8_Cg&t=2287s

European Parliament (2023), presentation of my study on the European Commission's Regulatory Scrutiny Board — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ia9UzKs6K3E&t=1131s

Policy reports and briefs

Pircher, Brigitte, & Steinebach, Yves (2026). Regulatory Offsetting in Practice: Greater Awareness, Limited Relief. European Commission, Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22165513

Pircher, Brigitte (2025). Rebalancing EU regulation: Progressive responses to the deregulation push. Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, Bonn. https://collections.fes.de/publikationen/ident/fes/22096

Pircher, Brigitte (2024). EU Better Regulation: Creating a playing field for businesses at the expense of social and environmental policies. Verlag Arbeiterkammer Wien. https://emedien.arbeiterkammer.at/resolver?urn=urn:nbn:at:at-akw:g-6994420

Pircher, Brigitte (2023). The EU's Commission Regulatory Scrutiny Board: better regulation or biased influence on legislation? Kammer für Arbeiter und Angestellte für Wien. https://emedien.arbeiterkammer.at/viewer/resolver?urn=urn:nbn:at:at-akw:g-6369789

Commentary and blog posts

Social Europe (2024), "'Better regulation'? Capital first, society second" — https://www.socialeurope.eu/better-regulation-capital-first-society-second

Arbeit & Wirtschaft Blog (2024), "'Bessere' EU-Rechtsetzung? Vorrang für Unternehmen vor gesellschaftlichen Interessen" — https://www.awblog.at/Europa/Bessere-EURechtsetzung-Vorrang-fuer-UnternehmenInfobrief EU & International (2024), "Bessere Rechtsetzung in der EU: Unternehmenswünsche im Fokus" — https://wien.arbeiterkammer.at/interessenvertretung/eu/infobrief/IB24_4_Artikel01_BessereRechtsetzung.html

Arbeit & Wirtschaft Blog (2023), "Das Regulatory Scrutiny Board: Wie groß ist der Einfluss auf die EU-Gesetzgebung?" — https://awblog.at/das-regulatoryscrutiny-board/

Infobrief EU & International (2023), "Der EU-Ausschuss für Regulierungskontrolle: Ein unscheinbares Gremium mit großem Einfluss auf die EU-Gesetzgebung" — https://wien.arbeiterkammer.at/interessenvertretung/eu/infobrief/IB23_2_Artikel02_EU-Ausschuss-fuer-Regulierungskontrolle.html

LSE EUROPP Blog (2021), "How differentiated politicisation affects voting behaviour in the Council of the European Union" — https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/europpblog/2021/05/10/how-differentiated-politicisation-affects-voting-behaviour-in-the-council-of-the-european-union/

UACES /EU Enforcement Blog (2021), "Compliance with EU law in times of European disintegration" — https://www.euenforcement.com/single-post/compliance-with-eu-law-in-times-of-european-disintegration

Media coverage

My policy monographs on the Regulatory Scrutiny Board (2023) and EU Better Regulation (2024) have been covered in more than 40 media outlets across Europe, including Der Spiegel, Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Welt, Profil, EUobserver and Europaportalen. The RSB study also informed discussions around an investigation by the European Ombudsman. My articles on EU compliance (JCMS, 2023) and EU public procurement during Covid-19 (Politics and Governance, 2022) received coverage in 11 and 24 outlets respectively. Most recently, my work in the Horizon Europe project SUPA on simplification and regulatory burden reduction has been featured in Swedish business and sustainability media.

Selected coverage:

Dagens industri, "Experten varnar: EU:s förenkling hotar bli dyr" — https://www.di.se/nyheter/experten-varnar-eus-forenkling-hotar-bli-dyr/
Aktuell Hållbarhet, "Experten varnar: EU:s förenkling hotar att bli dyr" — https://www.aktuellhallbarhet.se/miljo-och-klimat/klimatpolitik/experten-varnar-eus-forenkling-hotar-att-bli-dyr/
Aktuell Hållbarhet, "Statsvetare varnar för EU:s bakdörr där tuffa miljökrav kan skrotas utan transparens" — https://www.aktuellhallbarhet.se/ekonomi-och-strategi/juridik/statsvetare-varnar-for-eus-bakdorr-dar-tuffa-miljokrav-kan-skrotas-utan-transparens/
Aktuell Hållbarhet, "EU:s miljöomnibus diskuteras bakom stängda dörrar – industrin och miljörörelsen möts separat" — https://www.aktuellhallbarhet.se/miljo-och-klimat/miljopolitik/eus-miljoomnibus-diskuteras-bakom-stangda-dorrar-industrin-och-miljororelsen-mots-separat/
Euractiv, "European Commission body 'biased': Ombudsman and EU lawmakers step in" — https://www.euractiv.com/news/european-commission-body-biased-ombudsman-and-eu-lawmakers-step-in/