# Does Europe regulate by design or under pressure? — Voice Affairs 06 > European regulation is often presented as the product of foresight. Consultation, impact assessments, institutional sequencing, and legal precision… Source: https://voice-sc.com/voice-affairs/issue-06/ Voice Affairs — Issue 06 · 27 March 2026 # Does Europe regulate by design or under pressure? By Maria Demertzis ## The Briefing Once a month, we publish an editorial on how influence works in Europe today, a legislative radar on what is moving in Brussels, and a note on the work behind it. Written for the decision-maker’s chair, and for those who advise it. Issue 06 · 27 March 2026 ## Does Europe regulate by design or under pressure? European regulation is often presented as the product of foresight. Consultation, impact assessments, institutional sequencing, and legal precision are designed to anticipate future risks before they fully emerge. ### Editorial Yet many of the Union’s most consequential regulatory steps have happened only when pressure made delay politically impossible. This tension between anticipation and reaction increasingly defines how Europe governs. We invited Maria Demertzis to help us examine this dynamic. As she notes, EU regulation is designed to be proactive, but that same design inevitably makes it slower. Consultation requirements, evidence gathering, and impact assessments create a framework intended not only to solve current problems but also to prevent future ones. At the same time, when urgency enters the picture, regulation can move at an unexpected pace. The contrast is visible in two major files of recent years. The Artificial Intelligence Act is a clear example of anticipatory policymaking. Proposed in 2021 and entering into force in 2024, it attempted to structure a market around risks that were still emerging rather than already fully visible. The Banking Union, by contrast, emerged directly from the financial crisis, when fragmented banking oversight had become politically and economically unsustainable. In that case, the crisis did what institutional sequencing alone could not, accelerating integration, at least at the regulatory and monitoring level, not necessarily at the market creation level. What determines whether Europe regulates early or late is rarely ideological. More often, it depends on whether institutions have time, political space, and enough evidence to act before events compress the process. For stakeholders, the difference is significant. Proactive regulation offers room for preparation. Businesses gain time to adjust investments and compliance strategies, while NGOs and policy actors can engage more meaningfully during consultation phases. Reactive regulation may deliver faster answers, but it often narrows consultation windows and increases short-term uncertainty. This coexistence is unlikely to disappear. In the coming years, Europe will likely pursue two parallel instincts: greater agility in responding to unforeseen shocks and stronger simplification to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses operating under growing competitive pressure. The strategic question is no longer whether Europe regulates proactively or reactively. It is whether institutions can still anticipate enough of tomorrow’s pressure before urgency begins writing the timetable. How do you read Europe’s regulatory direction today: anticipatory or reactive? ### Legislative Radar with Thembi #### What we are tracking next As AI-powered monitoring becomes standard, the question is no longer what is happening, but what deserves attention first. As every month, we ask Thembi to focus on two priority intelligence tracks. This month’s priorities: #### Energy & Fuels Price Shock Reopens the Policy Front As gas prices surge amid escalating Middle East tensions, disruptions to LNG supply and growing risks around the Strait of Hormuz, energy affordability has returned to the top of the EU agenda. The March European Council has pushed the Commission to act quickly, calling for targeted temporary measures to contain imported fossil fuel price spikes and intervene across electricity price components to shield households and energy-intensive sectors. At the same time, a politically sensitive file is being pulled back into focus: a review of the EU Emissions Trading System (ETS), expected by July 2026. The objective is to address carbon price volatility and its impact on electricity costs, while preserving the system’s role in driving clean investment. This moment matters because short-term crisis management is now feeding directly into medium-term climate policy. What emerges from this phase will shape not only price relief mechanisms, but also the credibility and trajectory of the EU’s decarbonisation framework. #### Omnibus I Sustainability Rulebook Enters Recalibration With the entry into force of the Omnibus I Directive on 18 March, the EU has formally entered a new phase in its sustainability framework. Core elements of the CSRD and CSDDD are being adjusted, with higher scope thresholds, extended timelines, and upcoming revisions to European Sustainability Reporting Standards through delegated acts. But this is not an isolated intervention. The European Council has explicitly called for simplification and reduced administrative burden, while the Commission has moved in parallel: launching consultations to streamline Taxonomy criteria and proposing the “EU Inc.” framework, an optional regime allowing companies to operate across the Single Market without navigating 27 national systems. Taken together, these developments signal a broader shift. After years of regulatory expansion, the EU is beginning to recalibrate, not by reversing course, but by selectively reducing pressure in the name of competitiveness. ### In case you missed it #### The real biofuels battleground Adamant Group’s acquisition of the Xanthos biorefinery in Italy highlights a broader shift in advanced biofuels: scale is no longer just about capacity, but about integration. From refining flexibility to logistics resilience and certified feedstocks, the ability to operate as a coordinated industrial system is becoming the key differentiator in delivering consistent supply under real market conditions. As demand accelerates across maritime, and industrial sectors, this model signals where competitive advantage is likely to concentrate. #### Our new advisor We are pleased to welcome Stefano Musso to the Voice Advisory Board. With experience across fintech, digital platforms and business transformation, his contribution reinforces a broader shift: in increasingly complex and regulated environments, strategy alone is not enough; execution capability is becoming a defining factor. Strengthening this dimension is essential where growth, innovation and regulatory dynamics intersect. #### Mentorship milano The Comune di Milano continues to invest in long-term leadership development through its Mentorship programme, connecting young women with senior professionals across business, culture and institutions. Initiatives like this rarely sit within traditional policy debates, yet they play a structural role in shaping future decision-making environments by influencing how ambition, networks and professional trajectories are formed. Influence, in many cases, starts well before formal roles are reached.