Regulatory Offsetting Between Promise and Practice: Design, Politics, and Effects Across Countries

This study examines the rise of regulatory offsetting schemes in Europe and beyond. Using a comparative mixed-methods approach across 39 countries, it analyses variations in design and implementation, finding limited effectiveness and a predominantly political, rather than practical, function.

This seminar presents comprehensive research on the growing use of regulatory offsetting schemes—such as “One-in-One-out” and “One-in-X-out” rules—across Europe and beyond. These schemes aim to control regulatory burdens by balancing new legislation with the removal of existing burdens. While widely promoted as tools to enhance competitiveness and reduce administrative costs, their practical functioning and effectiveness remain contested. Adopting a comparative mixed-methods approach, the study combines a systematic review of regulatory offsetting frameworks in 39 countries with in-depth case studies of the European Union, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Spain, and France. The analysis draws on official documents, evaluation reports, and interviews with policymakers, administrators, business representatives, and civil society actors. The findings reveal both convergence and variation in design and implementation. Although most schemes prioritise reducing costs for businesses, they differ significantly in scope, measurement, and institutional embedding. Crucially, gaps between formal commitments and practical application are widespread, with weak monitoring and ambiguous methodologies limiting their effectiveness. As a result, regulatory offsetting often serves symbolic or political purposes alongside—or instead of—delivering substantive burden reduction. The study concludes that offsetting functions less as a precise technocratic instrument and more as a flexible, politically shaped tool within broader regulatory reform agendas.

Brigitte Pircher, associate professor in Political Science, studies EU politics, EU institutions, policy-making, EU law and its implementation, social policies, and the internal market. She is work package leader in the EU Horizon funded project SUPA (Sustaining Public Administration in Modern Democracies). She has previously held research positions at Copenhagen Business School, Linnaeus university, and the University of Vienna, and has also worked in the European Parliament as head of office and policy adviser.