Matthias Bauer
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Areas of Expertise: European Union Eurozone Crisis EU Trade Agreements Digital Economy EU Single Market WTO and Globalisation Services
Matthias Bauer is a German economist and Director at the European Centre for International Political Economy (ECIPE). He works on EU and global trade policy with a focus on digital and technology policymaking.
Matthias Bauer is the author of several studies, economic impact assessments and policy briefs in the fields of international trade, digital markets, the regulation of data, innovation, and intellectual property rights. He is regularly consulted by private and public sector organisations on a broad range of policy issues ranging from impact analysis to strategic advice.
Bauer grew up in Eastern Germany. He is an alumni of the US international visitor leadership program (IVLP). He studied business administration at the University of Hull, UK, and economics at the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany. He received his Ph.D. degree after joining the Bundesbank graduate programme on the “Foundations of Global Financial Markets and Financial Stability”.
Before joining ECIPE, Matthias Bauer was the Coordinator of International Political Economy at the international cooperation division of Konrad Adenauer Foundation, Berlin. He previously held positions at DekaBank, UBS, Mercedes-Benz China, and worked as a start-up and business development consultant. Matthias is a member of Tutwa Europe’s economic policy expert network. He is also the co-founder of the German-based Institute for Digital Education (IfODiB).
ECIPE Occasional Papers
What About Us? Consumer Response to the Digital Markets Act
The Digital Markets Act (DMA) was introduced as a landmark piece of EU legislation to change how consumers interact or engage with large online platforms. By restraining the power of the so-called gatekeepers, Brussels aimed to promote greater competition, improve privacy protections and make digital services more affordable. Two years into its application, however, the reality on the ground in EU, especially for the Central and Eastern European (CEE) Member States...
ECIPE Occasional Papers
Breaking Barriers to Cloud Customer Choice: Unlocking Europe’s AI and Innovation Leadership
Cloud computing underpins digital transformation and is essential for unlocking the benefits of artificial intelligence (AI), automation, and scalable digital services. Yet Europe continues to lag behind global peers in both cloud and AI adoption. This underperformance is not merely technological; it is structural and it is costly. Without rapid progress, the EU risks missing out on over EUR 1.2 trillion in GDP gains across the private sector by around 2030. In...
ECIPE Policy Briefs
EU Export of Regulatory Overreach: The Case of the Digital Markets Act (DMA)
The EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA) exemplifies the "Brussels Effect," extending the EU’s regulatory influence beyond its borders and shaping global digital competition policies. While intended to curb the market power of large technology platforms and promote fair competition, its broad, rigid, and pre-emptive approach risks stifling technological development, deterring investment, and creating legal uncertainty, particularly in emerging markets still building...
ECIPE Occasional Papers
Boosting Efficiency and Quality in EU Public Services: The Need for a European Multi-Cloud-First Strategy
Unprecedented Opportunity for Public Service Modernisation EU governments have an unprecedented opportunity to unlock up to EUR 450 billion in annual fiscal savings by modernising public services through advanced multi-cloud solutions, cloud-based AI, and other deep tech innovations. As estimated in this study, this figure highlights the transformative impact of digitised government services – not only in improving service quality and operational efficiency but...
Media Mention
The Brussels Effect in Retreat
The paper "EU Autonomy, the Brussels Effect, and the Rise of Global Economic Protectionism" written by Matthias Bauer and Dyuti Pandya is referenced in the European Relations Association news briefing
Media Mention
Wojna o budżet: debata Euronews na Forum Ekononicznym w Karpaczu
Matthias Bauer arguments during the Economic Forum in Karpacz that the EU’s financial policy is outdated and lacks competitiveness and calling for a complete redefinition to meet modern challenges and global rivals are mentioned by Euronews.
Media Mention
Should Europe wean itself off US tech?
Matthias Bauer argues via the BBC that Europe must strengthen its tech sector to compete globally, noting regulatory barriers hinder EU growth compared with the US and China’s dominance.
Media Mention
EU sets the scene for two-year fight with budget overhaul proposal
The study "Breaking Barriers to Cloud Customer Choice: Unlocking Europe’s AI and Innovation Leadership" by Matthias Bauer, Andrea Dugo, and Dyuti Pandya is highlighted by the Financial Times.
Article
Digital sovereignty starts with cloud customer choice
Matthias Bauer writes for Encompass on how Europe must prioritise real cloud customer choice, balancing regulation, competition, and open standards to unlock digital innovation, flexibility, and economic growth across the EU.
Article
Brussels Blueprint, Turkish Overreach? The Risks of Copying the EU’s Digital Competition Law
Matthias Bauer and Dyuti Pandya writes about Turkey’s proposed digital competition rules mimicking the EU’s DMA, risking overregulation, stifled innovation, and deterred foreign investment via Turkish Law Blog.
Article
Borrowed Blueprints, Unintended Consequences: South Africa and the EU’s Digital Markets Act
Matthias Bauer and Dyuti Pandya write for African Antitrust & Competition Law on how South Africa's digital regulatory moves echo EU strategies but risk stifling innovation and investment.
Article
Wo Europa mehr wie China und die USA werden muss
Matthias Bauer op-ed for Franffurter Allgemeine on the need for a strong single market for the EU to become more like the US and China.
Book or Paper
The IP Compass: A Strategic Guide for EU Policymakers Navigating Innovation and Global Competition
Case study by Matthias Bauer and Dyuti Pandya for the International Property Rights Index 2025 commissioned by the Property Rights Alliance.
Book or Paper
Scaling Investment and Innovation: A passporting framework for EU telecommunication
Matthias Bauer and Dyuti Pandya write about how CoO passporting boosts EU telecoms, reducing fragmentation, enhancing investment and competitiveness for the report "Why Europe needs a true Digital Single Market" commissioned by Vodafone.
Book or Paper
New Regulations in Europe’s Digital Economy: Design, Structure, Trade and Economic Effects
ECIPE report on EU digital regulations published by the Confederations of Swedish Enterprise
Book or Paper
Measuring the Impacts of the European Union’s Approach to Open Strategic Autonomy
Report for ECIPE prepared by Frontier Economics on the short and long term macro-economic impacts of new EU policies and regulations that change the conditions for cross-border economic exchangewith the EU.
Speech or Presentation
Lines on a Map Are Now Lines of Power and Contestation | Budapest Global Dialogue 2025
Matthias Bauer joins a high-level panel exploring how resurging borders reshape globalisation by the Observer Research Foundation, with a focus on EU digital sovereignty and economic fragmentation.
Speech or Presentation
Europas Traum von der digitalen Souveränität
Matthias Bauer talks about Europe’s reliance on American IT providers posing geopolitical risks via Deutschlandfunk.
Speech or Presentation
Is it possible to repair the growing EU-U.S. transatlantic rift?
Matthias Bauer talks with CGTN on how the EU faces defence challenges, US tensions, and strategic autonomy questions.
Speech or Presentation
Europa will seine Autos retten – Vollgas oder Geisterfahrt?
Matthias Bauer commenting on PunktEU on the future of Europe's car manufacturing industry.