Santino Regilme in EUobserver: 'The EU needs to research its own oligarchic capture'
In a recent EUobserver opinion article, Salvador Santino Regilme, warns that Europe faces a crisis of legitimacy if it continues to ignore the structural influence of billionaires and oligarchic interests within its institutions.
Regilme argues that 'oligarchic capture' is not simply corruption, but a systemic condition whereby extreme wealth shapes the very rules, narratives, and governance of the European project—often legally and quietly.
Drawing on research published in the Journal of Common Market Studies, Regilme calls for a bold, multidisciplinary research agenda to investigate how EU legal systems, economic policy, the public sphere, and human rights practices are increasingly aligned with the interests of the super-rich. He highlights the need for collaboration across academia, journalism, civil society, and think tanks to 'follow the money,' expose networks of power, and build institutional protections for those who challenge elite dominance.
Regilme concludes that if the EU is serious about democracy, accountability, and human rights, it must support research and public debate that confront uncomfortable truths about elite influence at the heart of the European project.
Want to know more?
Read the full article in EUobserver.
Read the full research in Journal of Common Market Studies.
Regilme, S. S. Europe’s Super‐Rich: Towards Oligarchic Constitutional Order. JCMS: J. Common Mark. Stud. (2024) doi:10.1111/jcms.13702.