Biography

Pier Luigi Parcu is Director of the Centre for Media Pluralism and Media Freedom as well as Director of the Centre for a Digital Society, at the Robert Schuman Centre.

From 2004 he is the Chairman of a consultancy company specialized in antitrust and regulatory issues. From 2000 to 2003, he has been CEO of the Independent System Operator running the Italian Electricity Grid (GRTN). From 1991 to 2000 he was the Director of Investigation at the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) in charge of several regulated sectors. Previously, he served as Chief Economist at the Italian Security and Exchange Commission (CONSOB) and as Economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

He holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). His research in the area of industrial organization and law and economics focuses on the interaction between regulation and antitrust in shaping firms’ behaviour. In the field of media, Professor Parcu’s research focuses on the democratic and economic challenges associated to digital platforms, as part of his broader interest in innovation dynamics in the digital economy and in emerging technologies. He also works on the effects of ownership concentration and internal governance of the media enterprise on pluralism and freedom of expression.

Research projects, clusters and working groups

Ongoing

• Review of the Integrated Postal Reform and Development Plan and Postal Reform Guide
• Monitoring Media Pluralism in the Digital Era
• Local Media for Democracy

Completed

• Study on Media Plurality and Diversity Online
• Digital trade integration - dataset & index
• Dissemination activities on media pluralism and media freedom
• Innovation and intellectual property in the Digital Age

Supervisees

• Annaliese Milano Merfield

Fields of expertise

Recent research output

• BROGI, Elda; NENADIC, Iva; PARCU, Pier Luigi; VALCKE, Peggy (2024), The future of monitoring and safeguarding media pluralism in Europe, Contribution to book
• BROGI, Elda; KLIMKIEWICZ, Beata; PARCU, Pier Luigi (2024), Monitoring media pluralism in a comparative manner : a holistic and evolving instrument, Contribution to book
• PARCU, Pier Luigi; MONTI, Giorgio; BOTTA, Marco; GALLI, Niccolò (2024), ENTraNCE for judges 2023 - challenges faced by judges in enforcing EU competition law : EU and national perspectives - selected case notes, Working Paper
• (2024), Media pluralism in the digital era : legal, economic, social, and political lessons learnt from Europe, Book
• GALLI, Niccolò; PARCU, Pier Luigi (2024), Market definition and multi-sided markets : a primer on the 2024 EU market definition notice, Working Paper
• BLEYER-SIMON, Konrad; BROGI, Elda; CARLINI, Roberta; DA COSTA LEITE BORGES, Danielle; KERMER, Jan Erik; NENADIC, Iva; PALMER, Marie; PARCU, Pier Luigi; REVIGLIO DELLA VENARIA, Urbano; TREVISAN, Matteo; VERZA, Sofia; ŽUFFOVÁ, Mária (2024), Monitoring media pluralism in the digital era : application of the media pluralism monitor in the European member states and in candidate countries in 2023, Technical Report