Research
Aggressive US rhetoric over Greenland demands a change in strategy by the EU and UK, officials say
18 January 2026
Financial Times
Europeans “will have to balance any steps they could take against the risks to their own defence capabilities if the US, for example, blocked the sale of weapons and munitions, either destined for Ukraine or for Nato countries themselves, or cut off the supply of US imagery and intelligence”, said Ian Bond, deputy director at the Centre for European Reform.
Het Zwitsers zakmes van Donald Trump: “Handelstarieven zijn zijn geliefkoosde wapen”
18 January 2026
De Standaard
De Nederlandse econoom Sander Tordoir is ervan overtuigd dat Trump die tarieven een bijzonder geschikt wapen vindt om zijn uiteenlopende scala aan doelen te verwezenlijken. Van het verhogen van de overheidsinkomsten, de terugkeer van de maakindustrie tot het onder druk zetten van landen en zelfs bondgenoten vanwege politieke plannen. “De handelstarieven zijn voor hem als een Zwitsers zakmes.”
Could Donald Trump ever attack the UK?
16 January 2026
Metro
Metro asked Ian Bond, the deputy director of a London-based European Union think-tank, whether the UK has anything to worry about. Bond, of the Centre for European Reform, said: ‘It’s almost inconceivable that even a president as erratic as Trump would attack the UK.
Taking the Pulse: What issue is Europe ignoring at its peril in 2026?
15 January 2026
Carnegie Europe
2026 has started in crisis, as the actions of unpredictable leaders shape an increasingly volatile global environment. To shift from crisis response to strategic foresight, what under-the-radar issues should the EU prepare for in the coming year?
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: Greenland and the NATO alliance
14 January 2026
Armida van Rij and Sten Rynning discuss how the Greenland crisis may become a turning point for the NATO alliance's future direction.
Yle News: Trump comes up with new Greenland demands before meeting
14 January 2026
Armida van Rij spoke to YLE News as Donald Trump makes new Greenland demands, "Europe should look to work much more closely with its partners to try and put an alternative on the table," (from 8.05 mins).
Der China-Schock trifft Deutschland mit voller Wucht
14 January 2026
Handelsblatt
Der erste „China-Schock“ zu Beginn des 21. Jahrhunderts, als das Land der Welthandelsorganisation (WTO) beitrat, deindustrialisierte vor allem den Nordosten und mittleren Westen der USA. Der zweite „China-Schock“ jetzt trifft die EU – und ganz besonders Deutschland. „Für deutsche Hersteller, die der Logik des Kapitalismus unterliegen, Gewinne erwirtschaften und Erträge für Innovationen erzielen müssen, ist es nahezu unmöglich, mit den staatlich unterstützten, preislich konkurrenzlosen Exporten Chinas mitzuhalten“, sagt Sander Tordoir.
Trumps krav på Grönland hotar Nato i grunden, säger expert inför avgörande möte
13 January 2026
YLE
Danmarks statsminister Mette Frederiksen varnar för att ett övertagande av det autonoma öriket kan innebära slutet för Nato. Forskaren Armida van Rij vid tankesmedjan Centre for European Reform håller med.– Om en allierad bryter mot en annan allierads suveränitet utan rättslig grund är det slutet för alliansen, säger van Rij.
European firms hit hiring brakes over AI and slowing growth
12 January 2026
Deutsche Welle
"A lot of drudge tasks can be pushed to AI to free up human labor," John Springford, a labor market expert at the Centre for European Reform, told DW. "But there's a good reason to believe that professional, knowledge work won't shrink."
La UE se pliega ante Trump
11 January 2026
El Correo
En un momento en el que la geopolítica se ha vuelto más importante que nunca, el subdirector del 'think tank' Centre for European Reform (CER), Ian Bond, apunta que «Europa no está a la altura y no está pensando geopolíticamente. Si no trabaja en su área de influencia, podría acabar bajo el área de influencia de otro».
Europe faces a pincer attack from White House ideologues backed by Silicon Valley and its far-right proxies
08 January 2026
The Guardian
US tech bosses are exerting leverage on EU regulators via Trump and Vance. But Europe isn’t powerless, and it isn’t alone.
EU faces defining six months as Trump doctrine, trade tensions test strategic autonomy
07 January 2026
Courthouse News Service
“Europe will probably continue to be reactive,” Ian Bond, deputy director at the London-based Centre for European Reform, told Courthouse News. “It is hard to break their defense dependency on the US, so they won’t want to take precipitate steps.”
Starmer's biggest rival is auditioning for his job
03 January 2026
Bloomberg
Another pro-Brussels think tank, the Centre for European Reform, takes a more hardheaded view. The economic boost only comes if Britain aligns its regulations with its neighbors and the EU lets it access its single market.
That deal is not on the table. Even piecemeal single-market access would mean making hefty payments to Brussels. “The more barriers to trade you want to remove the more you have to offer on alignment, money and movement (on immigration controls),” the CER wrote.
That deal is not on the table. Even piecemeal single-market access would mean making hefty payments to Brussels. “The more barriers to trade you want to remove the more you have to offer on alignment, money and movement (on immigration controls),” the CER wrote.
TRT World - The Newsmakers: Is China on track to become the world’s next superpower?
30 December 2025
Ian Bond, told TRT World "when you see the rate at which the Chinese navy is increasing in size and new aircraft carriers are being launched, that looks like the instruments of power projection" (from 11.00 mins).
It’s time to rethink Britain’s relationship with the EU
30 December 2025
The Economist
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, believes the French want to exclude Britain from SAFE.
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: The EU in 2025
19 December 2025
Six of our researchers reflect on the past year and look ahead to 2026.
Letters: Dealing with Chinese trade
18 December 2025
The Economist
The Economist recommended that Europe should not raise trade barriers in response to China’s ballooning exports of cars, machine-tools and other manufactured goods (”From customer to killer”, November 22nd).
The unshared futures of the United States and Europe
16 December 2025
Chicago Council on Global Affairs
America and Europe have been bound together for more than 250 years. Whose ideology will define their future?
China’s trade juggernaut won’t stop just to appease the West
15 December 2025
The Times
Germany was relatively sheltered from the first China shock, when Europe was flooded with consumer goods such as electronics and furniture. Now, China is competing and winning in advanced industrial manufacturing — traditionally, a German strength — according to Brad Setser and Sander Tordoir, writing for the Centre for European Reform.
Slowaakse premier wil tot na nieuwjaar in Brussel blijven
15 December 2025
Het Financieele Dagblad
Paradox Frankrijk heeft een zwakke regering met een onzekere toekomst, en toch blijft het een dominante kracht in het EU‑beleid. Hoe valt die paradox te verklaren, vraagt Charles Grant van het Centre for European Reform. Handig: hij geeft zelf het antwoord.










