In the Press - Britain calls them nerve agent hit men. Russians ask whether they are gay.
14 September 2018
The Washington Post
The Centre for European Reform tweeted that its director of foreign policy, Ian Bond, told the BBC that the interview could have intended to “cause confusion, put smoke out there to obscure the battlefield.” He pointed to the fact that some find it believable that the suspects were indeed a gay couple going on vacation in Salisbury as evidence that such distractions can be effective.
In the Press - EU membership has played to UK's export strengths
12 September 2018
Financial Times
The Economists for Free Trade paper published yesterday does not deserve your attention — but if you want to know some of the many things wrong with it, read the comments of trade experts Sam Lowe or David Henig.
In the Press - Brexit: Do claims for a 'clean break' add up?
11 September 2018
BBC News
"The only countries that have managed to remove the need for health checks on food being exported to the EU," says Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform, "are the European Economic Area members and Switzerland. They have not only implemented EU rules in this area domestically, they also apply EU checks on all imports of animal origin entering from the rest of the world."
In the Press - Report says WTO terms good for farmers
11 September 2018
Fruitnet
Several economists have already criticised the report on social media, with senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, Sam Lowe bluntly saying: “Anyone involved in the writing or promoting of this report should be ashamed of themselves. They have actively contributed to making the Brexit debate less informed.”
In the Press - As the practicalities of the border issue are wrestled with, the pressure on the DUP is mounting
11 September 2018
Slugger O'Toole
It is hard to improve on this analysis by Sam Lowe of the highly regarded Centre for European Reform: "It is no surprise that there is growing frustration. But in all of this there is a crucial point that is underappreciated: May needs Brexit to go to the wire, or at least close. She needs the threat of attributable, actual peril. Only then will she win domestic support for the withdrawal agreement.
In the Press - What Brexit means for extradition to the UK
07 September 2018
Financial
“It’s certainly an extremely useful instrument,” says Camino Mortera, an expert on justice and home affairs at the Centre for European Reform. “Once an EAW is issued, there can be no review of the case by local judges in another EU state if it falls within a list of 32 offences. There is a 48-day time limit for arrest, and extradition is automatic.”However, Ms Mortera says Britain will definitely have to leave the EAW after Brexit. “Many EU states have a constitutional ban on extraditing their own nationals outside the EU. So to accommodate the British, they would have to change their constitutions and, in some cases, hold a referendum. That isn’t going to happen.”
In the Press - Canada plus Brexit? We can do so much better than that
07 September 2018
The Telegraph
Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, argues that the supposed big prize of the Canada option is an illusion: "The regulatory gravity exerted by the behemoth on our doorstep would see the UK, at the behest of its businesses, remain broadly aligned with the EU’s standards and regulations in many areas so as to avoid duplication and minimise business costs associated with servicing divergent markets.|
In the Press - Think Tank Awards: Results 2018
02 September 2018
Prospect
And the winner this year stood out as uniquely timely in this hour for its determination to keep the Brexit debate grounded in analysis and fact rather than emotion and bluster. That think tank was the Centre for European Reform.
In the Press - EU backs Serbia-Kosovo land swap idea
31 August 2018
The National
Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, equated the idea of border changes to “sticking a hand into a hornet’s nest”. “The question is whether you can contain territory swaps between Serbia and Kosovo and say this doesn’t set a precedent for anyone else,” Mr Bond told The National.
In the Press - If Britain supports free trade it needs to oil the wheels in Africa
31 August 2018
The Times
Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, points out that it is crucial to Ford’s supply chain; its engines are made in Dagenham, transported to South Africa, built into a vehicle and sold back into the EU tariff-free.
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Future events
Labour Party Conference fringe event on 'What will be the outcome of Brexit?'
25 September 2018
With Hilary Benn, Yvette Cooper, Jon Lansman and Keir Starmer
Conservative Party Conference fringe event on 'What will be the outcome of Brexit?'
01 October 2018
With Vicky Ford, Bernard Jenkin, Juliet Samuel and Antoinette Sandbach