Research
China shock 2.0: The cost of Germany's complacency
20 May 2026
Germany is ground zero of the second China shock, but Berlin is not fighting back, even as the shock erodes the country’s engineering sectors that are vital to its economic security.
The EU is trying to speak the language of power in Africa, but what is it saying?
01 May 2026
Africa is currently the continent with the largest number of armed conflicts in the world – over 50 – representing 40 per cent of all wars globally. This is a 45 per cent increase since 2020.
What Orbán’s departure means for Hungary and for Europe
14 April 2026
Hungary’s voters have ended Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule. Tisza’s win is a unique chance to restore democracy – and a time-limited opportunity for the EU to emerge stronger.
Energy shock 2.0: Lessons from 2022 for the Hormuz crisis
13 April 2026
If the Strait of Hormuz stays closed, Europe will face as serious an energy crisis as it did in 2022. This time, energy poverty policies must be more targeted, and electrification more ambitious.
One year liberation day: The delusion of transatlantic economic divorce
07 April 2026
A year after Liberation Day, Washington and Brussels are still fighting each other – not China.
WTO reform after Yaoundé: What next for the multilateral trade order?
02 April 2026
The failure of the WTO’s ‘reform ministerial’ deepens the strain on the global trade system. But it also points to a possible path for future co-operation among coalitions of the willing.
War in Iran: Who wins and who loses?
20 March 2026
The attack on Iran by the US and Israel is good news for Russia but bad news for Europe, including Ukraine, and ultimately for the US itself. China could emerge as a long-term winner. Europeans must look after their own interests, regardless of Trump’s wrath.
How to build public support for defence spending in Europe
10 March 2026
Strategies for building a national consensus around higher defence investments and the trade-offs required.
The impact of Brexit on immigration to the UK
09 March 2026
A new analysis finds that Brexit raised the number of foreign-born workers in the UK by about 200,000, but resulted in a more dramatic shift in the countries of origin.
Europe's door to Chinese tech investment is still ajar
04 March 2026
Europe has learned to block Chinese acquisitions of strategic assets. Chinese factories in Europe now pose harder economic security challenges.
Articles
«Un retour à court terme du Royaume-Uni dans l’UE n’est politiquement pas réaliste»
07 May 2026
Le Temps
Le premier ministre britannique, Keir Starmer, multiplie les mesures pour rapprocher son pays de Bruxelles, par «intérêt national» pour contrer les effets désastreux du Brexit. Mais la question européenne reste ultrasensible outre-Manche. L'analyse de Charles Grant, directeur du Centre for European Reform.
Taking the Pulse: Is it worth it for Europeans to placate Trump?
07 May 2026
Carnegie Europe
A year and change into President Trump’s second term, it has become abundantly clear that appeasement only leads to short-term wins.
Magyar is up against the clock in Hungary
16 April 2026
Financial Times
Brussels and Budapest have a rare and fleeting chance to improve Europe’s defence and correct the bloc’s dysfunction.
Viktor Orbán is gone. What does his fall mean for Europe?
13 April 2026
The Guardian
Hungary’s return to democracy will be hard. But the impact of Péter Magyar’s decisive victory could be profound, inside the country and beyond.
Taking the Pulse: Can NATO Survive the Iran war?
09 April 2026
Carnegie Europe
Donald Trump has repeatedly bashed NATO and European allies, threatening to annex Canada and Greenland and deploring their lack of enthusiasm for his war of choice in Iran. Is this latest round of abuse the final straw?
How has Brexit affected immigration to the UK?
19 March 2026
Encompass
Vote Leave made the end of free movement a central plank of their referendum campaign, and promised that Britain would introduce a ‘points-based system’ if it left the EU.
Press
‘Phantom limb’: Report blames China shock for Germany’s industrial malaise
20 May 2026
South China Morning Post
According to the report from influential think tank the Centre for European Reform, the “China shock is now the most important cause of Germany’s malaise” – even if “it is the one Berlin remains least willing to confront”.The report’s authors, economists Sander Tordoir and Brad Setser, described the effect on Germany as Phantomschmerz, or phantom limb – “a pain felt where something vital has already been lost”.
Germany urged to stop admiring Beijing and wake up to ‘China Shock 2.0’
20 May 2026
The Guardian
Germany must stop admiring China’s success in the EU or it will sleepwalk into the kind of deindustrialisation the US experienced 25 years ago, a leading think-tank has said.With China’s surplus with Germany having doubled between 2024 and 2025 from $12bn (£9bn) to $25bn, creating a $94bn trade imbalance, the Centre for European Reform (CER) said Europe’s largest economy risked a repeat of what happened in the US in 2001 when a sudden surge in imports permanently hollowed out towns in the American midwest.
Experten warnen Deutschland vor China-Schock
20 May 2026
Focus
Die Misere der deutschen Industrie ist laut einer britischen Denkfabrik weitgehend die Folge einer aggressiven Wirtschafts- und Handelspolitik Pekings. Das geht aus einem Bericht des Centre for European Reform mit dem Titel „China-Schock 2.0: Die Kosten deutscher Nachlässigkeit“ hervor.
„Deutschland ist das Epizentrum des zweiten China-Schocks“
20 May 2026
Handelsblatt
„Deutschland ist das Epizentrum des zweiten China-Schocks“, schreiben die Autoren Sander Tordoir und Brat Setser des Thinktanks für EU-Politik Center for European Reform (CER) aus London in ihrer neuen Studie „China-Schock 2.0 – die Kosten der Selbstzufriedenheit Deutschlands“, die dem Handelsblatt vorab liegt.
Denkfabrik: China schadet unserer Wirtschaft – Deutschland unternimmt zu wenig
20 May 2026
Deutschlandfunk
Das Handelsblatt zitiert aus einer Analyse der Denkfabrik ”Centre for European Reform”. Demnach nehmen chinesische Unternehmen in Kernbranchen wie der Autoindustrie oder dem Maschinenbau den Konkurrenten aus Deutschland schnell Marktanteile ab. Dies geschehe in China selbst, in Staaten außerhalb der EU und auch auf dem europäischen Heimatmarkt. Deutschland habe durch den Aufstieg von Chinas Exportwirtschaft bereits rund 400.000 Jobs verloren.
„Für ihn ist es zu wenig, zu spät“ – Keir Starmer mit Labour auf dem Weg ins „Tal des Todes“
16 May 2026
Die Welt
Sollte Starmer den Aufstand gegen ihn überstehen, stünde er vor der Entscheidung, ob er eine umfassende Wiederanbindung versprechen will – mit dem Vorschlag, dass das Vereinigte Königreich als Schritt zur Reintegration wieder der Zollunion beitritt. ...Das, sagt Charles Grant vom Centre for European Reform, „hat größere Chancen, den Ausschlag zu verändern, weil die Europäer dieses Angebot viel ernster nehmen müssten“.
Can Hungary’s Magyar deliver on his promises of reform and restore a relationship to the EU?
13 May 2026
The Guardian
Zselyke Csaky at the Centre for European Reform think-tank suggests both Brussels and Budapest will have to tread carefully over hitting deadlines. While Magyar has a parliamentary majority to rewrite the constitution, rushing major changes would feel too much like the previous administration: “It is just not a good look if a constitutional amendment is pushed through without much consultation, so that’s basically the limiting factor in Hungary’s case.”
Labour losses rattle EU reset
11 May 2026
Politico
Ian Bond of the Centre for European Reform, a think tank devoted to making the EU work better, has warned a Farage clause will cloud any fresh start and probably would be a waste of time as a Prime Minister Farage would simply refuse to pay any financial compensation. Bond has argued the EU should forego a Farage clause “if it wishes future UK governments to see closer alignment as being in their own interest.”
How energy prices are driving demand for solar panels and heat pumps
08 May 2026
The New York Times
“Households are now seeing that they are only one Trump-ignited war away from very expensive tank refueling or heating bills,” said Elisabetta Cornago, an energy and climate policy expert at the Centre for European Reform.
Brussels tells Keir Starmer to pay £1bn for closer ties to Europe
03 May 2026
The Times
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform think tank, said that while the EU was keen on greater security and defence co-operation with the UK there were some countries, including France, that were “much less keen on extending economic co-operation”.He said: “They don’t really care if the UK has a thriving or a weak economy and are much more concerned about the old ideology of not allowing the UK to ‘cherry pick’ which parts of the single market it wants to be part of.
Podcasts
CER podcast: Unpacking Europe: How Europe is responding in Lebanon and Palestine
13 May 2026
Thomas Maddock spoke with Zizette Darkazally and Schams El Ghoneimi about Europe's response to conflict in Lebanon and Palestine.
CER podcast: Unpacking Europe: Is the EU-US trade deal unravelling?
06 May 2026
Anton Spisak spoke with Sam Lowe about the renewed EU-US trade tensions.
CER podcast: Unpacking Europe: Hungary's landslide election outcome
15 April 2026
Zselyke Csaky spoke with Zsuzsanna Szelényi about Hungary's landslide election outcome.
CER podcast: Unpacking Europe: The future of EU-Türkiye relations
26 March 2026
Thomas Maddock spoke with Galip Dalay and Senem Aydin-Düzgit about the future of EU-Türkiye relations and how geopolitical upheaval is changing the relationship.
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: Four years of war in Ukraine
24 February 2026
Ian Bond spoke with Andy Hunder and Victoria Vdovychenko about the economic, military and societal situation in Ukraine, four years since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.
Events
Dinner on 'The euro area economy'
13 May 2026
London
With Philip Lane, Member, Executive Board, European Central Bank. Read Philip Lane's speech here.
CER Brussels conference: Can Europe be a global power?
18 March 2026
Brussels
With a keynote speech by Piotr Serafin, European Commissioner for Budget, Anti-Fraud and Public Administration. Watch videos of the event here.
CER/Embassy of Italy lunch on 'NATO's deterrence and defence posture in a changing security landscape'
25 February 2026
London
With Admiral Giuseppe Cavo Dragone, Chair, Military Committee, NATO
CER/KAS hybrid launch of 'EU-UK relations: Will 2026 be the year to reset the reset?'
04 February 2026
Hybrid London/Zoom
With Ian Bond, Jannike Wachowiak and Kai Whittaker
CER/Swedish Enterprise discussion on 'Resilient growth: Aligning productivity and security'
10 December 2025
Brussels
With Aslak Berg, Zach Meyers, Lotta Nymann-Lindegren, Maive Rute and Anna Stellinger