In the Press - Winning a second Brexit referendum is possible – with Europe’s help
14 December 2018
The Guardian
Not necessarily, says Charles Grant, the well-plugged-in head of the Centre for European Reform. Sweden, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands and perhaps Germany may want to help, Grant says, perhaps adding “some tinsel and coloured lights” to various EU loopholes on migration, so that remain can boast of having reformed free movement. But the more “hardcore federalists” in the commission, and in France, “have mixed feelings about our departure. For decades, we’ve been the pebble in their shoe. We’ve been such a bloody pain” that some will be relieved when we’ve gone.
In the Press - Fact check: Does the EU want a European super-army?
14 December 2018
The Week
The Centre for European Reform said in 2016 that “Britain’s eurosceptics have spent years frightening people with the idea of an EU army”, and that “conspiracy-minded Brexiters insist that, were the UK to stay in the European Union, British troops might soon be faced with conscription into a Brussels-controlled army”.
In the Press - Theresa May survives leadership challenge, but Brexit plan is still in peril
12 December 2018
The New York Times
John Springford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based research institute, said that the size of the vote against her “is an even clearer signal that she won’t be able to get her deal through Parliament, and makes it even more likely that when she puts the deal to the vote she will lose that.”
In the Press - British PM Theresa May survives vote of confidence
12 December 2018
Aljazeera
"Some EU capitals are not perfectly happy with some aspects of this deal, including the final shape of the backstop," said Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.
In the Press - Trump's card
12 December 2018
Financial Times
The EU is scrambling to respond to US sanctions on Iran for fear of retaliation. Luigi Scazzieri at the Centre for European Reform says it is time for the bloc to buck up its ideas.
In the Press - The Brexit vote was delayed by Theresa May. What might happen next?
11 December 2018
NBC News
"She's almost certain to face the challenge," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London think tank. "The only consequence of postponing of her Brexit vote is to weaken May's authority several notches further than it already has been."
In the Press - Brexit: Jeremy Corbyn opens debate criticising government for postponing key vote – Politics live
11 December 2018
The Guardian
On the subject of a referendum, Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, now sees that as more likely than any of the other possible resolutions to the Brexit crisis. "My take on Brexit probabilities. UK leaves with no deal, 15% chance. Parliament finally passes May's deal, slightly modified with EU 'assurances', 20%. Or it passes the deal with new political declaration sketching Norway, 20%. General election, 15%. Referendum, 30%."
In the Press - May delays Brexit deal vote but EU warns no renegotiation
11 December 2018
Daily Monitor
Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform (CER) suggested May would only secure "very minor changes to her deal". "The substance of the Irish backstop will be unaltered. So I very much doubt that parliament will vote for the deal, when it has the chance to do so," he said.
In the Press - Manic Monday: Britain plunges deeper into Brexit crisis
11 December 2018
Aljazeera
Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said "It would be naive to think that the other 27 EU member states would be open" to substantial changes to the backstop and wider exit plan after months of fractious back-and-forth negotiations.
In the Press - Brexit: What happens next?
10 December 2018
Politico
Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform think tank said he thinks the upper limit of any extension could be “mid-May” because of the upcoming European Parliament election, but in extremis the EU could be flexible. “Britain’s seats in the European Parliament have already been reallocated and it would be legally complicated to keep the U.K. in the EU beyond the elections,” Grant wrote in a blog for the CER. “But if the EU really wanted to prolong British membership by several months, there could be ways around the European Parliament problem; for example, the U.K. could appoint MPs as MEPs on an interim basis.”