Research
Will EU enlargement create new models for the EU-UK relationship?
15 April 2025
Enlargement is pushing the EU to think creatively about how to work more closely with candidate countries before accession. The consequences for EU-UK relations could be significant.
Access denied: The EU's discriminatory visa regime is undermining its reputation in Africa
02 April 2025
EU leaders claim people-to-people links between Europe and Africa are a strength, but the EU’s visa policy tells a different story.
Donald Trump's return to office: Ten consequences
28 March 2025
Donald Trump’s second presidency is shaking up the geopolitical landscape. Most of the consequences are harmful, but some are beneficial.
One step forward for Europe's defence
26 March 2025
In an effort to adjust to the new strategic reality, the EU is trying to make it easier for member-states to strengthen Europe’s defences. Success or failure depends on them.
The EU budget in a larger Union: Key issues and open questions
25 March 2025
EU enlargement does not need to bust the EU’s budget. But the distributional effects of enlargement need to be addressed to ensure it has broad-based political support.
UK-EU relations: Time to raise the level of ambition
21 March 2025
Geopolitical turbulence has put UK-EU differences in perspective. Britain and the EU need much closer ties.
The new EU-Swiss deal: What it means and the lessons it holds for the UK-EU 'reset'
17 March 2025
The recent political agreement between the European Commission and the Swiss government promises to stabilise their long-troubled economic relationship. The British government should pay close attention.
How the UK and the EU can deepen defence co-operation
07 March 2025
The UK and the EU face daunting common security challenges. Linking Britain more closely to EU defence tools would strengthen Europe's security.
Freezing EU funds: An effective tool to enforce the rule of law?
27 February 2025
The EU cannot operate unless member-states respect the rule of law. Withholding EU funds is a powerful tool to enforce compliance, but it has yet to show its teeth.
Trump's tariffs – how should the EU react?
26 February 2025
The ‘Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Plan’ proposed by Donald Trump sounds innocuous but is a roadmap towards an all-out global trade war. To avert one, Europe must act firmly and speedily.
Articles
Econoom Sander Tordoir over de Trump-tarieven: “Xi Jinping zal zich in de handen wrijven om dit geschenk”
04 April 2025
De Standaard
Na Vietnam en Mexico zijn de VS het grootste slachtoffer van de handelstarieven van Donald Trump, zegt econoom Sander Tordoir.
Wcale nie Trump. Głównym przeciwnikiem gospodarczym UE są Chiny
28 March 2025
Oko Press
„Chiny są egzystencjalnym zagrożeniem dla europejskiej branży motoryzacyjnej” – mówi nam holenderski ekonomista Sander Tordoir.
Experts: What do Trump’s tariffs mean for global climate action?
27 March 2025
Carbon Brief
The Trump administration is walking back on US climate commitments, both domestically by threatening to cut back Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) support for clean-tech industries and internationally, [by] withdrawing from the Paris Agreement.
How should Britain step up to enhance European security?
21 March 2025
Britain's World
Seen from Rome, the UK is an essential partner and pillar of European security. The UK’s contribution to a stronger European security posture can be both political and practical.
Een Duitse begrotingsimpuls biedt de EU hoop
12 March 2025
NRC Handelsblad
Duitsland kan door het loslaten van de rem op staatsschulden investeren in defensie. De EU versterkt zo zijn strategische positie, stelt Sander Tordoir.
Filling the USAID gap: How Europe can step up to support democracy
11 March 2025
European Democracy Hub
The suspension and slashing of US democracy grants have left a yawning shortfall of approximately $2 billion per year, impacting thousands of civil society organisations and independent media outlets and placing many at risk of closure.
Press
Europe helped teach China to make cars. Now the tables are turning
17 April 2025
Financial Times
“It’s a change in the sense that it welcomes investment from abroad in a sector that has been one of the prides of European industrial development,” says Elisabetta Cornago, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank.
“It’s also an acknowledgment that there is a gap between the European homegrown knowhow and what is available externally.”
“It’s also an acknowledgment that there is a gap between the European homegrown knowhow and what is available externally.”
Trade War: Views from the trenches
16 April 2025
EU Today
As Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform points out, Donald Trump’s second presidency is certainly shaking up the geopolitical landscape. But he says most of the consequences are “harmful, but some are beneficial.”
Donald Trump will den Dollar schwächen – aber keine Dollar-Schwäche
16 April 2025
Capital
„Es ist sehr auffällig, dass in einem Moment der Belastung die Bundesanleihen als sicherer Hafen fungieren, anstatt die US-Staatsanleihen“, sagte Sander Tordoir, Chefökonom am Centre for European Reform.
Kiest Brussel voor de bazooka tegen Trump of juist voor nietsdoen? Vier opties voor de volgende zet in de handelsoorlog
15 April 2025
NRC Handelsblad
Als Europa zijn eerste tegenheffingen alsnog oplegt, is het de vraag wat daarna volgt. „Ik denk dat Europa dan min of meer door de goederen heen is die wij kunnen treffen om Republikeinse Congresleden pijn te doen”, zegt hoofdeconoom Sander Tordoir van het Centre for European Reform.
Na de Amerikaanse kladderadatsch groeit Europas zelfvertrouwen
13 April 2025
NRC Handelsblad
Als de wereldhandel echt instort, wordt Europa vanwege zijn omvangrijke export het hardst geraakt van de grote handelsblokken, zegt econoom Sander Tordoir van denktank Centre for European Reform. Maar in de huidige situatie komt de grootste pijn terecht bij de VS en bij China.
How Brexit, a startling act of economic self-harm, foreshadowed Trump's tariffs
13 April 2025
The New York Times
By the middle of 2022, investment in Britain was 11 percent lower than it would have been without Brexit, based on a model by John Springford, who used a basket of comparable economies to stand in for a non-Brexit Britain. Trade in goods was 7 per cent lower and gross domestic product 5.5 per cent lower, according to Mr Springford, a fellow at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank in London.
Investors seeking safety look to German government bonds
11 April 2025
The New York Times
It was “very striking” that in a moment of stress German bunds were acting as the “haven of choice” instead of US Treasuries, said Sander Tordoir, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a research institute. “There does seem to be a real safety premium now being place on German government debt,” he said.
The European Union claims strong ties with Africa
11 April 2025
Semafor
The European Union claims strong ties with Africa but undermines them through restrictive visa policies, argues a Centre for European Reform researcher. Efforts to curb irregular migration via visa restrictions are ineffective, says Katherine Pye, arguing that the EU must instead reform its visa policies, simplify applications, and decouple visas from migration enforcement.
Now is the time for a bold new UK-EU relationship
07 April 2025
Reuters
The EU’s attitude is that Britain should not be able to “cherry-pick” bits of the single market unless it is prepared to be a full member, which means agreeing to free movement of people, says Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform.
Les politiques de visa de l’UE critiquées comme étant discriminatoires envers l’Afrique
06 April 2025
Business AM
Une étude récente du Centre for European Reform (CER) affirme que ces politiques sont discriminatoires à l’égard des nations africaines, sapant les efforts de l’UE pour construire des relations solides avec le continent, selon une étude réalisée par Katherine Pye pour le groupe de réflexion CER.
Podcasts
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: The implications of Trump's tariffs
16 April 2025
Aslak Berg and Meredith Crowley discuss President Trump's tariffs.
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: The future of EU-India relations
02 April 2025
Anunita Chandrasekar, Tara Varma and Amaia Sánchez-Cacicedo consider the trajectory of EU-India relations.
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: Can Europe still rely on the United States?
11 March 2025
Charles Grant and Kori Schake discuss what America’s hostility to the rules-based international order means for transatlantic relations.
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: A snapshot of the war in Ukraine
21 February 2025
Ian Bond and Iuliia Osmolovska discuss the war in Ukraine.
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: How can Europe survive Trump's tariffs and a second China shock?
05 February 2025
Sander Tordoir and Zselyke Csaky discuss Trump's tariffs and the second China shock.
Events
CER/HSF hybrid discussion on 'The Weimar Triangle and Weimar Plus'
03 April 2025
Hybrid London/Zoom
With Michał Kamiński, Joséphine Staron, Nicolai von Ondarza and Peter Watkins. Watch the video of the event here.
CER/Delegation of the EU to the UK discussion on 'Can Europe become a tech power house?'
17 March 2025
London
with Priit Alamäe, Katherine Bennett, Gaelle Drory-Liaudet and Roberto Viola
27th birthday party, London
26 February 2025
London
With a keynote speech by the Rt Hon David Lidington CBE, former Minister for the Cabinet Office & Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster & Chair, RUSI. Listen to the audio of the speeches here.
Hosted by Inigo Lambertini, Ambassador of Italy to the United Kingdom.
Hosted by Inigo Lambertini, Ambassador of Italy to the United Kingdom.
CER/HSF hybrid discussion on 'Implications of the German election for the UK'
24 February 2025
Hybrid London/Zoom
With Markus Ferber, Christine Heuer, Marion Messmer and Christoph Meyer. Watch the video of the event here.
Hybrid discussion on 'What future for Ukraine?'
19 February 2025
London
With Iuliia Osmolovska and Richard Shirreff. Watch the video of the event here.