In the Press - The hidden perils of a trade deal with Trump
17 May 2019
Prospect
Trump could insist we lower food standards—the source of panicked headlines about chlorinated chicken. Sam Lowe at the Centre for European Reform confirmed we could be asked to “remove existing bans on certain food products.”
In the Press - Scrap the veto
16 May 2019
The Financial Times
Leonard Schuette at the Centre for European Reform makes the case for majority voting in EU foreign policy on sanctions and human rights issues.
In the Press - The Brussels view of Brexit
15 May 2019
The Financial Times
“The EU is no longer as united as it was on how to handle the British. But just about everyone working on Brexit in the EU’s institutions and governments is fed up with them, and they do not believe that Britain’s politicians are capable of getting their act together and resolving the problem. Many people in Brussels expect a further extension of Article 50, well into 2020.” (Charles Grant, Centre for European Reform)
In the Press - Brexit from Brussels
15 May 2019
Financial Times
UK Brexit negotiator Olly Robbins is in Brussels for day two of talks with the EU, this time with his commission counterpart Sabine Weyand. Charles Grant at the CER lays out how some of the EU27’s unity is cracking but exasperation with the Brits is undiminished: “The conduct of the British political class has eroded much of the goodwill that European politicians and officials felt towards the UK. If the British wish to avoid no deal by asking for further extensions they should avoid losing the remaining goodwill that still lingers in certain capitals.”
In the Press - Brexit: May to face MPs as rebels warn she risks defeat on deal in June – live news
15 May 2019
The Guardian
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, has just published a very good paper addressing exactly this question. Here is an extract.EU officials don’t trust British MPs to prevent no deal and some of them think it could happen by accident. For example, what if a Boris Johnson-type figure became prime minister in October, and he or she was determined to leave without a deal?
In the Press - PM's Brexit negotiator jets into Brussels to thrash out a temporary Customs Union compromise
15 May 2019
The Sun
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said: “Many people in Brussels expect a further extension of Article 50, well into 2020. They think that the EU will continue to extend Article 50 rather than be seen to promote no deal.”
In the Press - Millennials create own political parties as European Union elections loom
15 May 2019
NBC News
“Those parties which are more radical in their message, including pro-European parties, will probably attract more voters,” said Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank in Brussels. “The result will be that the next European Parliament will be more fragmented. It will be harder to garner a majority to push through legislation.”
In the Press - May tells Corbyn Brexit vote MUST BE DELIVERED ON – new vote date set on deal
15 May 2019
The Express
Charles Grant, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, reports that Brussels officials are expecting Britain to return with another request to delay Brexit. Mr Grant said: “Some senior figures in Brussels expect the British to receive an extension till June 2020. “That is the latest possible date for the EU to agree on its next seven-year budget plan, the multiannual financial framework that starts in 2021, without serious problems arising.”
In the Press - May to meet Corbyn TONIGHT as cross-party Brexit talks teeter on the brink of collapse
14 May 2019
The Daily Mail
Today it emerged that EU officials are already talking about a further extension of Article 50 to June 2020 because they don't expect any breakthrough in Westminster before the current October 31 deadline, according Charles Grant from the respected Centre for European Reform.
In the Press - EU economies have converged since last elections
13 May 2019
The Financial Times
Christian Odendahl, economist at the Centre for European Reform, said that restrictive monetary and fiscal policy and fiscal austerity were contributory factors.“It was only in 2012, when Europe threw some dogmas out of the window, that the eurozone stabilised,” Mr Odendahl and colleagues wrote in a recent paper.