Press
EU fiscal rule reform has become a defensive fight
03 May 2023
EurActiv
The new EU fiscal rules proposed by the Commission will not slam public investment or exacerbate recessions in the immediate future, but they might haunt the eurozone in the long-term,
Game on as UK steals a march on Brussels over Activision merger
02 May 2023
The Times
“The UK is getting way ahead of the European Commission on mergers,” Zach Meyers, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, says. Influential member-states such as France talk tough on tech companies but Brussels’ powerful competition authority remains gripped by old orthodoxies when deciding on multinational mergers in the digital sector.
Is the UK a good destination for innovation?
02 May 2023
Business Leader
The Centre for European Reform says the introduction of the points-based immigration system post-Brexit has led to a net gain of workers in healthcare, education and ICT, which they consider more-skilled sectors. This suggests Brexit could have contributed to innovation where skilled migration is concerned. However, the study also said Brexit has contributed to an overall worker shortfall of 333,000, meaning total economic output has been reduced.
Revealed: The great Brexit pubs and clubs shutdown
30 April 2023
The Independent
Brexit has led to less trade and lower growth, with the UK economy 5.5 per cent poorer than it would have been if Britain had stayed in the EU, according to a study by the Centre for European Reform. ...And research carried out by think tanks the Centre for European Reform and UK in a Changing Europe suggests that Brexit has led to a shortfall of 330,000 people in the UK labour force, mostly in the low-skilled economy, compared to how things would have been if we had stayed in the EU.
Pacte de stabilité : la rigidité de Berlin crispe ses partenaires européens
30 April 2023
L'Agefi
La cohésion et les dynamiques internes de ce «clan» ont été altérés par les différentes élections nationales, et par la guerre en Ukraine, explique Sander Tordoir, du Centre for European Reform : «Jusqu’à la pandémie, la ligue des frugaux, menée par les Pays-Bas, était le camp du ‘non’ rigide sur les questions budgétaires, avec l’Allemagne qui faisait office de force modératrice.
Europa lockert starre Schuldenregeln
26 April 2023
Süddeutsche Zeitung
"Das kam die Eurozone teuer zu stehen", sagt der Ökonom Sander Tordoir vom Berliner Centre for European Reform.
Bruxelles bataille pour assouplir le Pacte de stabilité
26 April 2023
Le Parisien
«Ces concessions envers les frugaux, emmenés par l’Allemagne, vont se heurter à une vive opposition non seulement à Paris, mais aussi à Rome et à Madrid par exemple, pose Sander Tordoir, du Centre for European Reform. Ces pays ont été trop passifs ces dernières semaines, en laissant la Commission esseulée face aux récriminations de Berlin. Ils vont désormais devoir trouver un moyen de contre-attaquer à la table des ministres des Finances», estime cet économiste.
CER podcast: What is the EU's China policy?
26 April 2023
In this week's episode of the CER podcast Ian Bond and Camino Mortera-Martinez discuss the EU's elusive China policy.
Tinfoil helmet Brexiteering
26 April 2023
The New European
Thankfully, we did not have the hardest Brexit possible, so that figure (the equivalent would be £50bn a year) came down a bit – which makes the £40bn annually that John Springford, deputy director at the Centre for European Reform, calculates is the ongoing Brexit deficit feel about right.
EU targets Google, Facebook, Twitter and other 'very large' tech companies with stricter rules
25 April 2023
Euronews
Zach Meyers, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, described the list as "not especially surprising.""It is notable that, as expected, very few European companies will face the toughest regulation under the DSA - with a few exceptions such as Booking.com," he told Euronews.
UK MPs to debate e-petition’s call for public Brexit inquiry
24 April 2023
EurActiv
There were many promises made in the run-up to the 2016 Brexit referendum. For example, the public was told that the £350 million the UK was sending to the EU every week could fund the NHS instead. In December, the Centre for European Reform said that Brexit reduced Britain’s GDP by 5.5% by the second quarter of 2022 which, in turn, has seen a squeeze on public services, including the NHS.
Europe set to curb Ukrainian grain deals after farmers protest
21 April 2023
Voice of America
The dispute has taken many by surprise, said Ian Bond of the Centre for European Reform, an analyst group.“In the case of Poland, what’s so strange is that this is so much at odds with the assistance that Poland has given Ukraine in other ways,” Bond told VOA.
The EU's elusive China policy
21 April 2023
El Pais
Much like the European Union, I never thought I was going to have to think so much about China.
Give teeth to fiscal rules reform
18 April 2023
Politico
Researchers Sander Tordoir, Jasper van Dijk and Vinzenz Ziesemer have some advice for the Commission, which is fine tuning its proposed reform of EU government spending rules, to make sure they're enforced. Here's their full paper for the Centre for European Reform, out Monday.
What the 2023 Turkish general election could mean for EU-Turkey relations
18 April 2023
LSE blog
Turkey is one of the EU’s largest and most strategically important neighbours, a NATO member and a candidate for EU membership. Its presidential and parliamentary elections, scheduled for 14 May, will determine whether President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan remains in power and in control of Turkey’s relations with Europe.
AB'de Türkiye'deki seçimlere ilişkin gergin bekleyiş
15 April 2023
Deutsche Welle
AB’de Türkiye seçimleriyle ilgili gergin bekleyişi, olası senaryolara hazırlıkları DW Türkçe’ye anlatan CER uzmanı Luigi Scazzieri, “Kılıçdaroğlu'nun galibiyeti ilişkilerin güçlenmesinin yolunu açar” dedi.
Euronews: Bruselas, ¿te quiero?: La Unión Europea profundiza su división sobre China
15 April 2023
La redacción de Euronews en Bruselas les presenta el último episodio de nuestro programa de debate y análisis de la actualidad europea.
The total eclipse of Margrethe Vestager
13 April 2023
Politico
“Any chance of a prestigious international role might be stymied were former US President Donald Trump or a like-minded candidate to seize the White House next year, said Zach Meyers, a competition policy fellow at the Centre for European Reform. “There’s a lot of bad blood between Vestager and Trump, so she may be unable to secure American support if the Republicans win.”
Brexit will cost UK workers about £1,300 in lost income each year, say experts
12 April 2023
Evening Standard
John Springford, deputy director at the Centre for European Reform, told the Standard: “Britain’s productivity determines how much money people are paid. So a full-time worker with average earnings will be about £1,300 worse off a year as a result of Brexit.
CER podcast: Berlin versus Brussels: The politics of EU fiscal rules
12 April 2023
In this week's episode of the CER podcast Sander Tordoir discusses the EU's fiscal rules.