Press
The EU needs to counter Italy's coronavirus-induced Euroscepticism
03 April 2020
Prospect
The coronavirus crisis may be unprecedented in living memory, but for many Italians the EU’s reaction has been no surprise.
BBC News: The EU's response to the coronavirus
02 April 2020
“This €100 billion [proposed EU coronavirus jobless scheme] strikes me as rather small given the number of unemployed that are expected in light of the huge economic shock facing not only Italy but the eurozone as a whole”.
EU fiscal response to cornavirus pandemic taking shape after shaky start
02 April 2020
RTE News
"The way other member-states initially responded to Italy’s coronavirus plight has shaped the narrative of the crisis," says Luigi Scazzieri, of the Centre for European Reform (CER).
The EU can emerge stronger from the coronavirus crisis
01 April 2020
Encompass
The coronavirus pandemic has become a stress test for the European project.
EU countries step up ‘solidarity’ in fightback against critics
31 March 2020
Financial Times
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, from the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said the EU needed to make up for an initial “chaotic and unco-ordinated” pandemic response in which some member states “showed a lack of solidarity with Italy”, Europe’s worst-affected country.
EU leaders enter a virtual, parallel reality
27 March 2020
Financial Times
Christian Odendahl and John Springford and the Centre for European Reform want governments to avoid the economic mistakes of 2008 by stimulating the “economy once the containment phase is lifted”.
Sharon White mucks in to help Waitrose's panicky buyers
27 March 2020
Financial Times
Former Ofcom boss and Treasury big cheese Sharon White. Becoming chair of Waitrose’s parent, John Lewis, has not put her above replenishing empty shelves at the Holloway Road store. She was spotted by the director of the Centre for European Reform (who else, given the proximity to Highbury Fields) Charles Grant.
'The future of the European project is at stake': EU in crosshairs of coronavirus pandemic
27 March 2020
Euronews
"Basically the outcome of the summit is something not particularly surprising but still it’s obviously an outcome which is going to cast a shadow on a previously pretty efficient EU response," said Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska from the Centre for European Reform.
Coronavirus pandemic is a make or break moment for the EU
26 March 2020
Financial Times
“The EU’s hands are pretty much tied in the area of public health”, says Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in Brussels.
Judy Asks: Can Europe become stronger after the coronavirus pandemic?
26 March 2020
Carnegie Europe
The EU’s initial response to the crisis was haphazard, with member states taking center stage. But the EU could emerge stronger from this pandemic if it learns from its past mistakes.
Europe fumbled coronavirus at first. Can it manage the pandemic now?
26 March 2020
The New York Times
“We need to be pretty honest and say that the initial E.U. response was chaotic and belated,” said Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska of the Centre for European Reform in Brussels.
CER podcast: The EU must fight COVID-19 on the home front and abroad
25 March 2020
EU solidarity went missing when the COVID-19 pandemic started, feeding eurosceptic narratives. The Union is now getting its act together internally.
Europe's leaders ditch austerity and fight pandemic with cash
25 March 2020
The New York Times
“A monumental crisis like this creates the political space to challenge whatever the thinking was before,” said Christian Odendahl, the Berlin-based chief economist at the Centre for European Reform.
Germany fires fiscal fusillade but markets roiled by economic anxiety
24 March 2020
The Australian Financial Review
"Hawkish northern eurozone members, which have so far strongly opposed the idea of any risk sharing in the eurozone members, should understand that without taking bold steps the entire eurozone may be endangered," said Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, in a paper published on Monday.
The Londoner: Alastair Campbell warns Boris Johnson - smarten up your act
23 March 2020
Evening Standard
As customers bemoaned the lack of pasta in Waitrose Holloway Road, they saw a tall lady stacking shelves. It was CEO Sharon White, noticed punter Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform. “She was talking to customers and mucking in with colleagues. There was no press or PR.” Proof that this crisis can bring out the best in business.
Europe is losing the battle to unite its military efforts
23 March 2020
European CEO
Sophia Besch, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, points out that these have had limited success: member-states are dodging the policies by invoking Article 346, which allows governments to protect issues relating to their security, meaning they have to comply when it comes to maintenance and repair but not in terms of major military equipment contracts.
EU's institutional framework regarding defence matters
20 March 2020
European Parliament
The new initiatives and developments in the EU’s institutional defence architecture in recent years have the potential to make the Union a more capable defence actor.
Covid-19 is delaying Brexit negotiations
19 March 2020
The Economist
Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, notes that EU minds are also elsewhere, as they confront the serious risks to the bloc’s economy and the potential for destabilisation. “The chances of getting a deal fixed in time are diminishing,” he notes. “An extension is more likely.”
The British approach and international consensus
19 March 2020
Aspenia Online
The UK’s initial response to the coronavirus emergency appeared effective. Despite its high degree of interconnectedness with the global economy, the number of cases remained low in February.
CER podcast: Western leaders should talk to Putin, but not be taken in by him
18 March 2020
Western leaders must know their facts before they talk to Putin, and take a firm line on unacceptable actions.