Press

Europe's economic recovery in peril as fourth Covid wave sweeps the continent

Christian Odendahl
22 November 2021
The Telegraph
Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform says the “political calculus changes quite a bit” for state leaders facing election. He argues politicians dodged the Covid issue in German elections in September, making a backlash more likely at the ballot box in state votes next year.
But, adds Odendahl, Austria’s mandatory move “will set a precedent for Germany, because Germany and Austria follow each other's politics and country relatively closely”.

Amazon n’accepte plus les cartes Visa au Royaume-Uni. Et voilà les leçons que nous devrions retenir

19 November 2021
Atlantico
Amazon UK n'accepte plus les cartes de crédit Visa. Quelles sont les raisons de cette décision ? Amazon s'inquiète de l'augmentation par Visa des frais que les détaillants doivent payer pour accepter ce type de cartes de crédit. 

Why Poland needs to turn to Germany for support during border crisis

18 November 2021
The New European
Charles Grant, of the Centre for European Reform, suggests it is worse than that. “There is another reason why they are they refusing to allow NGOs and journalists to visit, why they don’t want Frontex. They don’t want people monitoring their behaviour on the frontline.” 
The government is using the border crisis for political advantage, Grant adds. Poland has refused to take in migrants under EU quota schemes devised after the great wave that arrived in Germany in 2015. It is the classic political wedge, to play up against a “soft” opposition. “Liberals are in a mess about it.”

Euronews Tonight: Russia-Ukraine border

17 November 2021
Ian Bond argues that he's sceptical that Putin actually wants to take over Belarus, because having a weak, dependent Lukashenka suits him better than having to assume full responsibility for a country whose economy is not in a good way.

Voice of America: COVID-19 surge, inflation fears overshadow Europe's economic rebound

17 November 2021
John Springford explains that global supply chains have struggled to cope with the pent-up consumer demand following the pandemic: something we will see for the coming months.

Poland's many problems – and how to solve them

Camino Mortera-Martinez
16 November 2021
Encompass
Just when Brussels was enjoying a much-needed break on its never-ending rule of law brouhaha with Poland, all began to go South in the Eastern front – again.

Europe tries to cut migrant air routes from Middle East to Belarus amid border crisis

Ian Bond, Camino Mortera-Martinez, Luigi Scazzieri
15 November 2021
Forbes
According to the Centre for European Reform think-tank, between early August and mid-October, there were more than 15,000 attempts to cross the border illegally.

Ask CER - Episode 2: Europe's climate challenges, the EU's recovery fund, and the latest on Nord Stream 2

12 November 2021
You asked, we answered: the second episode of our ‘Ask CER’ podcast series.

Pandemic legacy set to hang heavily over EU budget numbers

12 November 2021
Today UK News
The Centre for European Reform is making the case for why the bloc’s post-pandemic recovery fund based on mutual debt should be a permanent EU outfit. One argument: if the bloc is serious about its climate ambitions, the current fund is nowhere near sufficient for the green transition investments needed.

Permanent recovery fund

12 November 2021
Financial Times
The Centre for European Reform is making the case for why the bloc’s post-pandemic recovery fund based on mutual debt should be a permanent EU outfit. One argument: if the bloc is serious about its climate ambitions, the current fund is nowhere near sufficient for the green transition investments needed.

It may be time for businesses to dust off their no-deal Brexit plans

11 November 2021
The Times
An analysis by the Centre for European Reform suggests Brexit so far has reduced UK goods trade by 15.8 per cent compared with what might have been expected if Britain was still in the EU.

Unlike before, Poland gets support from Europe on tough borders

Camino Mortera-Martinez
10 November 2021
The New York Times
The European Union has offered Poland help with its own border guards, known as Frontex, significantly expanded since the 2015 crisis and based in Warsaw, said Camino Mortera-Martinez, a Brussels-based fellow of the Centre for European Reform.

Unlike before, Poland gets support from Europe on tough borders

10 November 2021
The New York Times
Warsaw also does not want the oversight of its actions that Frontex might provide, said Luigi Scazzieri, a research fellow in London who is also at the Centre for European Reform.

Why Britain is such a noisy neighbour

Sam Lowe
06 November 2021
The Economist
Perpetual arguments beckon, says Samuel Lowe of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank. When the row over fish passes, attention will turn to Northern Ireland, a more serious problem. 

Fishing row: What happens if UK takes legal action against France over post-Brexit dispute?

Sam Lowe
02 November 2021
Sky News
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said of the process: "In terms of the legal mechanisms we are very much talking about a process here that could drag on for a while."

Polonia y el ataque iliberal a los cimientos de la UE

Camino Mortera-Martinez
30 October 2021
Expansion
“Para la UE, este desafío de Polonia y el de otros Estados Miembros que se declaran abiertamente iliberales como Hungría es casi una cuestión existencial. Está en juego la esencia de la UE y qué tipo de comunidad de valores quiere ser”, señala Camino Mortera, investigadora del Centre for European Reform (CER). 

Expectations for COP26 are low but here's what would make it a success

30 October 2021
Euronews
Elisabetta Cornago, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform (CER) think-thank, said that "experts are hoping for a leap forward with final climate actions plans" at the summit to keep the 1.5°C target "within reach.""Currently, that seems hard, as most plans fall far short of that goal," she deplored.

Business bottleneck in the 'age of optimism'

30 October 2021
BBC News
The Centre for European Reform sought to model an imaginary, non-Brexit Britain alongside these actual figures, and concluded that the effect of Brexit - isolated from the pandemic - accounted for a drop of 15.8% in goods trade, as of August.

CER podcast: What's the state of UK-EU relations?

Charles Grant, Sam Lowe
29 October 2021
Charles Grant speaks to Sam Lowe about the state of UK-EU relations.

France - Royaume-Uni : les multiples raisons d’une brouille profonde

29 October 2021
Le Monde
« Elle pensait, à tort, que le Royaume-Uni allait devenir une sorte de Singapour-sur-Tamise dérégulé. Elle voulait aussi capter des parts de marché à la City ou au secteur automobile », juge Charles Grant, directeur du Center for European Reform. « Paris a aussi tenu cette ligne très dure pour priver les partis extrêmes d’arguments en faveur du Brexit », ajoute l’expert.