Press
Is European resolve against Russia’s war beginning to soften?
31 May 2022
Marketplace
“Hungary is very dependent on Russian oil, and its refinery is configured to deal only with Russian crude,” said Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform in London. “But Orban also has a less respectable reason for opposing the ban. He has a close relationship with Vladimir Putin. He’s made no secret of his admiration for the strongman approach that Putin takes,” Bond added.
CER podcast: Unpacking the EU's new tech laws - and the UK's answer to them
27 May 2022
In this week’s CER podcast Rosie Giorgi speaks to Zach Meyers about the motivations behind the new laws, the companies that will be affected and what the UK is doing to promote digital competition and online safety.
We must uphold online competition at home, or we risk lagging behind the EU
25 May 2022
City A.M
Right now in the European Union, law-makers are putting the finishing touches on the Digital Markets Act – a landmark law which will upend big tech firms’ business models to improve competition online.
Why have Remainers gone silent as the costs of Brexit pile up?
17 May 2022
The Independent
The Centre for European Reform does rigorous quantitative analysis to isolate Brexit effects on British exports. Its latest survey showed that British exports of goods to the EU are 15 per cent down from where they should be.
DW News: Will Turkish objections stop Finland and Norway joining NATO?
17 May 2022
Interview with Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the CER. Sweden and Finland have formalized their NATO applications.
What are the benefits and drawbacks of adding Finland and Sweden to NATO?
16 May 2022
The Week
...Accession grants NATO access to both Finnish and Swedish territory in a crisis, which would "ease concerns about reinforcing the Baltic states and reduce the chances of a successful Russian attack," Ian Bond of the Centre for European Reform told Carnegie Europe.
Verdragswijziging of niet, dat is de vraag
15 May 2022
Het Financieele Dagblad
Charles Grant, directeur van de Britse denktank Centre for European Reform en een gerenommeerd EU-commentator, is minder enthousiast over de roep om een conventie en verdragswijziging. Hij wijst op de ervaringen begin deze eeuw. De EU-conventie die toen belegd werd, leidde tot een Europese grondwet die bij referenda in Nederland en Frankrijk werd afgewezen en daarna in stukjes terugkwam in het Verdrag van Lissabon.
Espaço Schengen abanou durante a pandemia. Ainda tem remédio?
15 May 2022
ECO
A este propósito, a chefe da delegação de Bruxelas do think tank Centre for European Reform (CER) considera que o facto de os países Schengen terem adotado políticas diferentes entre si para enfrentar a Covid-19 foi uma “resposta natural”. Contrariamente ao ex-eurodeputado, Camino Mortera-Martinez refere ao ECO que o Espaço Schengen está “muito bem equipado” para lidar com uma crise sanitária, tendo demonstrado ser “suficientemente resiliente” para reagir ao choque da pandemia – o que, ressalva, “não significa que seja perfeito”.
Emmanuel Macron’s ‘Confederation’ may be the perfect home for Brexit Britain
13 May 2022
The Telegraph
Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform says the plan has support from the EU’s President Charles Michel and the Council secretariat, though not from Commission officials, visceral foes of "variable geometry" and anything that departs from the uniform script.
“The move is highly significant. There is a strong desire for a rapprochement with the UK, and they might even be willing to rewrite the Protocol, if there is a different prime minister. Relations with Boris Johnson are now too toxic,” he said.
“The move is highly significant. There is a strong desire for a rapprochement with the UK, and they might even be willing to rewrite the Protocol, if there is a different prime minister. Relations with Boris Johnson are now too toxic,” he said.
CER podcast: Where will Macron now take France and Europe?
11 May 2022
We discussed Macron's re-election and where French and EU policy was likely to be headed in his second term.
What do we know about Macron's idea for a two-tier Europe?
11 May 2022
Euronews
"One can say the Schengen Area and the eurozone are examples of a two-speed Europe, which is not the same as the other idea [of Macron], which is this outer circle of non-members of the EU, which would cooperate with the European Union on specific areas without being part of the bloc as members of the institutions," Camino Mortera-Martinez, head of the Brussels office at the Centre for European Reform told Euronews.
Here's how the EU's plan to tackle online child abuse could impact your privacy
11 May 2022
Euronews
For Zach Meyers, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Reform (CER) think-tank, the Commission's plan "clearly undermines end-to-end encryption.""Once a “backdoor” to undermine encryption exists, that will create both new security vulnerabilities for hackers, and inevitable political pressure to expand the “backdoor” so that it covers more than just child sexual abuse material (CSAM) over time," Meyers added.
Finland and Sweden get ready to announce Nato bids as Europe prepares for a reaction from Russia
11 May 2022
The Independent
“The Russians will rattle plenty of sabres, demonstratively move weaponry around in Kaliningrad or send naval vessels out into the Baltic to cause problems,” says Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform. .... “Russia has its hands full with Ukraine at the moment,” adds Bond.
UK to reform data protection, throwing EU adequacy ruling into doubt
10 May 2022
EurActiv
“The Commission’s original decision to grant the UK data adequacy was already legally questionable because the UK was repeatedly found to have breached EU law because of how British national security agencies collect personal data,” Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, told EURACTIV.
“If the UK diverges further away from the GDPR, then the Commission may feel it has no choice but to withdraw adequacy”, he said.
“If the UK diverges further away from the GDPR, then the Commission may feel it has no choice but to withdraw adequacy”, he said.
UK jettisons legislation to empower digital regulator
10 May 2022
EurActiv
Even in its current non-statutory state, Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, told EURACTIV that the DMU had had a discernible impact.He argued that such technical expertise already led the CMA to achieve better results than the European Commission’s competition service.
Doubts emerge over Macron's proposal for new EU 'community' of aspiring states
10 May 2022
France 24
"But what do we mean by political cooperation? And how will we make it work?" said Camino Mortera of the think-tank Centre for European Reform.
« Communauté politique européenne » : comment Macron s’est inspiré d’une idée de Mitterrand
10 May 2022
Le Telegramme
« Qu’est-ce qu’on entend par coopération politique ? Et comment on va la faire fonctionner ? », s’interroge également Camino Mortera, du think tank Centre for European Reform. « Certains pays qui sont bloqués à la porte de l’UE depuis des années pourraient peut-être voir dans cette annonce un progrès mais il faut voir ce qu’il y a derrière ».
Sinn Fein's historic win in Northern Ireland may not change anything for the Brexit negotiations
09 May 2022
Euro News
According to Charles Grant, Director of the Centre for European Reform (CER) think tank, the win by Sinn Fein, which seeks unification with the Republic of Ireland, may turn out to have strengthened the British government's position in the negotiations. This is because it makes it less likely that the DUP will take part in a government, which in turn will lead to a crisis that in the long run could endanger the Good Friday Agreement.
Why can’t we talk about Brexit?
08 May 2022
The Sunday Times
The Centre for European Reform think-tank claimed in March that leaving the single market and customs union had cut the UK’s overall goods trade by about 15 per cent — including with non-EU countries. It argued that this was because 65 per cent of British exports were used as inputs for production processes in the EU and elsewhere, and it was “therefore likely that barriers to trade with the EU are damaging UK exports to the rest of the world”.
Britain has become unexpectedly European
06 May 2022
The Economist
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform (CER), a think-tank, recalls that Germany and France seriously feared that post-Brexit Britain would move towards a low-tax, low-regulation version of “Singapore-on-Thames”, which is why they insisted on strong level-playing-field conditions in the trade deal. But in practice there has been little sign of such a shift.