Press
As Brexit begins, the British face a Europe with far more at stake
28 March 2017
The Washington Post
Simon Tilford, deputy director of the pro-EU, London-based Centre for European Reform, said British officials are “naive” because they don’t realise their demands are seen across the continent as an example of “egregious free riding.”
“It would appear that they realise they can’t have their cake and eat it. But it’s wrong to say that the British government understands now what is possible and what isn’t,” Tilford said. “They’re still much too optimistic about the amount of leverage Britain has in this process, and the amount of wiggle room the other side has.”
“It would appear that they realise they can’t have their cake and eat it. But it’s wrong to say that the British government understands now what is possible and what isn’t,” Tilford said. “They’re still much too optimistic about the amount of leverage Britain has in this process, and the amount of wiggle room the other side has.”
UK braces for an 'emotional' EU backlash
27 March 2017
Bloomberg
May could also use the letter she will send on Wednesday to EU President Donald Tusk to smooth waters, perhaps by indicating a willingness to discuss an exit fee. “Britain needs goodwill,” Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said in a recent report. “If May does not want to further antagonize her partners she should be humble, constructive and flexible in her letter.”
The negotiator: Brexit talks to be Theresa May’s toughest test
26 March 2017
Financial Times
Charles Grant, head of the Centre for European Reform, says: “Arguably Cameron invested a bit too much in Merkel but there’s a view in Whitehall that she [Mrs May] has underinvested in Berlin.” While Mr Cameron could also call on Mark Rutte and Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Dutch and Swedish prime ministers, in a tight corner, Mr Grant says: “I don’t think she has those personal relationships at the moment.”
Cracks on show at EU 'unity' summit in Rome
25 March 2017
The Telegraph
“Europe needs to find a new, multi-tier way to move forward that allows groups with similar interests to integrate without alienating the rest,” said Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, a pro-EU think-tank.
“The EU will survive Brexit, but the Rome summit will only be useful if it highlights the problems facing the Union. The danger is that it could all feel too self-congratulatory,” he said.
“The EU will survive Brexit, but the Rome summit will only be useful if it highlights the problems facing the Union. The danger is that it could all feel too self-congratulatory,” he said.
CCTV: Devaluation of the pound
25 March 2017
Charles Grant talks to China Central Television about the fall in the value of the pound since the referendum and the impact on food prices (from 01.30).
A historic week ahead
24 March 2017
Financial Times
“If Mrs May does not want to further antagonise her partners she should be humble, constructive and flexible in her letter,“ says Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska of the Centre for European Reform.
E.U. Is Turning 60 and Searching for Something to Celebrate
24 March 2017
The New York Times
Both Mr. Stefanini and Simon Tilford, the deputy director of the Center for European Reform, are struck by the complacency in Brussels, with rhetoric about the possibility of a multitier Europe lagging far behind the reality of division and competition.
“In Brussels, they see a couple of quarters of economic growth as a sign that everything is well,” Mr. Tilford said. “The first sign of relative improvement is an excuse to sound defensive and complacent.”
“In Brussels, they see a couple of quarters of economic growth as a sign that everything is well,” Mr. Tilford said. “The first sign of relative improvement is an excuse to sound defensive and complacent.”
CER podcast: CER researchers discuss the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome
24 March 2017
CER researchers discuss the 60th anniversary of the Treaties of Rome. The EU has a great past, but what will its leaders do about its many challenges in the future?
Szczyt UE w Rzymie. Jedność, ale na horyzoncie podziały
24 March 2017
Wiadomosci
- Priorytetem jest wysłanie sygnału o tym, że Europa jest zjednoczona wobec wszystkich wyzwań, które ją trapią, przede wszystkim tych związanych z wyjściem z niej Wielkiej Brytanii. W Rzymie liderzy UE bedą starali się podkreślić to, co łączy państwa członkowskie, a unikać tych tematów, które je dzielą - mówi WP Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, ekspert Centre for European Reform w Londynie.
A Dutch government-commissioned report has stressed the importance of City access ahead of Brexit talks
23 March 2017
City A.M.
Committee member Rem Korteweg told City A.M.: “If you leave the Single Market then passporting doesn’t make a lot of sense, but the City plays a very important role in terms of capital provision across the EU 27. So what we would want is the second best version – a beefed up version of equivalence.
“We noted the moment the UK leaves the EU its regulations and standards will be 100 per cent equivalent to the EU 27. That should be the basis for continued use of the City as the main capital provider for the EU 27.”
“We noted the moment the UK leaves the EU its regulations and standards will be 100 per cent equivalent to the EU 27. That should be the basis for continued use of the City as the main capital provider for the EU 27.”
The importance of a European foreign and security policy
23 March 2017
The Economist
But as Camino Mortera-Martinez of the Centre for European Reform points out, non-EU countries cannot participate in the European Arrest Warrant.
Judy Asks: Has the EU forgotten its origins?
22 March 2017
Carnegie Europe
The EU has not forgotten its origins. But many ordinary Europeans do not know of them, or what the EU will be celebrating on March 25, 2017.
Between Russia and the EU, Eastern Europe's future is uncertain
22 March 2017
The Moscow Times
Eastern Europe, dotted with frozen conflicts of Russia’s making, is stuck in transition to an uncertain future.
Brexit briefing: German lessons for Brexiters
20 March 2017
Financial Times
Two publications will help readers to form an idea of Germany's attitude to Brexit. One is “Berlin to the Rescue?”, a paper written by Sophia Besch and Christian Odendahl for the Centre for European Reform think-tank. The other is “Berlin Rules”, a book by Sir Paul Lever, Britain’s ambassador to Germany from 1997 to 2003. ...Ms Besch and Mr Odendahl make the point: “Germany will be neither a hardliner nor particularly accommodating in the Brexit talks ...Berlin wants to preserve the EU and make sure that the EU-27 stick to a unified position; it considers disintegration of the EU the biggest Brexit risk.
Why Berlin won't give Theresa May an easy ride over Brexit
19 March 2017
The Observer
Germany's British exports are far less important to it than loyalty to the European project.
Bye-bye Britain
18 March 2017
Die Zeit
"Sie verlässt sich sehr auf ihre Berater, doch die wissen über die EU nicht viel", ergänzt Charles Grant, Direktor des europafreundlichen Centre for European Reform.
Why Brexit divorce talks don't favour Theresa May
17 March 2017
Bloomberg
Yet the longer talks go on without an agreement, the more pressure will build on May to accept any terms that she’s offered. That risks “economic chaos,” says Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform. “So if Britain wants a half-decent deal, it needs the goodwill of its partners.”
UK's Brexit fight with Scotland escalates as May rejects vote
17 March 2017
Japan Times
“What you have now is Sturgeon maneuvering to get May to offend as many Scots as possible and May trying to maneuver to offend as few as possible,” said Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the London-based Centre For European Reform.
Who won the Dutch election, what happens now and what will Geert Wilders do next?
16 March 2017
The Express
Mr Wilders has got the second largest party and will play an important opposition role, according to Rem Korteweg, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform (CER).
“He is going to keep ramming home his agenda," Mr Korteweg said today in the wake of the provisional election result last night.
One image perfectly captures why populists didn't win the Dutch election
16 March 2017
Quartz
Rem Korteweg, a senior research fellow at the think-tank Centre for European Reform (CER), says the French and Dutch political systems aren’t really comparable. “If you want to talk about the populist tide, the tide is still there,” he says, but “there are definitely breakwaters you need to take into account,” including how “the Dutch political system works.”