Press

Législatives 2024 : à Bruxelles, la France donne des sueurs froides

01 July 2024
Le Parisien
“L’Allemagne et la France sont les deux pays indispensables au sein de l’Union. Sans l’un ou l’autre, aucune initiative européenne ne pourrait émerger, résume Sander Tordoir, chercheur néerlandais du groupe de réflexion Centre for European Reform. Le risque est de saper la capacité de l’UE à renforcer son indépendance énergétique, sa sécurité économique vis-à-vis de la Chine, et sa défense face à la Russie - autant de sujets où la coopération entre pays européen est primordiale”.
Charles Grant

BBC Radio 4 - The World Tonight: French centrists and Left strike deals to squeeze out National Rally

01 July 2024
Charles Grant spoke to 'The World Tonight' and explained the impact a far-right French government would have on the EU.

What are Labour’s options for boosting trade with Europe?

30 June 2024
Financial Times
John Springford, a trade economist at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said a £2bn uplift would be “a nice to have” but still relatively meagre when set against total UK exports to the EU of more than £150bn a year.

Hungary for change: Orban’s controversial turn at the EU helm

30 June 2024
International Policy Digest
Zselyke Csaky, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, believes the Hungarian presidency will have limited impact on EU policies – but the hit to the Union’s reputation could be significant. “The incoming Hungarian presidency is worrying,” he says. Viktor Orbán’s “years-long, consistent policy of undermining EU unity on Ukraine and other issues prompted many to question whether Hungary should take on the role,” says Csaky.
Judy Asks: Will enlargement spur EU reform?

Judy Asks: Will enlargement spur EU reform?

27 June 2024
Carnegie Europe
Enlargement might spur EU reform, but I won’t hold my breath for more than minor changes.
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: What would a Labour government mean for Europe?

CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: What would a Labour government mean for Europe?

26 June 2024
Aslak Berg, Ian Bond and Luigi Scazzieri discuss the UK election.

‘It will be a very big moment’: can Labour revisit Brexit – and heal bitter divisions with Europe?

23 June 2024
The Observer
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, who talks to European governments regularly, says the EU will extract its price for rebuilding links beyond security and defence cooperation. “EU leaders will tell him [Starmer] that if he wants things out of the EU – such as a deal on veterinary standards to reduce border checks on food, animals and plants – he will have to accept some of their asks. For example, the EU wants a deal on youth mobility, to make it easier for young people in the EU and the UK to spend more time on the other side of the Channel.

Why don’t our leaders want to talk about Brexit?

22 June 2024
The Times
The Trade and Co-operation Agreement, signed on December 30, 2020, which governs UK-EU trade relations, is due to be revisited in 2025 but even Charles Grant, the Europhile head of the Centre for European Reform, says it will be “very difficult” to make progress.

The man who saved the euro aims to take on China — and the US

21 June 2024
Politico
“He will have to convince Europe’s heads of state and heads of government by force of argument,” said Sander Tordoir, who is chief economist at the Centre for European Reform and previously worked at the ECB during Draghi’s tenure as its head. “I think that’s fundamentally the reason he was asked.”

Defence commissioner role needs industrial policy focus - analysts

Christina Keßler
21 June 2024
Euronews
Christina Kessler, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform (CER), agrees that a defence industry commissioner would be appropriate in the next mandate, "not just because there is obviously work to be done in this area, but also because it would signal that the EU is taking this seriously and is willing to step up its game".   

Has the EU turned to the right?

Christina Keßler
21 June 2024
British Foreign Policy Group
For the first time, the European Parliament elections have taken place without the United Kingdom. From 6th– 9th June, citizens from across the EU went to the polls. But what is next for the bloc – and what do these results mean?

EU should reform its regional spending

20 June 2024
Bloomberg
The EU should reform its regional spending — known as ‘cohesion policy’ — to tackle the divergences that services trade promotes, according to a report from the Centre of European Reform. Given that living standards in newer member states are converging with those in western European, “more regional funds should be directed towards city-regions with high growth potential, complementing existing allocations based on relative poverty,’’ researchers John Springford, Sander Tordoir and Lucas Resende Carvalho said.

Single market - Look to the cities

20 June 2024
Politico
The EU should rethink cohesion policy that focuses on developing remote or disadvantaged regions and target second-tier big cities that have substantial growth potential in services, argued the authors of a report from the Centre for European Reform.All about services: John Springford, Sander Tordoir and Lucas Resende Carvalho pointed to services exports within the single market as a big growth area that’s got more potential, especially for tech or finance.

Labour’s EU plan will have ‘minimal’ impact on cost of Brexit

18 June 2024
Financial Times
John Springford, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said Labour’s decision to rebuff a youth mobility deal — one of the few concrete proposals from the European Commission so far — also sat uneasily with its demand for a deal on service professionals.

L’Europe a le choix entre multiculturalisme et stagnation

18 June 2024
Les Echos
Une société européenne multiethnique serait de nature à mieux préserver la prospérité de l'Europe, selon le think tank indépendant, Centre for European Reform.Selon le think tank britannique, Centre for European Reform (CER), il apparait de manière de plus en plus évidente que "de nombreux politiciens de centre-droit ont désormais choisi d'accepter les prémisses de cette rhétorique civilisationnelle, plutôt que de s'y confronter".
Germany’s defense engagement in the Indo-Pacific is a balancing actGermany’s defense engagement in the Indo-Pacific is a balancing act

Germany’s defense engagement in the Indo-Pacific is a balancing act

Christina Keßler
15 June 2024
The Diplomat
Like the 2021 edition, Germany’s 2024 Indo-Pacific Deployment will signal Berlin’s commitment to the region – and the limits of its presence.

Bound by rules and economics, EU trails US on China tariffs

14 June 2024
Reuters
Aslak Berg, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said the European Union was moving towards the U.S. position, but not to the same extent and that it was still using its traditional tools."It's more politically sensitive, but it's not legally different from cases of steel tariffs," he said, referring to Wednesday's action on EVs.

Election aftermath - MEPs to watch on economic and financial policy

14 June 2024
Euronews
“One key reason for Europe’s poor economic performance is low productivity, the lack of financing available for high-potential, high-risk businesses, and the barriers to innovative European firms building scale across the Union,” researchers from the think-tank Centre for European Reform (CER) wrote in a post-election analysis.  

EU tariffs on Chinese EVs popular with industry, but China’s trade chamber warns against implications

12 June 2024
EurActiv
Sander Tordoir, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, shared his view, saying: “We are responding. We are not the aggressor; we are merely levelling the playing field.” The problem of China’s government subsidies, he said, is exacerbated by low domestic consumption in the country, which makes its companies ever more dependent on exports.
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: Winners, losers and implications of the European elections

CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: Winners, losers and implications of the European elections

Zselyke Csaky, Christina Keßler, Luigi Scazzieri
12 June 2024
Christina Keßler, Luigi Scazzieri and Zselyke Csaky discuss the European election results.