Research
The EU's troubled leadership: You get what you pay for
25 February 2021
Recent gaffes by Ursula von der Leyen and Josep Borrell, over COVID-19 vaccination roll-out and Russia policy respectively, have irritated member-states.
Keeping up appearances: What now for UK services trade?
22 February 2021
Rather than obsessing about services exports, UK policy-makers should focus on investment and ensuring the UK remains an attractive destination for multinational services firms to operate out of.
Draghi's challenge
12 February 2021
Mario Draghi will be the next Italian prime minister. He is Italy’s best hope to steer the country through its worst crisis since World War II. But he faces daunting challenges, especially if the COVID pandemic does not wane quickly.
The new geopolitics: Annual report 2020
11 February 2021
The CER’s annual report features an essay on 12 geopolitical trends that are reshaping Europe. The report also describes some highlights of the CER’s work on Brexit, economics and foreign policy.
How Greece can recover from Covid
09 February 2021
The pandemic is adding to Greece’s economic problems. But the EU recovery fund, if spent well, offers Greece a chance to turn a corner.
It takes two to tango: The EU and the UK need to work together to make the Northern Ireland protocol work
02 February 2021
The European Commission’s aborted attempt to restrict vaccines moving from the EU to Northern Ireland risked undermining years of hard work.
Bulletin issue 136 - February/March 2021
01 February 2021
- Transatlantic relations for the Biden era and beyond, Ian Bond
- Preparing for a CDU-Green coalition in Berlin, Sophia Besch, Christian Odendahl
- Foreign policy co-operation: Brexit's missing link, Luigi Scazzieri
An unequal recovery would be politically explosive
29 January 2021
When restrictions are eased, office workers will spend while poorer people, who have been more likely to get COVID-19, may struggle. Governments need to find ways to make the recovery fair.
Ditchley conference report: COVID-19, the global economy and the return of power politics
22 January 2021
At the CER's Ditchley economics conference, participants discussed the global role of the EU in the aftermath of the pandemic, with faltering trade and investment and growing strategic competition between the US and China.
A new transatlantic consensus on Iran
19 January 2021
A new Iran nuclear crisis is brewing. Europeans should seize the opportunity to re-establish a common position with the US and try to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement that Donald Trump abandoned.
Choosing Merkel's successor: None of the above?
12 January 2021
The competition for ‘Merkel voters’ has started, and the CDU needs a leader able to keep her broad coalition of supporters together. That may well be health minister Jens Spahn.
The EU-UK trade and co-operation agreement: A platform on which to build?
12 January 2021
The new trade deal between the EU and the UK could be improved upon over time, but that is not a given. It could also crumble away.
Ten reflections on a sovereignty-first Brexit
28 December 2020
The UK-EU trade deal prioritises sovereignty over economics. Politicians will soon be talking about how to improve the deal. Very little about the UK’s long-term relationship with the EU has been settled.
Deadly coronavirus, domineering China and divided America: What the new geopolitics means for Europe
17 December 2020
Trump's presidency and COVID-19 have destabilised geopolitics, creating problems for the US and the EU, while strengthening China.
European strategic autonomy and a new transatlantic bargain
11 December 2020
The distinction between a European path and a transatlantic path in European defence is misguided. Europeans should focus on improving their capabilities and developing a common strategic outlook.
Europe needs a strong Africa, but will it work to achieve one?
03 December 2020
The massive problems created by COVID-19 in Africa offer Europe a chance to promote a new partnership. But upgrading the relationship will require the EU to confront both illicit financial flows and a looming debt crisis.
Bulletin issue 135 - December 2020/January 2021
30 November 2020
- Can Biden mend Trump's foreign policy mess?, Ian Bond
- Navigating accidental illegality, Sam Lowe
- Turkey rising?, Luigi Scazzieri
Post-Brexit foreign, security and defence co-operation: We don't want to talk about it
26 November 2020
The UK is wrong to reject an institutional foreign policy relationship with the EU, but the EU should improve its ineffective external security co-operation with third countries, including the UK.
President Biden: Don't expect miracles, Europe
13 November 2020
Transatlantic relations will improve under Biden, but Europe will not be his number one priority. Europeans must strengthen their capacity to protect their own interests.
Brexit and police and judicial co-operation: Too little, too late?
09 November 2020
The EU and the UK will find an agreement on extradition and Europol. But both parties are further apart on data protection than it may seem. Data transfers will be a problem in the future relationship.