Single market, competition & trade
Three hard lessons for European trade
10 November 2025
Global trade policy is now dominated by great power politics, putting Europe under pressure. The EU will have to accommodate the US, confront China and derisk from both.
How buy-European rules can help save Europe's car industry
23 October 2025
Europe's car industry faces an acute demand shock from Chinese overcapacity & US tariffs. Instead of bailouts & regulatory rollbacks, member-states should co-ordinate buy-European EV subsidies & revive internal demand.
A reform agenda for the single market
16 October 2025
Last year, the Draghi report laid bare the need for reform to drive growth. Practical steps on energy, services, competition, finance and simplification can operationalise this agenda into meaningful change.
Making the EU's digital regulatory reset count: Four recommendations
02 September 2025
The EU digital rulebook has grown rapidly in recent years, becoming cumbersome and sometimes hampering trade. The forthcoming digital regulatory package is an opportunity to simplify the rules.
In defence of a bad deal
07 August 2025
The EU-US deal will hurt their economies, raise tariffs and weaken the global legal order. But despite it all, the EU was right to accept.
In transatlantic trade talks, the EU must keep digital policy off the table
18 July 2025
The UK has shifted some of its digital policies to appease the US president. But Brussels should adjust its tech agenda to boost its own competitiveness – not to cave in to Donald Trump.
The case for using the Anti-Coercion Instrument against Russia
05 June 2025
The EU sanctions regime against Russia is threatened by a Hungarian veto. The Anti-Coercion Instrument would allow the EU to bypass Budapest.
A perfect storm: Britain's trade malaise, weak growth and a new geopolitical moment
21 May 2025
The UK is facing its most severe trade challenge in decades – and at the worst possible time.
Ditchley conference report: A European path to higher economic growth
07 May 2025
In November 2024, at its annual Ditchley economics conference, the CER gathered leading politicians, officials, academics, journalists and thinkers to discuss the causes of Europe’s slow economic growth and what the continent should do about them.
The EU budget in a larger Union: Key issues and open questions
25 March 2025
EU enlargement does not need to bust the EU’s budget. But the distributional effects of enlargement need to be addressed to ensure it has broad-based political support.
The new EU-Swiss deal: What it means and the lessons it holds for the UK-EU 'reset'
17 March 2025
The recent political agreement between the European Commission and the Swiss government promises to stabilise their long-troubled economic relationship. The British government should pay close attention.
Trump's tariffs – how should the EU react?
26 February 2025
The ‘Fair and Reciprocal Tariff Plan’ proposed by Donald Trump sounds innocuous but is a roadmap towards an all-out global trade war. To avert one, Europe must act firmly and speedily.
Europe and the global economic order
22 January 2025
Geopolitical rivalries threaten the legal order on which European trade depends. To maintain its influence and secure its trade relations, the EU must maintain its openness and build alliances.
How German industry can survive the second China shock
16 January 2025
China's industrial subsidies and aggressive export-led growth are undercutting German manufacturing. To defend its automotive and engineering sectors, Germany must finally get tough on China with trade and industrial policies.
The UK can ride Trump out on trade
12 December 2024
The UK will probably face less trade disruption under Donald Trump than some fear – but will have fewer opportunities to improve ties with the US than some hope.
Implementing the AI Act: The Commission's first big test for better regulation
06 December 2024
Ursula von der Leyen has said her next Commission will simplify the EU’s complex regulatory environment to boost growth, especially in high-tech sectors.
The EU's drive on China: What EV tariffs mean for Europe
31 October 2024
The EU has imposed fresh tariffs on Chinese EVs. It has good reason to worry about Chinese subsidies, but it is unclear that the tariffs are the right answer to Europe’s lagging competitiveness.
Competition policy must reflect Europe's reality, not its aspirations
23 October 2024
The European Commission is under pressure to tweak competition laws to promote European innovation.
Surviving Trump 2.0: What does the US election mean for Europe's economy?
03 October 2024
While EU leaders fret about a second Trump presidency, they should not be complacent about Kamala Harris’s prospects. Neither president would fundamentally change the economic dilemmas facing Europe.
Draghi's plan to rescue the European economy: Will EU leaders do whatever it takes?
17 September 2024
Mario Draghi offers EU leaders a convincing roadmap out of economic stagnation. But the road to implementation is going to be politically difficult.