Research

What Europe expects of post-Merkel Germany

Christian Odendahl
30 September 2021
Europe expects Germany’s likely new Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to keep Europe united while adding more strategic vision to fight climate change, transform the European economy and navigate global politics.

Transatlantic relations after Afghanistan and AUKUS

30 September 2021
America’s relations with its European allies have survived worse crises than the row over whose submarines Australia will buy, or even the Afghanistan debacle. The US should not be complacent, however.

What Europe expects of post-Merkel Germany

Christian Odendahl
29 September 2021
Europe expects Germany’s likely new Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, to keep Europe united while adding more strategic vision to fight climate change, transform the European economy and navigate global politics.

The EU's future or everything von der Leyen did not say

Camino Mortera-Martinez
24 September 2021
To gauge what the EU's next big political fights will be, look at what Ursula Von der Leyen did not say in her annual speech to the European Parliament.

Leave your phone at home: Why EU roaming charges will only increase for UK consumers

20 September 2021
Will the end of free EU roaming make the UK mobile market fairer, as some economists claim? Don’t bet on it.

You can leave Afghanistan, but will Afghanistan leave you?

19 August 2021
The Taliban’s victory is a disaster for Western policy, but it is not the end of the story. The West must now work hard to mitigate the fallout.

The Moscow coup(s) of 1991: Who won and why does it still matter?

17 August 2021
Thirty years after the coup that triggered the Soviet Union’s collapse, Russia is ruled by the heirs of the plotters, not their democratic opponents. Why?

Driving uncertainty: Labour rights in the gig economy

10 August 2021
The European Commission should treat competition policy as a tool to improve the rights of ‘gig economy’ workers – not a hindrance to that goal.

Medical devices and the limits of UK regulatory autonomy

Sam Lowe, Derek Hill
05 August 2021
Medical devices illustrate the limited scope for post-Brexit UK divergence from EU rules, and the trade-offs the UK must face.

Europe can't ignore Libya

02 August 2021
Libya has a new unity government, but the country could easily slip back into conflict. In order to avoid this happening, Europeans should increase their stabilisation efforts.

Three questions on the German election

Christian Odendahl
27 July 2021
As the floods in Germany change the dynamics of the race, the CDU could win the most votes yet end up in opposition. In that case, the chancellor could be the SPD’s Olaf Scholz.

The 'Fit for 55' climate proposals explained

27 July 2021
The costs of the Commission’s proposals to meet the EU’s 2030 climate goals need to be distributed in a more progressive way.

A new migration crisis may be brewing

Camino Mortera-Martinez, Luigi Scazzieri
27 July 2021
Member-states have made some progress towards a common asylum system. But large divisions endure and the EU's efforts to increase co-operation with third countries will continue to face difficulties. 

Bulletin issue 139 - August/September 2021

Elisabetta Cornago, Camino Mortera-Martinez, Christian Odendahl, Luigi Scazzieri
27 July 2021

The cost of Brexit: May 2021

21 July 2021
The Centre for European Reform estimates that leaving the single market and customs union has reduced UK trade in goods by £10 billion or 13.5 per cent in May 2021.  

Europe shouldn't worry about inflation

Christian Odendahl
20 July 2021
The fear of inflation is stalking Europe again. Policy-makers are right to be relaxed.

Reality bytes: The limits of transatlantic digital co-operation

13 July 2021
The EU and the US plan to boost co-operation on digital policy. They should not prioritise regulatory harmonisation, and instead work on areas where mutual compromise is more realistic.

Avoiding the pitfalls of an EU carbon border adjustment mechanism

05 July 2021
A leaked draft of the EU’s CBAM regulation provides fresh insights into what the Commission plans to do. But it also raises a number of tricky questions. 

Bridging the Channel: How Europe and the UK can work together in foreign policy

30 June 2021
The December 2020 EU-UK agreement does not include foreign policy. EU states and the UK will have to find new ways of working together.

Five years since the referendum: A short reflection, and some highlights of the CER's Brexit coverage

23 June 2021
Five years have passed since the British voted to leave the EU. Since then the CER has published 174 papers on Brexit.