Research

Moving Balkan borders: Peace plan or Pandora's box?

28 September 2018
Moving borders in the Western Balkans is risky, but might occasionally be the best option. The EU should not block a Serbia/Kosovo deal, but should work on risk mitigation.

After Salzburg: How to salvage the Brexit negotiations

Sam Lowe, John Springford
24 September 2018
Although EU leaders delivered the coup de grace to Theresa May’s Chequers plan in Salzburg avoiding no deal is still possible, but it will require some tough choices on the Irish backstop. 

Europe should keep Turkey close

27 July 2018
EU-Turkey relations have deteriorated sharply in recent years, and even maintaining transactional co-operation could become increasingly difficult. The challenge for Europe is how to prevent relations from souring further.

The accidental prime minister: What Spain's new government means for the EU

Camino Mortera-Martinez
26 July 2018
Spain’s new government might not last long. But it could act as a catalyst for progress on the thorny issues of migration, eurozone reform and Catalonia.

Regime change? The European economy to 2030

20 July 2018
The crises of the 1970s led to the single currency and a deeply integrated single market. What economic regime will the EU need to build after the crises of the last decade?

The EU's problem with May's plan for Brexit

20 July 2018
The EU doesn’t like the UK’s plan for Brexit and says one cannot be in just parts of the single market. But if May shifts her red lines, the EU response could be more positive.

Dead or alive? A UK-US trade deal

Sam Lowe, Beth Oppenheim
20 July 2018
The Chequers proposal would likely come at the cost of a transatlantic trade deal, but Theresa May is right to prioritise ties with the EU.

Time to let the rule of law in Poland have its day in court

Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska
19 July 2018
Poland’s government has not reversed its controversial judicial reforms, despite EU political pressure. It is time to take the dispute out of the hands of politicians and allow the European Court of Justice to have a say about the rule of law in Poland.

Inching our way towards Jersey

Sam Lowe
11 July 2018
The EU will probably reject Theresa May’s Chequers compromise. Rather than confronting the EU on its fundamental principles, the UK should build upon the foundations of a customs union.

Defence spending in NATO: Stop convincing Trump, start convincing Europeans

Sophia Besch
10 July 2018
Trump’s desire to get Europeans to "pay up" will bring about conflict at the NATO Summit. It is important to get the facts right.

Merkel's migration deal: Less than the sum of its parts

Sophia Besch, Camino Mortera-Martinez, Luigi Scazzieri
09 July 2018
The June European Council has not solved the EU’s migration problems.

Game over? Europe's cyber problem

Camino Mortera-Martinez
09 July 2018
The EU knows that a cyber war is happening, but not how to fight it. To be up to speed, the bloc needs to update its cyber security plan

Trump's two summits: Can NATO navigate the dangers?

04 July 2018
Donald Trump attacked his allies at the G7 summit, then embraced North Korea’s Kim. Will summits with NATO and Vladimir Putin follow the same pattern?

Beyond firefighting: An EU strategy for Gaza

Beth Oppenheim
29 June 2018
The EU should respond more robustly to the recent violence in Gaza. The Trump administration is not a credible mediator; the EU should step in.

Moving on after Galileo – lessons (to be) learnt

Sophia Besch
28 June 2018
The EU and the UK have not been able to come to an agreement over Britain’s participation in the Galileo programme.

What's the cost of Brexit so far?

23 June 2018
New analysis by the CER – which we will update quarterly – estimates that the UK economy is 2.1 per cent smaller as a result of the vote to leave the EU.

Plugging in the British: Completing the circuit

Sophia Besch, Ian Bond, Camino Mortera-Martinez
22 June 2018
Post-Brexit internal and external security co-operation arrangements seem as hard for the EU and UK to agree on as trade. Other third countries’ relationships with the EU provide models.

Is Macron becoming isolated in Europe?

13 June 2018
Macron thinks the EU is not viable without radical reform. His priority is to reshape the eurozone, but Germany is blocking his bolder ideas. He risks isolation in Europe, which could weaken him at home.

Why Italy will confront the EU, but stay in the euro

04 June 2018
The new Italian government is likely to initially try to score some easy victories. The EU should give it some leeway, and avoid inflaming public opinion in Italy.