Research
EU faces defining six months as Trump doctrine, trade tensions test strategic autonomy
07 January 2026
Courthouse News Service
“Europe will probably continue to be reactive,” Ian Bond, deputy director at the London-based Centre for European Reform, told Courthouse News. “It is hard to break their defense dependency on the US, so they won’t want to take precipitate steps.”
Starmer's biggest rival is auditioning for his job
03 January 2026
Bloomberg
Another pro-Brussels think tank, the Centre for European Reform, takes a more hardheaded view. The economic boost only comes if Britain aligns its regulations with its neighbors and the EU lets it access its single market.
That deal is not on the table. Even piecemeal single-market access would mean making hefty payments to Brussels. “The more barriers to trade you want to remove the more you have to offer on alignment, money and movement (on immigration controls),” the CER wrote.
That deal is not on the table. Even piecemeal single-market access would mean making hefty payments to Brussels. “The more barriers to trade you want to remove the more you have to offer on alignment, money and movement (on immigration controls),” the CER wrote.