Research
Can the EU hold back the great tech decoupling?
03 May 2024
The US wants Europe to adopt stronger limits on high-tech goods trade with China. In response, the EU should insist the US stick with de-risking, not decoupling, and demand greater transatlantic economic co-operation.
The European Parliament elections: A sharp right turn?
30 April 2024
Right-wing forces are set to make sizeable gains in the European Parliament elections. That will tilt the Parliament right on many issues and could give these parties momentum nationally.
Living next door to an elephant: Lessons for the UK from EFTA
29 April 2024
After Brexit, the UK finds itself next door to a regional trade hegemon. Britain can draw useful lessons from the experience of the EFTA countries.
Does it matter if Ukraine loses?
24 April 2024
Ukraine is retreating and Russia is advancing, militarily and politically. Western leaders seem to underestimate both the impact of Ukraine’s defeat and the West’s ability to prevent it.
Enrico Letta's report: More than a market, but less than an agenda
23 April 2024
Enrico Letta’s report on the single market offers largely sensible ideas to strengthen the EU’s economy. But he leaves member-states the job of prioritising and tackling the trade-offs.
Dilemmas and challenges around the EU budget
08 April 2024
The EU budget needs extensive reform both to resolve longstanding shortcomings and in anticipation of a further enlargement of the Union.
And the winner is… Vladimir Putin (for now)
21 March 2024
Putin’s ‘election victory’ does not mean that he will remain in power forever. Western leaders should plan for continued confrontation, but (unlike Putin) they should not fear change in Russia.
Better regulation in Europe: An action plan for the next Commission
19 March 2024
As Europe tries to boost its economic growth and become more innovative, the EU must reinvigorate the ‘better regulation’ agenda – and adapt it to how the EU institutions are evolving.
The EU's defence ambitions are for the long term
13 March 2024
The Commission’s new proposals to strengthen Europe’s defence industry will be hamstrung by limited funding and member-states' doubts. But in the long term, the EU’s role in defence will probably grow.
Weighed down by gravity: UK trade policy after Brexit
11 March 2024
The post-Brexit vision of 'Global Britain' is slowly replaced by the reality that free trade agreements deliver marginal benefits, particularly for the UK’s service-oriented economy.
Articles
It's up to the EU to hold back the great tech decoupling
03 March 2024
EurActiv
EU countries can no longer ignore growing pressure from countries seeking a tougher line on China, nor can they ignore China’s efforts to replace Western firms in high-tech supply chains.
Immigration can help Europe bridge the demographic deficit
02 May 2024
Financial Times
The radical right is likely to make big gains in the European parliament elections next month, with the “great replacement’ theory — that liberal elites are promoting immigration from outside Europe to undermine ethnic and cultural homogeneity — becoming increasingly influential.
Varoitus lännen Ukraina-linjan epämääräisyydestä – ”täysimittainen hyökkäys Nato-maahan”
01 May 2024
Verkkouutiset
Puolustussotaa käyvän Ukrainan tilanne on brittiläisen ulko- ja turvallisuuspolitiikan asiantuntijan Ian Bond mukaan erityisen vaarallinen osaltaan siksi, että läntiset poliitikot ovat ilmaisseet omat tavoitteensa liian epämääräisesti.
Seven expert views: America first, Europe alone?
19 March 2024
Clingendael Spectator
If Joe Biden is re-elected, and the Democrats control both the US Senate and the House of Representatives, then there would be scope for increased transatlantic co-operation.
Judy Asks: Has the war in Gaza irreversibly damaged Europe's credibility?
14 March 2024
Carnegie Europe
Europe’s response to the war in Gaza has greatly undermined its credibility in the Middle East and beyond.
Why do Britain's goods and services exports appear to be holding up?
08 March 2024
Encompass
On the face of it, UK exports have been surprisingly robust after Brexit. Goods exports to the EU have tracked those to the rest of the world, despite new trade barriers being imposed on the former but not on the latter.
Press
The week that summed up the performative and inept nature of Brexit
02 May 2024
Financial Times
That reality is central to the observation made by John Springford of the Centre for European Reform in his contribution to an excellent collection of essays on Labour and the economy produced by the Social Market Foundation think-tank (worth your time). Springford makes the obvious point that given the political constraints on alignment and not joining the EU single market and customs union, Labour is unlikely to offer “a dramatically different change of direction” if it wins power at the next general election.
Etat de droit: vingt ans après, la faiblesse de l’élargissement européen
01 May 2024
L'opinion
"Ce n’est pas tant l’Etat de droit comme condition pour rejoindre l’UE qui a été sous-estimé, mais le risque que les pays fassent marche arrière après être entrés", dit Ian Bond, deputy director, CER.
Eurozone emerges from recession but France, Germany stay weak
30 April 2024
EurActiv
Sander Tordoir, a senior economist at the Centre for European Reform, told Euractiv that the data suggests that the supply shocks triggered by Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 “are really well and truly behind us”.“There is some life left in the European economy,” he said. However, he warned that growth in the bloc’s two largest economies, Germany and France, which both expanded by just 0.2%, remains concerning: “Germany remains weak; France is also not great,” he said.
Von der Leyen thinks a second term’s in the bag — but scandals lurk
28 April 2024
The Sunday Times
According to Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, an influential think-tank: “Von der Leyen is by a long way the most powerful president since Jacques Delors”, who was the scourge of British Eurosceptics when he headed the commission for a decade from 1985.
UK veterinary deal with EU could boost agrifood exports by 22%, study finds
25 April 2024
Financial Times
John Springford, associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said that if the full 22.5 per cent boost to exports was realised, it would translate to an increase of about £2bn in UK agrifood exports to the EU, based on 2023 food exports of £8.6bn to the bloc.
“That’s not nothing, and would be helpful to British food producers, but it is a small boost when compared to total export volumes to the EU, which amounted to £150bn in 2023,” he added.
“That’s not nothing, and would be helpful to British food producers, but it is a small boost when compared to total export volumes to the EU, which amounted to £150bn in 2023,” he added.
Pacte de stabilité européen : qu’impliquent les nouvelles règles budgétaires pour la France ?
23 April 2024
Sud Ouest
Mais la France ne sera pas pour autant épargnée d’ici là, explique Sander Tordoir, du Centre for European Reform : « Cette exclusion va probablement donner un relatif répit jusqu’à ce qu’Emmanuel Macron quitte ses fonctions, mais il sera bien requis de Paris de réduire son déficit structurel graduellement à compter de 2025 », résume cet expert de la politique budgétaire en Europe.
UK exports of services have grown 9 times faster than goods since 2010
22 April 2024
Financial Times
“Trends in UK trade have been a long-run shift from goods exports to services exports, as competition from both the EU and other manufacturing centres has pushed UK comparative advantage towards services,” said John Springford, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank. “Brexit has accelerated that shift.”
How would we know if World War Three had started?
18 April 2024
The Week
Russia is still the "primary pathway" to World War Three, Dr Luigi Scazzieri, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, told Sky News. If it prevails in Ukraine, an emboldened Putin may be tempted to strike a Nato nation, which would demand a coordinated response. The likelihood increases if Donald Trump wins the US presidential election and further undermines the alliance.
Are we heading for World War Three? Experts give their verdicts
16 April 2024
Sky News
"It depends on your definition of World War Three. A possible conflict between Iran and Israel has the potential to expand into a major military conflagration in the Middle East, with global implications.
Laggard EU seeks growth fixes to compete in global shift to new technologies
15 April 2024
Reuters
Zach Meyers, assistant director of think-tank the CER, said the EU's problem was twofold, with growth stubbornly lower than that of its rivals and a lack of dynamism and innovation to adapt."The focus needs to be less on 'saving' existing industries and more on making the EU economy resilient and innovative."
Podcasts
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: Evaluating Enrico Letta’s report on the single market
24 April 2024
Aslak Berg and Zach Meyers discuss Enrico Letta's report.
CER Podcast: Unlocking better regulation in Europe
11 April 2024
Anthony Teasdale and Zach Meyers discuss better regulation.
CER Podcast: Can Berlin and Brussels disentangle their economy from China’s grasp?
27 March 2024
Sander Tordoir and Shahin Vallée discuss China and Germany's relationship.
CER Podcast: How is the EU's role in European defence changing?
13 March 2024
Charles Grant and Luigi Scazzieri discuss the EU's role in European defence.
CER Podcast: War in Ukraine: Where are we two years on?
29 February 2024
Dame Melinda Simmons, Hanna Shelest and Ian Bond discuss the conflict in Ukraine two years on from Russia's full-scale invasion.
Events
CER/Delegation of the EU to the UK discussion on 'Expanding Horizons: 20 years of EU membership - paving the path for future EU enlargement' with Amelia Hadfield, Simona Leskovar, Anand Menon and Uta Staiger
07 May 2024
London
Please email [email protected] for further information and to register.
CER/HSF hybrid discussion on 'Why do the European Parliament elections matter?' with Eli Gateva, Catherine Fieschi, Tom Nuttall, Nathalie Tocci and Klaus Welle
16 May 2024
Hybrid London/Zoom
Please email [email protected] for further information and to register.
CER/ECB discussion on 'The euro area's economic outlook and monetary policy path'
27 March 2024
Brussels
With Piero Cipollone, Jeromin Zettelmeyer and Sander Tordoir
Discussion on 'Can better regulation unlock Europe's economic potential?'
19 March 2024
Brussels
With Wolfgang Hiller, Zach Meyers, Lotta Nymann-Lindegren, Jörgen Warborn and Michael Wimmer and Sander Tordoir. Watch the video of the event here.
CER/UK Mission to the EU discussion on 'How can we make the international financial architecture deliver for sustainable development?'
18 March 2024
Brussels
With San Bilal, Melinda Bohannon, Jestas Abuok Nyamanga, Heidy Rombouts and Sander Tordoir