Research
Can the EU's next budget defend democracy and the rule of law?
21 September 2026
The European Commission is proposing to broaden rule of law conditionality and boost democracy funding in its next seven-year budget. But member-states may still blunt these ambitions.
Pressure and punishment: What the Ceuta crisis means for Schengen's future
17 September 2026
Ceuta was not a migration crisis, but a crisis of trust. Europe's leaders should stop weaponising Schengen against each other, lest the EU’s adversaries copy them.
How to revive Europe's stock market listings
15 September 2026
Europe should strengthen its public equity markets to finance innovation
Ukraine's EU accession process: Will Kyiv ever be "one of us"?
13 July 2026
Although the EU and Ukraine have opened accession negotiations, full membership is still far away.
Truce or no truce, Lebanon deserves more EU support
09 July 2026
The EU was unable to play a constructive diplomatic role in achieving a ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah.
Should the EU's tech sovereignty package make Europe richer or safer?
07 July 2026
The European Commission’s Tech Sovereignty Package focuses on mitigating risk, rather than actively promoting European technological strengths.
The EU and Türkiye: Can shared threats overcome mutual suspicion?
03 July 2026
Relations between the EU and Türkiye have reached a mutually damaging stalemate.
A stronger carbon market is necessary for a more competitive European industry
02 July 2026
European heavy industry is losing competitiveness – but a weaker carbon market will not fix this.
Ten years after the Brexit referendum
A new CER essay collection reflects on what the past decade has meant for the UK, the EU, and the future of UK-EU relations.
The cost of Brexit, ten years on: The impact of leaving the customs union and single market on UK trade
18 June 2026
New CER modelling exercise shows that Brexit has substantially reduced the UK’s trade with the EU.
Articles
Ekspert: koalicja antybalistyczna pomoże trwale zmniejszyć zależność od USA
18 September 2026
Polska Agencja Prasowa
Koalicja antybalistyczna, do której przystąpienie ogłosiła Polska, dowodzi, że Europa uniezależnia się od USA i nie zmieni tego koniec kadencji prezydenta Donalda Trumpa - uważa Ian Bond, wiceszef think tanku Centre for European Reform.
Why MAGA's far-right European ties will endure
27 August 2026
Carnegie Europe
In supporting Europe’s far-right, MAGA and Russia both want the same thing: a weaker EU. Europe must defend itself without abandoning the openness these forces exploit.
How Russia's War on Ukraine is Reshaping Europe's Defense Strategy
14 July 2026
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
Russia's war on Ukraine is now in its fifth year. Where do things stand?
The EU should not shrug off criticisms of its Israel-Palestine policies
09 July 2026
Encompass
Brushing off accusations of double standards in foreign policy is a losing strategy for the EU. Better to engage with the criticism and course correct its policy.
Taking the Pulse: Has Meloni broken MAGA's civilizational axis?
02 July 2026
Carnegie Europe
As I wrote right after Trump’s 2024 election, there was always an inherent contradiction in nationalist leaders who want to put America first, or Italy first, or Germany first banding together.
Developing a European way of war
01 July 2026
The Chicago Council on Global Affairs
This year's NATO summit takes place against the backdrop of a radically changing US posture in Europe prompted by different threat perceptions of Russia.
Press
Burnham wants to revive British industry. This is why he’ll fail
04 October 2026
The Telegraph
Sander Tordoir, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, warns the West’s “dangerous” dependency on imports is one of the main reasons policymakers in the US and Europe are pushing for reindustrialisation – with Beijing seen as a far from benevolent trading partner.“There is a deeper geostrategic rationale underlying the desire to reindustrialise,” Tordoir adds.
Does the EU want Britain back?
03 October 2026
Financial Times
This has helped crystallise the choices facing the UK — as have similar threats to the chemicals, nuclear and green hydrogen industries, according to Anton Spisak, a former UK Brexit negotiator now at the Centre for European Reform think-tank.
Au Royaume-Uni, Andy Burnham ouvre la voie à un « Breturn », le retour de son pays dans l’Union européenne
02 October 2026
Le Monde
» Selon une étude du Centre for European Reform, publiée en juin, « le Brexit a entraîné une baisse de 12 % des exportations britanniques vers l’UE et réduit de 16 % les importations de l’UE ».
Pourquoi la France reste si influente en Europe malgré ses faiblesses
02 October 2026
Le Point
Charles Grant, le directeur du Centre for European Reform (un laboratoire d’idées), a mis un nom sur cette anomalie en décembre 2025 : « le paradoxe de la puissance française ». Son constat tient en une phrase. Malgré le désordre parisien, la France demeure incontournable en politique industrielle, en commerce et en défense. L’élève du fond de la classe continue de rédiger les corrigés.
Andy Burnham's 'big gamble' to put London back at heart of Europe after Brexit blunder
01 October 2026
The Standard
‘If you rejoin the European Union, there'll be an economic boom,’ says Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform.
Brexit years were grim and hateful – it’s time to rejoin
30 September 2026
iNews
According to researchers John Springford and Anton Spisak, “the single market accounted for the overwhelming majority of Brexit’s trade impact on UK-EU trade”.
Macron welcomes Burnham’s EU pitch, but Brussels may drive hard bargain
30 September 2026
The Times
Charles Grant, head of the Centre for European Reform, said the rise to power of populist right-wing Eurosceptic parties was stiffening resolve in Brussels to refuse concessions on the movement of people, such as Britain has been seeking.
There is also no appetite in the EU for Britain, one of the biggest European economies, to forge a Swiss-style piecemeal arrangement with the EU.
There is also no appetite in the EU for Britain, one of the biggest European economies, to forge a Swiss-style piecemeal arrangement with the EU.
Burnham’s EU push reopens Labour’s Brexit divide
28 September 2026
Politico
“In the short term I’m quite gloomy. I think the summit which was supposed to happen in November may not happen at all,” Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank told a fringe event. “Unless someone is willing to compromise there may not be a summit at all this year, I hope I’m wrong on that.”
‘China has arrived’: From $1,000 Gucci sneakers to German cars, China is coming for the industries that made Europe rich
27 September 2026
Fortune Magazine
“China has already eaten much of [the] German industry’s lunch and is preparing to start on dinner,” economists Brad Setser and Sander Tordoir wrote in May.
Germany’s military power is growing. That makes some Europeans uneasy
20 September 2026
The iPaper
No other country in Europe can bring such economic power to bear, said Armida van Rij, a European security specialist at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. “There is a recognition that we need Germany, in particular, because they have the fiscal headroom and they have the money,” she said, noting that France, Italy and the UK are “more constrained”.
Podcasts
Unpacking Europe: Scaling innovation in Europe
24 September 2026
James Green spoke with Claudia-Dominique Geiser and Marlene Schörner on how to scale up innovation in Europe to strengthen economic competitiveness and support strategic technologies.
Unpacking Europe: Ceuta and Schengen
09 September 2026
Ian Bond spoke with Camino Mortera-Martinez on the impact that 80,000 migrants entering the Spanish exclave of Ceuta has had on the EU’s borderless Schengen area.
Unpacking Europe: Pedro Serrano reflects on two decades of EU diplomacy
26 August 2026
Ian Bond speaks to Pedro Serrano about his 23 years in EU diplomacy.
Unpacking Europe: UK defence policy and role in NATO in the Burnham government
30 July 2026
Armida van Rij spoke with Lord Robertson about priorities for UK defence for the new Burnham government, and the UK's role in a changing NATO.
Unpacking Europe: 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum
01 July 2026
Charles Grant spoke with Catherine Day about how Brexit looks to people in the EU, a decade after the referendum.
Events
CER/Bertelsmann Stiftung/Jacques Delors Centre launch of 'How to revive Europe's stock market listings'
17 September 2026
Brussels
With Veronika Bondarenko, Claudia-Dominique Geiser, James Green, Vasco Pereira da Silva, Marlene Schörner and Mindaugas Valiulis
Liberal Democrat party conference fringe event on 'Strengthening a rules-based world order: Beyond power politics'
21 September 2026
Brighton
With Monica Harding, Al Pinkerton and Jukka Salovaara
Labour party conference fringe event on 'Building a stronger Europe'
28 September 2026
Liverpool
With Stella Creasy, Roger Liddle and Jukka Salovaara
Conservative party conference fringe event on 'Europe in the world: Building international partnerships'
05 October 2026
Hall 8a, ICC, Birmingham
With Kitty Donaldson, Bernard Jenkin, Jesse Norman, Jukka Salovaara and Tobias Winkler
CER/Delegation of the EU to the UK 'Reflections on EU diplomacy'
20 July 2026
London
With Pedro Serrano, Ambassador of the European Union to the United Kingdom