Press
How Germany fell out of love with China
19 February 2026
The Economist
Mr Merz has not made his own stance clear. As a result, says Sander Tordoir of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, “Germany’s China policy is neither here nor there.”
The World: The future of Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule in Hungary is uncertain
18 February 2026
“Magyar has cut through where so many opposition leaders failed because he knows how to play Orban at his own game” Zselyke Csaky told The World.
De vier landen van Centraal-Europa waren hecht, maar Boedapest en Warschau staan nu tegenover elkaar
15 February 2026
NRC Handelsblad
In politieke zin is de Visegrádgroep zo goed als dood, zegt Zselyke Csaky, analist bij denktank Centre for European Reform (CER). „De animositeit tussen de huidige Poolse en Hongaarse regeringen zit diep en omdat Babis veel pragmatischer is dan Fico, komt er ook geen opleving van een ‘kleine’ Visegrád.”
Europa moet met industriebeleid ‘Tinder spelen’, niet celibatair worden, zegt econoom
14 February 2026
de Volkskrant
Anders dan wat de Europese leiders suggereerden, zijn er geen doorbraken bereikt op de concurrentietop van vorige week donderdag, zegt econoom Sander Tordoir. ‘Het probleem is dat de crisis niet acuut is.’
Taking the Pulse: Can the EU attract foreign investment and reduce dependencies?
13 February 2026
Carnegie Europe
The contradiction between the buy European push and the deregulation drive is misguided.
Wat gebeurt er na de val van de dollar?
13 February 2026
NRC Handelsblad
De zekerheid van de dollar als wereldanker neemt af. Dat schept een kans voor Europa, stelt Sander Tordoir, als het tenminste durft te kiezen.
Meloni and Merz: EU's new power couple
11 February 2026
AFP
"The gaps between Paris and Berlin mean Berlin is having to look to other partners," Thomas Maddock, a fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London, told AFP.
Europe is chasing the wrong fix for its growth crisis
11 February 2026
Politico
Europe’s economy needs more growth — and fast. Without it, the continent risks eroding its economic foundations, destabilizing its political systems and being left without the strength to resist foreign coercion.
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: Will 2026 be the year to reset the reset?
11 February 2026
Ian Bond discussed the reset in EU-UK relationship with Anton Spisak and Jannike Wachowiak.
Trump is right about Europe’s weakness — and wrong about the cure
10 February 2026
Encompass
I disagree with nearly everything Trump has said about Europe, yet one sentiment in his world-order-shifting rhetoric holds some truth. At the WEF in Davos, Trump said, “we want Europe to be strong...”
The Twenty-Four Two Podcast: “Trump hasn't been the boon to Orbán that many expected”
08 February 2026
This week's guest is Zselyke Csaky from the Centre for European Reform in Brussels - author of a recent report on the election. We discuss how Magyar’s foreign policy would differ from Orbán’s, whether Magyar could form an eastern counterweight to the EU’s Franco-German axis, his chances of getting his hands on €18 billion of suspended EU funds for Hungary, and Donald Trump’s failure to provide meaningful support to Orbán.
Trump dwingt Britten en Europeanen samen, maar echte toenadering blijft lastig
08 February 2026
Het Financieele Dagblad
‘Hoewel er enige vooruitgang is geboekt, is het momentum verloren gegaan’, oordeelde Ian Bond van het Centre for European Reform over de reset.
French paradox
07 February 2026
Financial Times
The tussle over Buy European is emblematic of what Charles Grant describes as the “paradox of French power”. French ideas, whether on industrial policy or defence, are in the ascendant or even dominant in EU policy-making, just at the moment when France’s president and government have never seemed weaker.
Exception not the rule
07 February 2026
Financial Times
As Sander Tordoir and Brad Setser pointed out in this piece, France has adopted EV subsidy rules that penalise long-distance, high-polluting transportation as well as production using electricity from coal, in effect excluding Chinese cars. The rest of the EU should follow France’s example, they said.
Europe threatens to shun British goods just as Starmer embraces Brussels
06 February 2026
The Telegraph
Ian Bond, of the Centre for European Reform, says France’s lingering Brexit resentment is not shared in other capitals such as Berlin, Rome and Brussels.“I have heard EU officials who are quite frustrated by the fact that some of the member state officials that they have to deal with are still relitigating hurts from 10 years ago, rather than looking to the future,” he says.
De la danse à la guerre : la Nuit des idées face aux tensions du monde en 2026
06 February 2026
Le Petit Journal
Ian Bond, directeur adjoint du Centre for European Reform, ne mâche pas ses mots : “Ne pas agir aujourd’hui est plus dangereux que le risque de s’engager.”
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: The trade implications of ruptures in transatlantic relations
02 February 2026
Elisabetta Cornago discussed the trade implications of ruptures in EU-US relations with Anton Spisak and John Springford.
Rachel Reeves takes aim at Donald Trump in call for UK and EU to speak with one voice on trade
02 February 2026
Financial Times
John Springford, trade economist at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, noted that the promised additional growth amounted to just 0.3 per cent of UK GDP.
‘Gezamenlijk lenen’ is bezig aan een stille opmars, of Nederland dat wil of niet. In Luxemburg zien ze: Europese autonomie begint met gezamenlijke schulden
30 January 2026
NRC Handelsblad
Desondanks is er nu geen serieuze rivaal voor de macht van de dollar, zegt hoofdeconoom Sander Tordoir van het Centre for European Reform, telefonisch. Niet zolang beleggers vastzitten aan die Amerikaanse obligaties. „Duitse, Nederlandse en andere Europese kredietwaardige staatsobligaties zijn populair, maar ze zijn schaars. Niemand komt in de buurt van de schaal van de Amerikaanse obligatiemarkt (die met een marktomvang van zo’n 25.000 miljard euro bijna twintig keer zo groot is als alle eurobonds bij elkaar opgeteld).
EU dynamo is consumers, not trade deals or tariffs
29 January 2026
Reuters
EU consumers could be predictably stirred with the kind of “Buy European” subsidies as proposed by economists such as Sander Tordoir at the Centre for European Reform.