Press
A slowdown in Germany's economy
24 November 2018
The Economist
Germany’s recent boom has been in part the product of good luck, says Christian Odendahl at the Centre for European Reform: strong global demand for its exports, a weak euro and low interest rates.
SWR2: Immer wieder Mayday, Interview mit Christian Odendahl
23 November 2018
Am 25.11. will die EU das Scheidungsabkommen mit dem Vereinigten Königreich beschließen. In einer weiteren Absichtserklärung soll der künftige Weg in den Beziehungen beschrieben werden. In letzter Minute stellt Spanien dem Ganzen aber noch ein Bein, indem es Gibraltar ins Spiel bringt. Aber auch das britische Parlament kann das Verhandlungsergebnis noch zu Fall bringen. Wie die Briten inzwischen zum Brexit stehen, erklärt im Interview Christian Odendahl von der Londoner Denkfabrik Centre for European Reform.
Letter to the editor: 'Empty' EU army
23 November 2018
The Times
Sir, Gavin Williamson (report, Nov 20) need not worry about a European army, as the term is empty and misleading.
Brexit political accord stokes renewed criticism
23 November 2018
The Australian Financial Review
"The political declaration is extremely vague and woolly," said Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska, senior fellow at the Centre for European Reform in Brussels.
NATO's cyber pledge
21 November 2018
E!Sharp
NATO’s primary and most urgent cyber task is the protection its own communications systems and networks. But the alliance also offers training opportunities and tried to make information sharing between allies easier, in order to help capitals to protect their sytems and ‘critical’ networks from attacks.
As Theresa May looks to Brussels on Brexit deal, Europe makes its own demands
21 November 2018
The New York Times
There are other concerns, noted Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, a research institution. Some countries known for their pragmatism, like the Dutch, the Swedes and the Baltic countries, are working on legislation to cover important trading issues with Britain in the case of a no-deal Brexit. But the European Commission wants them to refrain from doing so now, to keep pressure on Britain to complete and ratify the withdrawal agreement rather than “work to help the British mitigate with mini-deals in advance of a possible no-deal,” Mr Grant said.
Italy orders seizure of ship that's rescued 30,000 migrants in the Med
21 November 2018
Euronews
Luigi Scazzieri, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, pointed out that the Italian judiciary is independent and that the prosecutor's decision should not be seen as an order from the anti-immigration populist government.
CER podcast: A guide to the withdrawal agreement
21 November 2018
Beth Oppenheim asks John Springford what is in the 585 page withdrawal agreement, and Charles Grant outlines what might happen next: will Theresa May and her withdrawal plan survive?
Parliament Live: Exiting the European Union Committee
21 November 2018
Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska (from 09.43), a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, along with Mats Persson, Professor Franklin Dehousse and Dr Holger Hestermeye gave evidence on the progress of the UK’s negotiations on EU withdrawal.
BBC World at One: Is a second referendum likely?
21 November 2018
Beth Oppenheim, a researcher at the Centre for European Reform, spoke on the World at One about the likelihood of a second referendum.
Direct democracy in the EU: The myth of a citizens' union
20 November 2018
CEPS
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska and Beth Oppenheim of the CER contributed a chapter titled 'Does democracy work in the UK?', see page 400, in 'Direct democracy in the EU: The myth of a citizens' union'.
BBC News: Brexit pressure - #BBCAskThis
20 November 2018
John Springford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform spoke on the #BBCAskThis programme (at 11:32) answering questions on the withdrawal deal, what a no deal woudl mean for trade agreements and the Irish border.
Yo o el caos: ¿conseguirá Theresa May sobrevivir a su propio 'brexit'?
19 November 2018
El Periodico Internacional
Los oponentes de Theresa May tienen ahora una tarea formidable: convencer al electorado de que después de May no viene el diluvio.
Fog in the Channel: Finally a Brexit Deal! Is this the beginning of the end?
18 November 2018
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a senior reserach fellow at the Centre for European Reform spoke to Stefan de Vries about the Polish perspective of Brexit, on the Fog in the Channel podcast.
UK's window into a less globalized economy
17 November 2018
The Wall Street Journal
Researchers at the Centre for European Reform, a London think tank focused on European Union policy, estimate the economy was 2.5% smaller at the end of the second quarter than it would have been had voters chosen in 2016 to stay in the EU.
Brexit deal: Draft withdrawal agreement is just the end of the beginning in Theresa May's saga
17 November 2018
iNews
Alternatively, she doesn’t get her deal through (for an explanation of the different scenarios of what happens then, see the summary by Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform). That will essentially depend on whether MPs who would rather hold on to the deal for fear of something worse are outnumbered by those who hope that by refusing it they can get something better.
As Brexit options dwindle, new momentum for a 2nd referendum
16 November 2018
The New York Times
“Last summer, the chances of this outcome seemed minimal,” wrote Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based research institute, in a briefing paper. But the odds have improved, he said, because the opposition Labour Party is now more positive about that notion if it cannot achieve its favored outcome, which is a general election.
EU battlegroups: The European 'army' that politicians can't agree how to use
16 November 2018
ABC News
The closest the EUBG has come to being used was five years ago, when "the UK blocked it from supporting French operations in the Central African Republic, fearful of the potential effect on Britain's EU membership debate", according to the Centre for European Reform.
If parliament rejects, what next?
16 November 2018
The Financial Times
If parliament rejects the Brexit deal agreed between the UK and the EU, think-tank the Centre for European Reform has some ideas about what could come next. A CER report outlines five possible options: no deal, renegotiation of a different deal, a general election, a second Brexit referendum, or MPs finally accepting the deal.
Can Britain still slam the brakes on Brexit?
16 November 2018
Channel 4 News
When you look at all the options (summarised here by Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform… there’s also some gaming of the scenarios here by Stefanie Bolzen and Philip Crowley) you could see how options once thought impossible could look plausible given the blocked-off paths everywhere else.