Press
Brexit briefing: How to salvage the Brexit negotiations
25 September 2018
Financial Times
“A long-term customs union would reduce the number of checks necessary between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, since tariffs and rules of origin would not be an issue. And, as tempers cool over time — and if the wave of populism that currently threatens the EU recedes — it may be possible to bolt on shared rules and standards to the customs union, so that it gets closer to membership of the single market in goods. This strategy would amount to a ‘de-dramatisation’ of Chequers in order to make it more palatable to the EU, but it would not remove the need to agree a backstop.” (Sam Lowe and John Springford of the Centre for European Reform)
Brexit weekly briefing: May picks herself up after Salzburg bruising
25 September 2018
The Guardian
The bloc is counting on Britain rewriting its red lines when push really comes to shove and it is confronted with the imminent prospect of a no-deal Brexit. They could well be right and, as the Centre for European Reform’s John Springford and Sam Lowe write, there are ways for May to do that without “breaking up” the UK.
Why the 'Canada-plus' Brexit deal is no magic bullet - and would leave us in a state of flux for years
24 September 2018
The Telegraph
The Treasury forecast might sound drastic, but according to Sam Lowe, the trade policy expert at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, it looks reasonable when set against the possible upside of trade deals. The EU’s own calculations of the benefits of the now stalled EU-US transatlantic trade deal or “TTIP” were only an uplift of 0.5 per cent of EU GDP by 2027.
Migrant rescue ship operators appeal to France after registration revoked
24 September 2018
Voice of America
Analyst Camino Mortera-Martinez of the Centre for European Reform says Italy’s approach has been met with a conflicted response in Brussels. “I think some in Brussels are actually happy that Salvini and others are bringing out these topics on the so-called ‘taxi service’ or the shuttle service, and the pull factor that some in government think that the NGOs have in the increase of migrants coming to Europe. I think there is a lot of hypocrisy in this discourse," Mortera-Martinez added.
Jacob Rees-Mogg and fellow Brexiteers' latest trade proposals, fact-checked
24 September 2018
iNews
The past weeks have seen the publication of a stream of reports making the case for a harder Brexit.
Here is the Hard Brexiteers' plan to scrap Theresa May's Chequers deal
24 September 2018
Business Insider UK
Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform tweeted that the report "has not been thought through", and that their response to EU non-cooperation was counter-intuitive to the vision of the report.
Brexit: «Wir werden noch zehn Jahre verhandeln»
21 September 2018
Aargauer Zeitung
Charles Grant, Direktor der britischen Denkfabrik «Centre for European Reform», spricht im Interview über die Starrsinnigkeit Brüsseler Juristen, den weiteren Verlauf des Brexits und die Chancen von Boris Johnson als Premierminister.
EU takes tough, unified line on Brexit in meeting with British
20 September 2018
The New York Times
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, a research institution, said: "I don’t see any EU split right now, I really don't. I’ve been looking for a pro-British lobby in the Council for six months now, and I can't find one."
Brexit bulletin: Deadlock returns
20 September 2018
Bloomberg
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform and one of the best informed Brexit-watchers, summed it up: “Officials on both sides of Brexit talks think a deal really is doable, because all want a deal; but that on Irish border, there has been no convergence of position.”
Hungary's Orban warms to Putin over nuclear deal
18 September 2018
Orban's visit to Moscow was primarily about economic ties, said Ian Bond of the London-based Centre for European Reform.
The Bavaria election results show that Merkel's liberal, centrist approach is appealing to German voters
15 September 2018
The Independent
The political landscape in Germany, as in other European countries, is becoming more fragmented as the catch-all parties that have dominated politics for decades decline.
Britain calls them nerve agent hit men. Russians ask whether they are gay.
14 September 2018
The Washington Post
The Centre for European Reform tweeted that its director of foreign policy, Ian Bond, told the BBC that the interview could have intended to “cause confusion, put smoke out there to obscure the battlefield.” He pointed to the fact that some find it believable that the suspects were indeed a gay couple going on vacation in Salisbury as evidence that such distractions can be effective.
BBC Victoria Derbyshire: Russia poisoning investigation
14 September 2018
Ian Bond, director of foreign policy a the Centre for European Reform, spoke on the Victoria Derbyshire show about the enormous amount of propaganda in Russia. “One of the aims of this [interview] is to cause a certain amount of confusion,” Ian said.
Myteriplaner mot Theresa May får pundet att svänga
13 September 2018
Di
En ledarstrid skulle öka sannolikheten för en brexit utan avtal, tror Christian Odendahl, chefsekonom på tankesmedjan Centre for European Reform i London.”Det är redan svårt för EU att gå med på Chequersplanen. Att gå med på något som de hårda brexitörerna planerar är ännu svårare.”
Monocle podcast: The Globalist - Whispers of a comeback
13 September 2018
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska a senior research felow at the Centre for European Reform spoke to the Monocle about Junckers' State of Union address and Hungary (from 02:55 mins).
Theresa May's Chequers plan may yet have some life in it
12 September 2018
Prospect
Theresa May’s Chequers plan for the future UK-EU relationship appears moribund.
CER podcast: Another referendum?
12 September 2018
Sophia Besch asks Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska and Beth Oppenheim about the prospects for another Brexit referendum.
EU membership has played to UK's export strengths
12 September 2018
Financial Times
The Economists for Free Trade paper published yesterday does not deserve your attention — but if you want to know some of the many things wrong with it, read the comments of trade experts Sam Lowe or David Henig.
Únia siahla na nukleárnu možnosť, chce potrestať Maďarsko
12 September 2018
SME Svet
„Spustenie článku 7 proti maďarskej vláde ovplyvní vyjednávaciu silu Maďarska v EÚ, no je nepravdepodobné, že by nejako ovplyvnilo postavenie Fideszu doma. Orbán aj v utorok v Európskom parlamente obvinil EÚ, že vytláča Maďarsko za odmietanie utečencov a migrantov. Určite bude toto posolstvo opakovať aj doma,“ hovorí pre SME analytička Centra pre európsku reformu Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska.
Debunking the paper championed by Jacob Rees Mogg claiming a no-deal Brexit would boost the economy
11 September 2018
iNews
The Brexit debate deserves so much better than Economists for Free Trade’s latest offering.