Press
A democratic nightmare
25 October 2013
The Economist
In a new publication, the Centre for European Reform (CER), argues that the commission "needs to act as referee in the political game, not as captain of one of the teams".
A sensible selection process?
24 October 2013
European Voice
An excellent paper by Heather Grable and Stefan Lehne, published by the CER argues that a partisan president will undermine the Commission's legitimacy by politically tainting powers and responsibilities that need to be exercised super partes.
Video interview on 'China 2025: Regime transition in China?'
22 October 2013
Charles Grant interviewed Minxin Pei, professor of government and the director of the Keck Centre for International and Strategic Studies at Claremont McKenna College.
Positive signals sent to Balkans on EU membership
20 October 2013
Monitor Frontier Markets
Mr Korteweg says that Croatia’s accession in July 2013 will be the last expansion for several years. "Each country suffers from political, judiciary or economic problems, warranting a more pessimistic outlook on swift EU membership."
How do you solve a problem like Russia?
17 October 2013
The Guardian
Charles Grant, director of the CER, said that while Putin's personal relationship with Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, was famously bad, David Cameron was said to have developed a pragmatic working relationship with the Russian leader.
La relation avec Londres presque "au point mort"
17 October 2013
Le Monde
Charles Grant, directeur du CER, remarque que, contrairement à Angela Merkel, David Cameron semble avoir noué une relation de travail pragmatique avec le dirigeant russe. Et les ministres des affaires étrangères des deux pays, William Hague et Sergueï Lavrov, s'entendent bien.
Ireland turns corner from crisis to recovery
17 October 2013
Deutsche Welle
"Investors, for various reasons, believe that Ireland will grow; that Ireland is going to be able to service its debts. They don't believe that that's the case with Portugal or Greece and they have doubts with one or two other countries," Simon Tilford of the CER, told DW.
The Kremlin uses bully-boy tactics to keep other countries in the fold
17 October 2013
The New Statesman
Putin and his ministers were uncharacteristically polite about Barack Obama, welcoming co-operation with him over Syria’s chemical weapons.
Xenophobes of the world, unite? French, Dutch far-right weigh alliance
17 October 2013
The Christian Science Monitor
"It's difficult for a group of nationalists to come together on an internationalist platform," says Hugo Brady, senior research fellow at the CER. "The minute they start doing that kind of stuff, they start resembling the mainstream parties that they claim to despise."
EU needs an overhaul
17 October 2013
European Voice
All across Europe, people are fed up with the European Union. The eurozone's difficulties explain much of the disenchantment.
Does Europe want immigrants?
16 October 2013
Carnegie Europe
Following recent boat disasters in the Mediterranean and against the backdrop of right-wing, anti-immigration sentiments in Europe, our experts discuss the issues surrounding immigration in Europe.
Pascal Lamy should lead European Commission, says Delors
15 October 2013
EurActiv
In a report published yesterday (14 October), the Centre for European Reform said that the proposal to put forward 'faces' for European elections to improve democratic legitimacy was ill-fated.
Brussels disputes UK claims of 'benefit tourism'
14 October 2013
Financial Times
John Springford, of the CER said the government’s 'benefits tourism' claims were a canard. "Contrary to popular opinion, EU immigrants are far less likely to take up benefits than the British population... the great majority of EU immigrants come to Britain to work," he said.
It's time for European governments to embrace a real reform agenda for the EU
14 October 2013
LSE blog
Hugo Brady writes that rather than attempting to negotiate the re-nationalisation of EU powers to Westminster, he and other European leaders should consider some practical, feasible reforms that the Union can begin to implement immediately.
Ireland: Back on the market
13 October 2013
Financial Times
"Berlin and Brussels desperately need to show that the tough economic medicine they have been prescribing during the eurozone sovereign debt crisis works and Ireland is their best chance of a success story," says Hugo Brady, an analyst at the CER think-tank.
Setting pace, Ireland predicts December exit from bailout
13 October 2013
The New York Times
"If Ireland can’t make the strategy a success, it’s difficult to see who can in the eurozone," said Simon Tilford, deputy director of the CER. "It’s a highly flexible, export-led economy with high levels of social cohesion and good governance."
Jobs not 'benefit tourism' the reason migrants move around EU
11 October 2013
The Irish Times
The report echoes a study published this month by the CER which finds that EU immigrants are net contributors to the UK treasury and far less likely to take up welfare benefits than the British population, though it found immigration from other member-states is forcing up housing costs.
Eurozone fails to cheer recovery
10 October 2013
Financial Times
"What is surprising is that [instead of protecting debtor nations] the European Commission has assumed the role of agent of the creditor nations in the eurozone, pushing austerity as the instrument to safeguard the interests of the creditor nations," says Paul de Grauwe, in a recent CER study.
After Lampedusa, EU ponders migration, finds little cash
09 October 2013
The Wall Street Journal
The debate in the aftermath of the Lampedusa tragedy leaves little doubt that the EU is far from having a harmonized migration policy, Hugo Brady of the CER says. "We're 10, 15 years away", he reckons.
Video interview on 'How to build a modern European Union'
09 October 2013
Charles Grant discusses his latest CER report which discusses the fact that despite its many achievements, the EU’s institutions and policies are badly in need of an overhaul.