Press

Britain joins US in attack on China’s trade subsidies

Sam Lowe
23 January 2021
The Telegraph
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said joining the tripartite group would be “a good way of building bridges with the US and the EU on trade”.He said: “It’s good for the UK to try and come to a consensus position on these issues; there’s no point in the UK taking its own approach. If the aim is actually to try and change Chinese behaviour and get new commitments from China in these areas, then you need to present a united front.

US President Biden's rocky road to rebuilding trust with Europe

21 January 2021
Forbes
“Trump literally thought that EU had been set up to cheat and take advantage of the US,” said Luigi Scazzieri, a researcher at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. “Biden doesn’t, so this makes working together feasible in a huge range of areas,” he said. 

In a slight to EU, UK says not all Ambassadors are equal

21 January 2021
The New York Times
Ian Bond, the director of foreign policy for the Centre for European Reform in London, said Britain’s “attempt to downgrade the status of the EU delegation to the UK looks petty and guaranteed to cause ill-will, when the UK needs friends in Brussels.’’It was “worth noting Trump tried the same trick, but had to back down,’’ he said, referring to a similar effort to downgrade the status of the EU ambassador to Washington two years ago.

Biden y Europa: ¿la gran esperanza blanca?

Camino Mortera-Martinez
21 January 2021
El Periodico
El nuevo presidente de EEUU devolverá la calma a las relaciones con Europa, aunque esa no va a ser su prioridad.

Judy Asks: Is the EU too soft on Putin?

21 January 2021
Carnegie Europe
After more than twenty years, the EU has not found a successful strategy to deal with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

CER podcast: What next for post-Merkel Germany?

Sophia Besch, Christian Odendahl, Laura Krause
20 January 2021
Christian Odendahl spoke to Laura Krause and Sophia Besch about the election of the new CDU party leader Armin Laschet.

5 things to expect from Joe Biden on UK trade

Sam Lowe
20 January 2021
Politico
Yet dealing with the domestic economic aftermath of COVID-19 and all the other burning issues left by the Trump administration will cause the deal to “fall down the political agenda,” said Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, shortly after Biden’s election.

How did US President Donald Trump impact Europe during his four years in office?

19 January 2021
Euronews
For Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform (CER) think tank, "the biggest impact" of Trump's presidency for Europe, was "the loss of trust in America's reliability as an ally."

Europe welcomes Biden, but won't wait for him

Sophia Besch, Luigi Scazzieri
18 January 2021
The New York Times
Sophia Besch and Luigi Scazzieri of the Centre for European Reform argue in a new paper that “many Europeans will want to forget Trump’s presidency ever happened.” But they add, “Europe cannot continue to look to the U.S. to answer key questions on what its interests are and how it should pursue them.”

Les débuts chaotiques du commerce post-Brexit

Sam Lowe
16 January 2021
Le Monde
« Une partie de ces problèmes relève de l’adaptation à court terme aux nouvelles règles. Cela devrait se calmer une fois que les entreprises comprendront les démarches à effectuer, estime Sam Lowe, du groupe de réflexion Centre for European Reform. Mais c’est aussi l’amorce d’une relation commerciale fondamentalement différente entre l’Union européenne et le RoyaumeUni. Chaque échange va entraîner un coût supplémentaire et, pour certaines entreprises, ça ne sera plus rentable. »

Faltering threesome fight to follow Angela Merkel

Christian Odendahl
16 January 2021
The Times
“The CDU is not the party of ideas,” Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform think tank, said. “It’s the party of maintaining the status quo.”

It’s over for Angela Merkel and her winning coalition

Sophia Besch, Christian Odendahl
16 January 2021
The Telegraph
As the Centre for European Reform points out, the chancellor has simultaneously managed to draw outsized support from conservatives, centrists, greens, women and descendants of migrants. But her successor will not be given the benefit of the doubt by most of these groups and will have to prioritise.

La eleccion del sucesor de Merkel: ¿Ninguno de los de arriba?

Sophia Besch, Christian Odendahl
15 January 2021
Agenda Publica
La competencia por los votantes de Angela Merkel ha comenzado, y la CDU necesita un líder capaz de mantener unida a su amplia red de partidarios. Éste bien puede ser el ministro de Salud, Jens Spahn.

The battle for Germany's ruling party that will change Europe

Sophia Besch, Christian Odendahl
15 January 2021
EU Observer
"Any future CDU chancellor will thus start from a position of managing the status quo, preserving what has been achieved, maintaining the crucial relationship with the US, and not risking Germans' support for European integration," Sophia Besch and Christian Odendahl at the Centre for European Reform write in their analysis.

The messy race to replace Germany's 'remarkable' Angela Merkel

Sophia Besch
15 January 2021
The Sydney Morning Herald
Sophia Besch, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, says CDU delegates are not just picking a new leader but also casting a vote on the future of conservatism in Germany.

BBC Radio 4 - The World at one: Brexit problems with new trading arrangements

Sam Lowe
14 January 2021
Sam Lowe a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform spoke to Sarah Montague about the teething problems and costs of the new trading arrangements (from 28.30 mins).

Britain’s immediate economic prospects are grim

Sam Lowe
14 January 2021
The Economist
But Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, says Brussels will weaken its rules only to help EU members such as Ireland; it has no interest in softening the impact of Brexit on Britain.

Italien: Renzis ruchlose Ränkespiele

14 January 2021
Deutsche Welle
Eine lange Periode der Instabilität wäre die Folge". Nicht nur aus diesem Grund hält der Politikwissenschaftler Luigi Scazzieri vom Londoner Thinktank "Centre for European Reform" (CER) für ziemlich ausgeschlossen: "Keine der größeren Parteien will Neuwahlen. Sogar Matteo Salvini würde sich überlegen, ob er in der Pandemie an die Regierung will oder nicht vielleicht lieber bis 2023 auf die regulären Wahlen wartet." 

This ISN'T what we fought for! Brexiteer fury at deal as FIVE issues exposed

13 January 2021
Express
Commenting on the Brexit deal, Charles Grant, director of think tank the Centre for European Reform, warned there were still uncertainties surrounding the UK-EU relationship going forward.Like Sir John, he also pointed to the sustainability of checks of goods moving from Britain to Northern Ireland. Due to Northern Ireland remaining partly under EU single market and customs union, he warned some may be "tempted to tear up the NI protocol". 

UK eyes adding climate provisions in US trade talks to woo Joe Biden

Sam Lowe
13 January 2021
City A.M
Sam Lowe, trade expert at the Centre for European Reform think tank, said: “It remains unlikely that the Biden administration will prioritise new trade agreements with anyone in his first year, including the UK. However, were it to engage in trade talks the Biden administration would certainly be more receptive to including provisions on climate change in the text.”