Press
Farmers, greens and animal-lovers make doing trade deals difficult
15 October 2020
The Economist
“The US is asking the UK to import beef that’s been puffed up with hormones, meat that’s been washed with chemicals and crops that have been grown using vast quantities of pesticides,” says Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform. “None of that is very appealing on paper.”
EU outrage: Abuse of international law by numerous member states exposed
14 October 2020
Express
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a research fellow at the Brussels-based Centre for European Reform, highlighted in her article for the Guardian this year that countries across Europe are far from guilt-free. Mrs Gostynska-Jakubowska highlighted examples where EU nations have seen international law and democracy threatened.
Is Trump or Biden better for post-Brexit Britain?
14 October 2020
Voice of America
The British government is looking to the United States for a new trade deal to boost its economy. However, any hopes that such a deal would be quick and easy have faded rapidly, says Ian Bond of the Centre for European Reform, in a recent interview.
Macron has overplayed his hand by holding Brexit to ransom over fish
14 October 2020
The Telegraph
“In private, the Germans are very worried,” said Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform. “Macron is going to come under intense pressure to give ground, but he is so arrogant and bloody-minded that he may just go it alone as did over the 6-month Brexit extension.”
CER podcast: Europe, the US and China: A love-hate triangle?
14 October 2020
This week's podcast accompanies the launch of the CER policy brief 'Europe, the US and China: A love-hate triangle?', which examines the complex triangular relations between Europe, Beijing and Washington,
Boris Johnson wants a Turkey deal for Christmas
13 October 2020
Politico
Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, said the current trade setup between the UK and Turkey “needs to be replicated [from 2021], but it’s going to be impossible to replicate." Even if the two sides do strike a deal, nothing will match the seamless relationship of a customs union.
The future UK-EU relationship on professional and business services
13 October 2020
House of Lords - European Union Committee
Sam Lowe, senior research fellow, Centre for European Reform, emphasised the relationship between these sectors and manufacturing exports, saying that: “ a lot of smaller SMEs do not think they are linked to the broader global market, but they are. A lot of them service local manufacturers, and because they are servicing local manufacturers their value is, I suppose, generated ultimately through a manufacturing export. The value added from services embodied in manufacturing exports is significant “.
CER podcast: Brexit, the Internal Market Bill and the prospects for a deal
09 October 2020
What impact does the controversial Internal Market Bill have on the UK and what is the likelihood of a UK-EU trade deal?
Euranet Plus: Migration pact: EU lawmakers ask for greater clarity
07 October 2020
Camino Mortera-Martinez, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, shares the view that the Commission’s proposal does not address the issue of the countries of first arrival. But reinforced cooperation is not appropriate in this case, the researcher says.
Gove says UK has '66% chance' of Brexit deal amid breakthrough
07 October 2020
The Guardian
“This is a big shift,” said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. ...“I think what Frost was saying was that the UK has accepted that state aid is going to be subject to dispute resolution. This is the opening we were looking for to pave the way for an agreement on enforceability,” he said.
Schengen will survive the pandemic - the single market may not
06 October 2020
Encompass
Ever since the EU’s members began closing their borders to contain transmission of the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus, many have heralded Schengen’s demise.
Critics demand stronger European response to poisoning of Russian dissidents
06 October 2020
Voice of America
Ian Bond, a former British diplomat in Russia and ambassador to Latvia, and now a foreign policy analyst at the London-based Center for European Reform, says there have been numerous suspicious deaths of Russian political exiles across Europe – and all too often the response has fallen short.
The EU and the Eastern Mediterranean flashpoint
05 October 2020
Aspenia Online
Tensions are running high in the Eastern Mediterranean. Turkey disputes Greek and Cypriot maritime boundaries, and argues that Cyprus has no right to exploit its natural gas resources until it reaches a deal to share them with Turkish Cypriots in the divided island’s north.
EU's carbon clock starts ticking for Australian companies
05 October 2020
The Australian Financial Review
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London has argued that Brussels should probably "take on board much of the financial and administrative burden, particularly for small and medium-sized companies". That might mean creating and funding a few carbon certification bodies out of the CBAM revenue.
Brexit: Der innerirische Grenze bleibt eine Knacknuss
04 October 2020
Neue Zürcher Zeitung
Bricht Grossbritannien den Brexit-Vertrag, könnte dies dazu führen, dass Irland den EU-Binnenmarkt mit Grenzkontrollen schützen muss.
Chill winds of Brexit sweep the Square Mile
04 October 2020
The Sunday Times
As John Springford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, pointed out last week, equivalence does not cover every aspect of financial services, especially when firms deal with ordinary consumers. However, he argued that it would still be helpful.“Once the pandemic is over there will still be benefits in being able to dip into a big pool of skilled financiers in London rather than having workers distributed across Europe,” wrote Springford.
The revenge of strategic yogurt: How the EU started speaking French when it comes to the economy
03 October 2020
The Economist
Given how dependent the EU is on exports, which are worth about half its GDP compared with 12% in America and 18% in China, the bloc will probably come off worse from any protectionist fight. It is possible that merely developing the tools will ensure the EU never has to use them, argues Sam Lowe from the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank. But if the EU does end up using these tools as a stick, it may turn out to be a boomerang that comes hurtling back at them.
BBC Business Daily: Final countdown for a Brexit trade deal
02 October 2020
"From the EU's point of view they undoubtedly fear, post-Brexit, a very hyper-competitive UK that is slashing rules and regulations, subsidising high-tech industries and pulling investment in that would have otherwise gone to the EU, it fears the UK running a very different economic model" Charles Grant, director of the...
The Warcast: No-Deal Brexit: Implications for Ireland and European Security
01 October 2020
Daniel Keohane, an associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform and the author of the recent report, “A terrible border is reborn? Ireland and a no-deal Brexit”, joins the Warcast to discuss the implications of the Internal Market Bill for security in Ireland and UK-EU security ties.
The EU's Turkey challenge
01 October 2020
LSE blog
EU leaders will discuss relations with Turkey at a special European Council meeting that begins today.