Press
No-deal plan 'will include new border in Irish Sea'
09 November 2018
The Times
Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform think tank, said: “If, as it appears, the UK is close to accepting the presence of an Northern Ireland-specific backstop, albeit one they wish to supplement with a whole-UK customs union, then this is good news for the withdrawal negotiations. However, it will create problems for May with the DUP.”
Brexit: Theresa May warns DUP of customs border in Irish sea in case of no-deal, leaked letter suggests
09 November 2018
The Independent
Sam Lowe, from think tank the Centre for European Reform, said supporters of a “hard” Brexit may find some form of regulatory barrier between Northern Ireland and the British mainland an acceptable trade-off. “My feeling is that, at some point, the hard Brexiters (who we already know prioritise Brexit over NI, because they voted for Brexit), will decide that NI having a distinct relationship with the EU is a price worth paying,” he tweeted.
‘X-RATED VERSION OF PROJECT FEAR’: Secret plan to get Brexit deal through Commons EXPOSED
09 November 2018
The Express
John Springford, Deputy Director of Centre for European Reform, said: “Time is going to force her hand. She will have to put something before Parliament and the deadline is thought to be January the 20th. “The big problem that she faces is she can try to soften everything and bring everyone together with some fudge."
You can't be against austerity and not be against Brexit, Jeremy Corbyn
08 November 2018
The Independent
At the end of last month, the Centre for European Reform, an independent think tank with offices in London and Brussels, put the number at £500m a week.
Bloomberg: How to trade the pound as Brexit talks near endgame
08 November 2018
Centre for European Reform Deputy Director John Springford and BlackRock Global Chief Investment Strategist Richard Turnill discuss the outlook for Brexit negotiations and the pound on "Bloomberg Surveillance."
Macron hopes WWI ceremonies warn of nationalism’s dangers. Is anyone listening?
08 November 2018
The New York Times
“He is surprisingly isolated in Europe, he’s not talking to Hungary and Poland, he’s trying to isolate them and reinforcing the idea that the French do not like the Central Europeans,” said Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform in London.
The Spectator Podcast: Theresa May's Brexit deal is hard to stomach
08 November 2018
As Theresa May prepares to unveil her Brexit deal, we ask: just how bad is it, and what happened to ‘no deal is better than a bad deal’. In the American midterms, the Blue Wave didn’t happen, but Democrats did take control of the House of Representatives – what next for Trump’s presidency. And last, as we approach Remembrance Sunday, who are the lives we are remembering, and is it time to move on. With James Forsyth, Charles Grant, Kate Andrews, Leslie Vinjamuri, Liz Hunt, and Glyn Prysor.
Why a sack full of Russian cash won’t change UK Brexit debate
07 November 2018
Politico
By March next year, the UK government will have spent an estimated £2 billion on Brexit-related preparations, according to the Institute for Government. And the hit to the economy caused by uncertainty is already far bigger — the Centre for European Reform think tank estimates it at £500 million a week.
How an analysis of Basque terrorism helps economists understand Brexit
07 November 2018
The Wall Street Journal
Now researchers in Europe are using it to construct a virtual Britain where 2016’s Brexit vote didn’t happen to determine whether that decision has already had a cost. Those who have used it include economists led by Benjamin Born of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, investment bank UBS AG, the University of Sussex’s Trade Policy Observatory and the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank devoted to European policy.
CER podcast: One year since Macron's Sorbonne speech
07 November 2018
Sophia Besch asks Leonard Schuette what progress has been made on Macron's reform agenda one year on, and they discuss the impact of Merkel's planned departure.
Talk of Brexit deal for City is wide of the mark
06 November 2018
Global Capital
For more details on the minutiae of the political declaration and its importance within the withdrawal deal, a recent piece by the think-tank the Centre for European Reform is worth a read.
The world is more interested than usual in the US midterm elections. Here's why
05 November 2018
NPR
"If the Republicans do well, then across Europe, people will be thinking Trump is not just a passing phase," says Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based research organization. "People will start to think actually this is a secular change in American policy and America's view of the outside world, and we're going to have to adapt to the fact that America may not be in a position or be ready to help Europe in a crisis."
ETV: "Välisilm": Merkeli taandumine võib jätta Brüsseli mõneks ajaks toppama
05 November 2018
Mõttekoja CER analüütik Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska vaatas asja lihtsamalt: praeguse seisuga Angela Merkel jääb, ta tuleb jätkuvalt Euroopa ülemkogudele, ta jätkab Euroopa riigijuhtidega lepete sõlmimist.
Angela Merkel’s successor will be no help to Brexit Britain
05 November 2018
The Independent
The shrewdest London-based observer of Brussels is Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform, who said: “If I had a vote I would got for Merz. I met him long ago and was impressed. He knows a lot about Europe and could help Macron with EU/euro reform.”
More on Merz
05 November 2018
The Financial Times
“An FDP politician who’s in the CDU because he wants to be chancellor” — how Christian Odendahl of the CER sums up the man with momentum to succeed Angela Merkel as party chairman.
Weakened Merkel leaves the EU even less capable of bold decisions - but is there a final sting in her tail?
02 November 2018
The Telegraph
“Even now, she still has the moral authority on the EU stage to knock heads together,” says Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform. “Just look around the table of EU leaders, they are political pygmies, apart from Emmanuel Macron, who is weak at home and [the Dutch prime minister] Mark Rutte, who only represents a middle-sized country. She’s still head and shoulders above all other leaders.”
Britain to revamp diplomatic service
02 November 2018
The Hindu
Past cuts, particularly the hollowing out of staffing levels within some of Britain’s major partners in previous budget cuts, had had a detrimental effect on British diplomatic efforts, said Ian Bond, the director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform and a former diplomat.
2 views of Angela Merkel's legacy: Stoic leadership, and economic malpractice
01 November 2018
The New York Times
“The euro crisis started getting better the moment Europe decided to go against what Merkel said the policies should be,” said Christian Odendahl, Berlin-based chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a research institution. “The euro crisis got better not because of, but despite Merkel.”
Mandarins attack Hunt's plan to open up ambassador posts
01 November 2018
The Times
Ian Bond, a former ambassador to Latvia, called the announcement depressing. “No major nation except the US does this and there are plenty of horror stories from the US to show why,” he tweeted.
No change Brexit
31 October 2018
Financial Times
Don't bank on a weak German chancellor to deliver a better Brexit, writes Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform in (The Guardian): "Unwilling to rescue the Chequers plan, Germany – with or without Merkel – will push Britain towards the relatively hard Brexit of a Canada-style free trade agreement."