Press

Berlin finds few allies for austerity push G-20

Simon Tilford
22 July 2013
The Wall Street Journal
"The idea that Germans would even get backing from other Europeans was rather fanciful, and the idea that Americans would go along with targets was far-fetched," said Simon Tilford of the CER. ..."More people are questioning whether austerity in Europe has been self-defeating," he said.

Navalny's sentence will influence the Russian economy

19 July 2013
Valdai Club
Russian opposition leader and anti-corruption blogger was released from custody on Friday. Member of the Valdai discussion club Charles Grant discusses the new turn in the matter.
What will be the consequences of the conviction and verdict on Alexei Navalny for the Russian political system?
I think the main consequences...

Letta a Londra si sforza di non vedere le nubi

18 July 2013
Europaquotidiano
La delegazione scivola di appuntamento in appuntamento, tra Downing street, il Centre for European Reform, uno dei think tank più prestigiosi, dove lo accoglie Bill Emmott; c’è spazio anche per un taglio di nastro nella nuova sede del Consolato italiano a Farringdon street.

The politics of bringing democracy to Brussels

18 July 2013
The Wall Street Journal
Charles Grant, director of the CER, says using the parliamentary elections to choose the commission president is "fraught with potential dangers." If the commission gets too close to Parliament, as this change would make likely, it could further undermine its credibility with member states, he says.

UK and Ireland plan visa-free common travel area to boost growth

17 July 2013
Financial Times
"Any kind of co-operation like this is good. But the UK would do even better to deepen its co-operation with the actual Schengen area, especially on visas,"  said Hugo Brady, a senior research fellow at the CER.

The European Investment Bank's new screening and assessment criteria for energy projects

Stephen Tindale, Ingrid Holmes
17 July 2013
The European Investment Bank's new screening and assessment criteria for energy projects is welcomed as a significant step forward in moving the European Union to becoming a low carbon economy while generating sustainable growth and jobs.

Politexperte Hugo Brady: «Ich halte nicht viel von Untergangspropheten»

15 July 2013
Migros Magazin
Wohin steuert Europa? Ist das Modell EU überhaupt reformierbar? Das Migros-Magazin hat Hugo Brady, einen der ausgewiesensten Spezialisten in Sachen Europa, gefragt. Der Ire über Reformen in Zeiten der Krise und über die Schweiz als Vorbild der Grossen im Staatenbund.
Hugo Brady, auf dem ganzen Kontinent steigt die...

Think-tank of the year

CER
15 July 2013
Prospect
This year’s International Affairs Think Tank of the Year award goes to the Centre for European Reform... This year, the judges were impressed by the strength of the CER’s economic analysis and its choice of subjects has gone right to the heart of the most pressing debates.

European justice: More is less

12 July 2013
The Economist
Britain has to opt out of all the rules on justice and policing and then get European approval to opt back in to the bits it likes. ...Hugo Brady of the CER says the result of the change will be to reduce Britain’s influence in the EU's justice and migration policies.

Europe in danger of losing race to commercialise CCS

Stephen Tindale
12 July 2013
Utility Week
"It is a sign that Europe is losing the race for CCS commercialisation, which will be a major missed economic opportunity," said Stephen Tindale, associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform.

Political cosmetics

04 July 2013
European Voice
Charles Grant argues in a recent paper for the CER that member states' confidence in the Commission is diminishing because it proposes too many detailed rules in areas such as environment, food safety and social policy.

Rift over austerity plans is seen in ailing Portugal

Simon Tilford
03 July 2013
The New York Times
"Portugal was one of the poster children for it, with a government that sounded even more wedded to austerity and supply-side reforms than the policy makers sitting in Brussels, Berlin and Frankfurt," said Simon Tilford, of the CER.

Can Europe shoulder its military burden on its own?

Clara Marina O’Donnell
02 July 2013
The Christian Science Monitor
"NATO has meant that countries, historically, that had been at war have put those animosities aside and committed to mutual security," says Clara O'Donnell of the CER, "It means that at least there is one part of the world that the US had to worry about before that it now doesn't have to worry about."

Die Slowakei hat keine Angst vor "Großdeutschland"

30 June 2013
Die Welt
Als auf dem Sicherheitsforum GLOBSEC, das in Bratislava stattgefunden hat, Charles Grant, CER, in der Diskussion den Ausdruck "Großdeutschland" benutzte – und unter diesem Begriff Deutschland, Niederlande, Finnland und die Slowakei vorstellte – hat es in dem Saal ordentlich rumort.

Between rock and hard place in Brussels

27 June 2013
The Wall Street Journal
Charles Grant, of the CER, says the commission draws extra fire because of its contradictory roles. It is at once the political body that initiates legislation and brokers compromises among EU members—but also the technical body that polices markets and rules.

What a prospect - pro-European think tank hits top spot

27 June 2013
Evening Standard
Hats off to the Centre for European Reform, which won Prospect magazine’s Think-Tank of the Year for International Affairs. Bill Emmott, former editor of The Economist, admitted that the judges ummed and aahed over giving a pro-European think-tank an award but felt CER deserved the honour. 

Britian's migration delusion

26 June 2013
Prospect
Right from the start, EU immigration was the glaringly obvious hole in David Cameron’s pledge to “reduce net immigration into the UK from the hundreds to the tens of thousands”.

UK has cut too deeply, but don't misread Greece's hardship

Simon Tilford
26 June 2013
Financial Times
From Mr Simon Tilford.Sir, The UK Treasury may well be guilty of many of the failings Philip Stephens attributes to it (“The best spending cut of all? Shut down the Treasury”, June 24).

EU summit in Brussels wrestles with youth unemployment

26 June 2013
BBC
John Springford, of the CER, said the EU was facing "very large political roadblocks" hampering the necessary macro-economic changes. "They are stumbling towards integration very slowly - when the financial markets relax the pressure, the progress stalls," he told BBC News.

Is Italy headed for a Greece-style bailout?

Simon Tilford
26 June 2013
Marketplace
Italy might need a Greece-style bailout within six months. That’s the warning from Italy's second largest bank, MedioBanca, according to a report in Britain's Daily Telegraph. Simon Tilford, from the CER, joins Marketplace Morning Report host David Brancaccio to discuss.