Press
Sunak 'risks full-scale trade war' with Brussels by scrapping EU laws
04 February 2023
The Observer
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said the worries in Brussels were real and ran deep. “The EU is getting seriously concerned about the impact of the retained EU law bill on the level playing field. It fears that if the UK abandons high social and environmental standards, its companies will have an unfair advantage over EU firms.
Alemania, Rusia y Ucrania: de ‘punto de inflexión’ a ignorar lo esencial
03 February 2023
ES Global
La lentitud de Berlín a la hora de autorizar el envío de tanques Leopard 2 a Ucrania ha sido una mala noticia para este país, la seguridad europea y la propia Alemania.
EU details plan to protect its net-zero industry – but questions remain
02 February 2023
Science|Business
“The sticking point is that the countries with deep pockets, like France and Germany, can open the subsidy spigots whereas other countries will be left behind, possibly creating unfair competition and fragmentation of the EU market,” commented Sander Tordoir, a senior economist at the Centre for European Reform.
Atlantic Debrief: What's in store for transatlantic industrial policy? | A Debrief from Zach Meyers
01 February 2023
On this episode of #AtlanticDebrief, Jörn Fleck sits down with Centre for European Reform Senior Research Fellow Zach Meyers to discuss the latest developments in the transatlantic industrial policy debate.
Spectator podcast: Are we close to a breakthrough on the Northern Ireland Protocol?
01 February 2023
The Times has reported that a partial agreement has been made over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Why are the government playing down the progress made over the Irish border? Cindy Yu speaks to Katy Balls and Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform.
Brexit 3 years on: The UK's tech and innovation sector is yet to see the promised 'sunlit uplands'
01 February 2023
Euronews
"On the academic side, I would say that's been unequivocally bad, which any scientist or academic will tell you, and that's largely because of this dispute around Horizon and the fact that the UK still hasn't managed to get its membership," Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform (CER), said.
What impact has Brexit had on the UK economy?
31 January 2023
BBC News
A study by the think tanks Centre for European Reform and UK in a Changing Europe suggests that there are 330,000 fewer workers in the UK as a result of Brexit. That may only be 1% of the total workforce - but sectors such as transport, hospitality and retail have been particularly hard hit.
Labour wants to fix Brexit. Good luck with that
31 January 2023
The Washington Post
The Centre for European Reform’s John Springford developed an algorithm that compares data on UK performance with that of 22 other advanced economies; it is weighted to form a non-Brexiting (or doppelganger) UK for contrast. Updated results in December found that UK GDP is 5.5% lower than it would have been had Brexit not happened. Investment is 11% lower and goods trade 7% lower (services trade was mostly unaffected). That equates to roughly £40 billion ($50 billion) in lost tax revenue, which is making it harder for the government to cut taxes or meet other spending priorities.
EU IRA response
31 January 2023
Politico Brussels Playbook
The EU needs to dial down its anxiety, argues Zach Meyers from the Centre for European Reform in this opinion piece for POLITICO. “There is a whiff of unrealism and hypocrisy about European complaints regarding the IRA - a matter of do what I say rather than do what I do,” Meyers writes.
Who will repair broken Britain?
31 January 2023
Carnegie Europe
According to the latest research by the Centre for European Reform, an independent think-tank, the UK’s economy is now 5.5 per cent smaller than it would have been had the UK remained in the EU.
Sunak reminded of Brexit hit to tax receipts as he tells NHS staff there’s no money for pay hike
31 January 2023
The London Economic
John Springford from the Centre for European Reform (CER) has been modelling the economic performance of a UK that remained in the EU since 2018, using data from countries like the US, Germany, New Zealand, Norway and Australia, whose performance was similar to the UK’s before Brexit.According to his findings, the difference in performance between his “doppelgänger UK economy” and the real thing is stark.
Is it just coincidence that a gloomy IMF forecast arrives on the anniversary of Brexit?
31 January 2023
The New Statesman
John Springford of the Centre for Economic Reform published research in December that pointed to the hit Brexit made on the UK’s trade and investment, and suggested Britain’s GDP is up to 5.5 per cent lower than it otherwise would have been.
Why is the UK economy doing worse than the rest of the G7?
31 January 2023
The Guardian
Tougher post-Brexit migration rules are also adding to the shortages. The think-tanks UK in a Changing Europe, and the Centre for European Reform, estimate there that there is a shortfall of more than 300,000 workers due to the end to “free movement”.
Europe needs to dial down its anxiety over the Inflation Reduction Act
31 January 2023
Politico
There’s a whiff of hypocrisy about the EU’s response to America’s electric vehicle subsidies — a matter of do what I say rather than do what I do.
Three years on, Britain still waits for Brexit dividend
30 January 2023
Reuters
"It's been more than a slow burn. It's been a serious reduction in economic performance," said John Springford, deputy director at the Centre for European Reform think-tank."If you impose barriers to trade, investment and migration with your biggest trading partner (EU), then you're going have quite a big hit to trade volumes, and to investment and to GDP," he said, pointing to a string of dismal economic data.
The real Brexit challenge is to avoid the situation getting even worse
26 January 2023
The Times
The end of free movement led to a shortfall of 330,000 workers, contributing to a severe labour shortage, particularly in sectors such as retail and hospitality, according to a new study by the Centre for European Reform. That is fuelling inflationary pressures. Investment has flatlined since the 2016 referendum.
Brexit isn't going away
26 January 2023
Encompass
It’s frustrating and boring, but economists must endlessly repeat themselves about Brexit. That’s because Brexiters continue to deny its obvious economic costs.
Brexodus: Where have all the workers gone?
26 January 2023
The New European
The latest analysis conducted jointly by two UK-based thinktanks, the Centre for European Reform and The UK in a Changing Europe, brings into sharp focus Brexit’s effect on the UK workforce. The research, led by John Springford at the London School of Economics and Jonathan Portes, professor of economics and public policy at King’s College London, finds that Brexit has reduced the UK’s workforce by 330,000 people, the equivalent of 1% of the total.
CER podcast: Brexit and the labour market
25 January 2023
In this week’s episode of the CER podcast Jonathan Portes and John Springford discuss their recent post-Brexit labour market analysis.
‘Messy’ German tank saga highlights Berlin as ‘soft underbelly’ of Europe
25 January 2023
iNews
Others agreed that it reflects badly on Berlin. “Germany currently lacks a strategic culture and failing to see the bigger picture,” says Ian Bond director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform. “This episode delayed the moment that Ukraine gets weapons. It is bad for European cooperation, as it says you might have to think twice about working with Germany. And it is bad for Germany security as it will encourage Putin to think Berlin is the soft underbelly.”