Press

Espaço Schengen abanou durante a pandemia. Ainda tem remédio?

Camino Mortera-Martinez
15 May 2022
ECO
A este propósito, a chefe da delegação de Bruxelas do think tank Centre for European Reform (CER) considera que o facto de os países Schengen terem adotado políticas diferentes entre si para enfrentar a Covid-19 foi uma “resposta natural”. Contrariamente ao ex-eurodeputado, Camino Mortera-Martinez refere ao ECO que o Espaço Schengen está “muito bem equipado” para lidar com uma crise sanitária, tendo demonstrado ser “suficientemente resiliente” para reagir ao choque da pandemia – o que, ressalva, “não significa que seja perfeito”.

Emmanuel Macron’s ‘Confederation’ may be the perfect home for Brexit Britain

13 May 2022
The Telegraph
Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform says the plan has support from the EU’s President Charles Michel and the Council secretariat, though not from Commission officials, visceral foes of "variable geometry" and anything that departs from the uniform script. 
“The move is highly significant. There is a strong desire for a rapprochement with the UK, and they might even be willing to rewrite the Protocol, if there is a different prime minister. Relations with Boris Johnson are now too toxic,” he said.

CER podcast: Where will Macron now take France and Europe?

Charles Grant, Pascal Lamy, Christine Ockrent, Ben Haddad, Rosie Giorgi
11 May 2022
We discussed Macron's re-election and where French and EU policy was likely to be headed in his second term.

What do we know about Macron's idea for a two-tier Europe?

Camino Mortera-Martinez
11 May 2022
Euronews
"One can say the Schengen Area and the eurozone are examples of a two-speed Europe, which is not the same as the other idea [of Macron], which is this outer circle of non-members of the EU, which would cooperate with the European Union on specific areas without being part of the bloc as members of the institutions," Camino Mortera-Martinez, head of the Brussels office at the Centre for European Reform told Euronews.

Here's how the EU's plan to tackle online child abuse could impact your privacy

11 May 2022
Euronews
For Zach Meyers, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Reform (CER) think-tank, the Commission's plan "clearly undermines end-to-end encryption.""Once a “backdoor” to undermine encryption exists, that will create both new security vulnerabilities for hackers, and inevitable political pressure to expand the “backdoor” so that it covers more than just child sexual abuse material (CSAM) over time," Meyers added. 

Finland and Sweden get ready to announce Nato bids as Europe prepares for a reaction from Russia

11 May 2022
The Independent
“The Russians will rattle plenty of sabres, demonstratively move weaponry around in Kaliningrad or send naval vessels out into the Baltic to cause problems,” says Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform. .... “Russia has its hands full with Ukraine at the moment,” adds Bond.

UK to reform data protection, throwing EU adequacy ruling into doubt

10 May 2022
EurActiv
“The Commission’s original decision to grant the UK data adequacy was already legally questionable because the UK was repeatedly found to have breached EU law because of how British national security agencies collect personal data,” Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, told EURACTIV. 
“If the UK diverges further away from the GDPR, then the Commission may feel it has no choice but to withdraw adequacy”, he said.

UK jettisons legislation to empower digital regulator

10 May 2022
EurActiv
Even in its current non-statutory state, Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, told EURACTIV that the DMU had had a discernible impact.He argued that such technical expertise already led the CMA to achieve better results than the European Commission’s competition service.

Doubts emerge over Macron's proposal for new EU 'community' of aspiring states

Camino Mortera-Martinez
10 May 2022
France 24
"But what do we mean by political cooperation? And how will we make it work?" said Camino Mortera of the think-tank Centre for European Reform.

« Communauté politique européenne » : comment Macron s’est inspiré d’une idée de Mitterrand

Camino Mortera-Martinez
10 May 2022
Le Telegramme
« Qu’est-ce qu’on entend par coopération politique ? Et comment on va la faire fonctionner ? », s’interroge également Camino Mortera, du think tank Centre for European Reform. « Certains pays qui sont bloqués à la porte de l’UE depuis des années pourraient peut-être voir dans cette annonce un progrès mais il faut voir ce qu’il y a derrière ».

Sinn Fein's historic win in Northern Ireland may not change anything for the Brexit negotiations

09 May 2022
Euro News
According to Charles Grant, Director of the Centre for European Reform (CER) think tank, the win by Sinn Fein, which seeks unification with the Republic of Ireland, may turn out to have strengthened the British government's position in the negotiations. This is because it makes it less likely that the DUP will take part in a government, which in turn will lead to a crisis that in the long run could endanger the Good Friday Agreement.

Why can’t we talk about Brexit?

08 May 2022
The Sunday Times
The Centre for European Reform think-tank claimed in March that leaving the single market and customs union had cut the UK’s overall goods trade by about 15 per cent — including with non-EU countries. It argued that this was because 65 per cent of British exports were used as inputs for production processes in the EU and elsewhere, and it was “therefore likely that barriers to trade with the EU are damaging UK exports to the rest of the world”.

Can the EU or Ukraine ever use Russia's frozen assets?

06 May 2022
Euronews
"We are into kind of unprecedented territory here," Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre of European Reform (CER), a think-tank, stressed to Euronews.
Yet, he added, "there are some prospects that eventually Ukraine might be able to extract some money from these frozen assets. But it would be really, really complicated and probably take a very long time."

Nine out of ten countries developing central bank digital currencies

06 May 2022
Tech Monitor
 Zach Meyers, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think tank, told Tech Monitor in January that he believes much of the interest in CBDCs is driven by fear of missing out, particularly since China became the first major economy to trial a digital currency, the e-CNY, in April 2020. "None of [the central banks] want to be seen as falling behind," Meyers said "They look at what's happening in China and think 'we need to have that as well'."

Britain has become unexpectedly European

06 May 2022
The Economist
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform (CER), a think-tank, recalls that Germany and France seriously feared that post-Brexit Britain would move towards a low-tax, low-regulation version of “Singapore-on-Thames”, which is why they insisted on strong level-playing-field conditions in the trade deal. But in practice there has been little sign of such a shift.

Deutsche Welle - Inside Europe podcast: 05.05.2022

05 May 2022
Elisabetta Cornago spoke on Deutsche Welle's 'Inside Europe' podcast about the EU's plans to phase out Russian oil, the consequences of this and the bigger picture of Europe's energy security.

BBC Radio 4 - The Briefing Room: How has the war in Ukraine changed German politics?

Sophia Besch
05 May 2022
Sophia Besch joined others to discuss the biggest shift in German foreign policy since the Cold War (from 15:30 mins). 

LBC: Tonight with Andrew Marr

04 May 2022
Charles Grant, director of the CER spoke to Andrew Marr about the break down in relations between Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron (from 36.30 mins).

EU immigration is broken. Brussels is unlikely to be able to fix it

04 May 2022
Euro News
"I am sceptical that the Commission's proposals will reduce illegal migration, at least in the short term. There will always be people who don't neatly fit into a skill category but still want to migrate, or who are in the EU already but with an expiring visa and wish to stay but have no legal way to do so," Luigi Scazzieri, Senior Research Fellow at the Centre for European Reform (CER) told Euronews. 

Boris Johnson and Emmanuel Macron continue ‘entente uncordial’ and ignore each other

04 May 2022
The Times
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said those in London who hoped the French presidential election would precipitate a move by Macron to improve relations were likely to be disappointed. “From the French perspective there is little desire for a reset while Johnson remains in Downing Street,” he said.