Press
Bloomberg Daybreak Europe: Odendahl: Vaccine rollout risks anger beyond Brussels
11 March 2021
While the initial blame for the slow European vaccination rollout went to the European institutions, which negotiated the contracts, public backlash now risks spilling into national politics with the German CDU next in line ahead of a general election in September, according to Christian Odendahl, Chief Economist at the Centre...
Britain delays Brexit border checks for goods coming from Europe
11 March 2021
The New York Times
“It’s probably the right thing to do but it points to some political failings because it was very predictable,” said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Center for European Reform, a research institute based in London, referring to the government’s announcement Thursday. “Clearly the infrastructure isn’t in place to allow for full inspections in July.”
Why the roots of the EU’s vaccine catastrophe lie in Merkel’s shadowy past in Communist East Germany
07 March 2021
Daily Mail
As Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, puts it of her Christian Democratic Union party: ‘The CDU is not the party of ideas. It is the party of maintaining the status quo.’
EU chaos a result of OWN shambolic leadership decisions - 'Got what you paid for!'
07 March 2021
Express
Camino Mortera-Martinez, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said if EU governments were wondering who appointed such unsuitable people to such important positions, they do not have far to look.
The Commission’s plan to restart COVID travel
05 March 2021
Politico
It’s not like anyone in the EU is able to fully exercise their freedom of movement at the moment, argued Camino Mortera-Martinez, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. “We are not departing from a normal situation,” she said. The unvaccinated wouldn’t face discrimination, Mortera-Martinez argued, because they would still be allowed to travel under limited circumstances - it would just be easier for those who’ve had the shot.
Brexit teething problems?
05 March 2021
Blakeney
Boris Johnson has described the struggles facing British companies trading with the EU under the new post-Brexit arrangements as “teething problems”.
Exclusive: UK to begin backdoor push to get Joe Biden to dump Trump's steel tariffs
04 March 2021
City A.M
Sam Lowe, trade expert at the the Centre for European Reform think tank, said the Biden administration would soon have to conduct a wider discussion about how it deals with Trump-era trade policies.“It is possible the UK gets excluded from the [steel tariffs], but the US has to have that conversation themselves,” he said.“I don’t think Biden will get rid of them entirely, I wouldn’t be surprised if they were left on China, but the conversation will be whether they get rid of them for key allies like the UK.”
'Global Britain' must get real on migration
03 March 2021
Politico
The UK’s crude conversation on labor mobility could undermine its status as a major services player.
Talking Baltics - Interview with Ian Bond
03 March 2021
University of Cambridge Centre for Geopolitics
We posed five questions to the director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform and a former British ambassador to Latvia to get his thoughts on the Baltic Sea Region.
Britain's climate dilemma as it navigates post-Brexit trade
28 February 2021
Politico
“How do you get political buy-in for these measures if it just leads to carbon leakage?” said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.
Back Story podcast: Ukraine - war in Europe
27 February 2021
On this Back Story podcast we talk to Ian Bond, from the Centre for European Reform and a former British Diplomat on the chances of a direct clash with Russia and NATO and Putins state of mind.
Uncommon Decency podcast: A Very British Divorce
26 February 2021
After almost 4 years since 17 million Brits voted for this outcome, the UK has finally divorced from the European supranational behemoth. The year-end deal on the new trade rapport between the two sides of the Channel was elusive, but the sighs of relief in Whitehall and the Berlaymont have...
Future is Blue podcast: Economic and energy implications of Ukraine's war in Europe
25 February 2021
Elisabetta Cornago a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, talks to Carlos Carnicero Urabayen about the economic and energy related implications of Ukraine's war in Europe.
BBC Radio 4 - The Briefing Room: Brexit Business
25 February 2021
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Refrom joined Peter Foster, Vandeline von Bredow and Maddy Thimont Jack to speak with David Aaronovitch two months on from the UK's uncoupling from the European Union's single market.
Foster accuses European Commission of being tone deaf on impact of NI protocol
24 February 2021
The Irish Times
Earlier on Wednesday, one of Britain’s leading trade experts told MPs at Westminster that there was reason to be concerned about the sustainability of the protocol. Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said the protocol could only endure if it enjoyed broad consent.“It is in the EU’s interest to be as accommodating as possible so as to ensure that it endures and to ensure that it doesn’t have to keep returning to this question constantly, over and over again,” he told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee.
CER podcast: What does Draghi's new government mean for Italy and Europe?
24 February 2021
Katherine Pye discussed the outlook for Italy's new government with Nathalie Tocci and Luigi Scazzieri.
Northern Ireland Affairs Committee: Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol
24 February 2021
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform gave evidence to the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee on Brexit and the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Dieser linke Rapper treibt tausende Spanier auf die Straße
23 February 2021
Bayern 2
Camino Mortera forscht am Centre for European Research in Brüssel und sympathisiert mit den Protesten in ihrem Heimatland: „Der Protest bezieht sich im Grunde auf die Tatsache, dass der spanische Staat undemokratisch handelt, dass er den Menschen nicht erlaubt, ihre Meinung frei zu äußern und dass es ein großes Problem mit der Rechtsetzung im Land gibt.“
Flood of services trade heading to the EU after Brexit
22 February 2021
Politico
Britain should scrap visa costs for foreign workers and offer a stable regulatory climate for investment if it’s to stem a “flood” of services trade heading to the European Union after Brexit, according to a new report. Fresh analysis by Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, urges the UK government to shift its policy focus away from securing free trade agreements (FTAs) and instead take steps to encourage immigration.
Europe risks shooting itself in foot with ‘premature’ Chinese trade agreement
21 February 2021
The Telegraph
Although the EU still sees China as a “systemic rival”, the realpolitik behind the deal has been enhanced by the UK’s harder line on China in a break from the courtship of the David Cameron era, underlined by the banishing of telecoms firm Huawei from 5G networks and ministerial condemnation of the democratic crackdown in Hong Kong. “That felt like a tipping point for me,” says Sam Lowe, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.