Press

Trump finds he needs Europe now that he's waging war in Iran

05 March 2026
Bloomberg
"It's becoming harder for Europe to say 'Yes' to Trump,” Charles Grant, director at the Centre for European Reform, told Bloomberg. “Greenland was a very important dividing point and made Europe realize that it cannot trust America to behave reasonably in relation to European security.”

EU and UK urged to step up “re-set” efforts

04 March 2026
Brussels Morning
Ajoint paper by the Centre for European Reform and the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung UK and Ireland asks:  “EU-UK relations: Will 2026 be the year to reset the reset?” It concludes by saying the EU and UK need a “fundamental rethink of how they can enhance their security and prosperity.”

Iran war revives spectre of energy crisis in Europe, fuelling economic anxiety

04 March 2026
Euronews
"The closure of Qatari LNG facilities and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz are affecting a large chunk of global LNG supply," said Elisabetta Cornago, an assistant director at the Centre for European Reform (CER).
"Asia is more dependent on this region's LNG supply than Europe as a whole, but if Europe won't feel the impact in terms of immediate gas shortage, we are heading into storage refilling season, so high prices will raise the cost of those operations."

Orbán usa a Ucrania y Bruselas como armas ante el riesgo de perder las elecciones en Hungría

02 March 2026
El Diario
La posibilidad de cambio en Hungría es real. Zselyke Csaky, investigadora especialista en elecciones y democracia del Centre for European Reform, añade que “después de más de 15 años, será la primera vez que el primer ministro Orbán enfrente a un oponente fuerte y pueda perder el poder.

Hungary plays the spoiler in Europe, as Orban seeks votes at home

27 February 2026
The New York Times
“He [Orban] has always played this game, using his veto as a kind of threat, essentially as a bargaining chip,” said Zselyke Csaky, a senior research fellow at the Center for European Reform in Brussels. “It is more driven by domestic politics right now because Hungary will have elections in two months and Fidesz is not doing well at all.”

Four years on, what should Britain do to expedite a Ukrainian victory?

27 February 2026
Britain's World
Britain and its allies and partners must treat Ukraine’s security as their own: if Ukraine loses, Putin will target another state, perhaps a NATO ally. They should step up sanctions, including by seizing ‘shadow fleet’ tankers transporting Russian oil.

Trump’s push to Make America Great Again is falling apart

25 February 2026
The Telegraph
“The Supreme Court ruling means allies will now refuse to ratify his one-sided trade deals or will slow-walk the implementation,” says John Springford, of the Centre for European Reform.
Could Viktor Orbán Lose in April?

Could Viktor Orbán Lose in April?

25 February 2026
Project Syndicate
Before Donald Trump arrived on the scene in the United States, Viktor Orbán’s Hungary had already heralded the rise of populist illiberalism and the new far right.

Wie Deutschland die Liebe zu China verlor

24 February 2026
The European
Merz hat seine eigene Position nicht klar formuliert. Daher, so Sander Tordoir vom Centre for European Reform, einem Thinktank, „ist Deutschlands Chinapolitik weder Fisch noch Fleisch“.

Four years in, Ukraine's war grinds on with no end in sight

24 February 2026
Courthouse News Service
Ukraine has suffered an estimated 500,000 to 600,000 troops killed, wounded or missing, according to the Centre for European Reform — a pace Ukraine, with a fraction of Russia’s population, cannot keep up indefinitely.
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: Four years of war in Ukraine

CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: Four years of war in Ukraine

Ian Bond, Andy Hunder, Victoria Vdovychenko
24 February 2026
Ian Bond spoke with Andy Hunder and Victoria Vdovychenko about the economic, military and societal situation in Ukraine, four years since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion.

The EU should allow industry losers to die, not pick winners

24 February 2026
Bloomberg
Inviting like-minded allies into the supply-chain tent is one way that Europe can play industrial-policy Tinder, as economist Sander Tordoir recently put it, rather than stay celibate. 

Wie stark soll Europa sich abschotten?

22 February 2026
Süddeutsche Zeitung
Es sei „ein verbreitetes Missverständnis“, sagt Sander Tordoir, Ökonom am Thinktank Center for European Reform, „dass es darum geht, Europa abzuschotten. Das stimmt – und es stimmt zugleich nicht.“ Im Kern rede man über gezielt gesetzte Nachfrageanreize bei der öffentlichen Beschaffung auf der einen Seite und Subventionen, die private Märkte steuern, auf der anderen. „Ein Ziel ist, chinesische Exporte nicht noch weiter mit europäischem Steuergeld zu subventionieren“, sagt er.
 

There’s only one way Putin will leave Ukraine

22 February 2026
The Sunday Times
As our former ambassador to Latvia, Ian Bond, observed to me: “Too many of its people have for so long been told that they are a nation surrounded by enemies who are constantly plotting against them.”

Europa pugna por dar un giro pragmático a su relación con China

22 February 2026
El Pais
Charles Grant, del Centre for European Reform, apunta que China “ve con desdén a los europeos, como una potencia en declive”. 

How Germany fell out of love with China

19 February 2026
The Economist
Mr Merz has not made his own stance clear. As a result, says Sander Tordoir of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, “Germany’s China policy is neither here nor there.”
Zselyke Csaky

The World: The future of Viktor Orbán’s 16-year rule in Hungary is uncertain

18 February 2026
“Magyar has cut through where so many opposition leaders failed because he knows how to play Orban at his own game” Zselyke Csaky told The World.

De vier landen van Centraal-Europa waren hecht, maar Boedapest en Warschau staan nu tegenover elkaar

15 February 2026
NRC Handelsblad
In politieke zin is de Visegrádgroep zo goed als dood, zegt Zselyke Csaky, analist bij denktank Centre for European Reform (CER). „De animositeit tussen de huidige Poolse en Hongaarse regeringen zit diep en omdat Babis veel pragmatischer is dan Fico, komt er ook geen opleving van een ‘kleine’ Visegrád.”
Europa moet met industriebeleid ‘Tinder spelen’, niet celibatair worden, zegt econoom

Europa moet met industriebeleid ‘Tinder spelen’, niet celibatair worden, zegt econoom

14 February 2026
de Volkskrant
Anders dan wat de Europese leiders suggereerden, zijn er geen doorbraken bereikt op de concurrentietop van vorige week donderdag, zegt econoom Sander Tordoir. ‘Het probleem is dat de crisis niet acuut is.’

Taking the Pulse: Can the EU attract foreign investment and reduce dependencies?

13 February 2026
Carnegie Europe
The contradiction between the buy European push and the deregulation drive is misguided.

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