Press
Hungary's Orban aims to 'give the finger' to Europe in migrant referendum
01 October 2016
NBC News
Camino Mortera-Martinez, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, described the question as "absolutely biased" and pointed to its loaded language. "The way the question has been put to the people, I think Orban is likely to win," she said.
Down to earth: Brexiteers need to respect gravity models of international trade
01 October 2016
The Economist
For the foreseeable future, GDP per person in places like India and China will be lower than the EU’s, points out John Springford of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank. It will be many years before these countries’ citizens are rich enough to demand the same sorts of goods and services from Britain as the EU does.
Hard bargain: Lacking clear American leadership, the global trade agenda is floundering
01 October 2016
The Economist
Christian Odendahl, an economist at the Centre for European Economic Reform, a think-tank, says that including such a controversial provision in TTIP was probably a mistake; legal systems in America and Europe are developed enough for investors not to need the extra legal certainty.
Bye, bye Basel: Shielding Europe's banks
30 September 2016
Financial Times
Talking Britain down: Martin Wolf draws attention to the myriad flaws of the British economy in this piece. The piece relies on a paper by Simon Tilford of the Centre for European Reform, which we linked to the other day.
In Calais, a rising wall reinforces fears of fortress Europe
30 September 2016
Deutsche Welle
"People find ways around barriers," says Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank. "Unless you start making them particularly inhumane, people are going to find other ways of getting through the system."
EU and US trade negotiators seek to get TTIP talks back on track
30 September 2016
The Guardian
John Springford, head of research at the Centre for European Reform, said it was hard to see TTIP talks resuming in 2017. "The window of opportunity for getting TTIP done was before we got into the US election campaign, and certainly before the French and German elections got under way [in 2017]. I think that window of opportunity is now closed."
Viktor Orbán's date with destiny
29 September 2016
The World Weekly
On no issue is this state of limbo more dangerous than migration. With civil wars still raging in the Middle East, any number of sparks could see the crisis flare up again with startling intensity. “There is a sense of calm before the storm,” said Camino Mortera-Martinez, a research fellow and expert on free movement at the Centre of European Reform, a think-tank. As it stands, she told TWW, the bloc would be ill-equipped to withstand such an eventuality. The current solutions, though hard-fought, are sticking plasters; the serious treatment is yet to come.
Make no mistake, Britain is not a world-beating economy
29 September 2016
Financial Times
Simon Tilford of the Centre for European Reform provides a far more realistic picture in his Brexit Britain. Measured at purchasing power parity, the rise in the UK's gross domestic product per head between 2000 and 2015 was smaller than in Germany, Spain and France. Over this period, the UK outperformed only Italy, among the EU's largest pre-2000 members. In 2015, the UK's GDP per head was lower relative to the average of the 15 pre-2000 EU members than in 2000: its GDP per head was a mere ninth within this group.
Stuck in a rut? Here's how to help the Brits who feel left behind
28 September 2016
City A.M
Our fortune in the west may be indisputable, but is often little comfort to the many Brits who – by western European standards – are stuck in an economic rut. Stark figures were published this week from the Centre for European Reform. London and the south east are the only UK regions with a higher-than-average GDP per capita, compared to 15 major EU countries. All other parts of the UK (accounting for three quarters of the population) have GDP-per-head below 90 per cent of the EU-15 average.
As US election nears, the globe watches (very) intently
28 September 2016
The Christian Science Monitor
In Britain, just setting out on an uncertain path outside the European Union, the "special relationship" between London and Washington is more important than ever, suggests Ian Bond, foreign policy analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London.
Distorted data that mask Britain's real plight
28 September 2016
The Evening Standard
It was, for example, often repeated by Boris Johnson in the EU referendum campaign that Britain’s economic performance had for the last 15 years been much better than that of the rest of the EU. But Simon Tilford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, alleges that, on the contrary, Britain is in many ways the poor man of Europe.
Why Deutsche can't bank on Germany in fight with the US
27 September 2016
Fortune
As Christian Odendahl, an economist with the Centre for European Reform in London, points out, a bailout with taxpayers’ money would give AfD yet another stick with which to beat her, on top of her bailouts of feckless Mediterranean types and her handling of the migrant crisis.
CER report: The EU never held Britain's economy back
27 September 2016
Business Insider
Britain's economy is sluggish and unproductive, and will worsen with Brexit, according to a report from the Centre for European Reform (CER).
Brexit Briefing: George Osborne, soft Brexiter
26 September 2016
Financial Times
Britain has not been one of Europe’s economic stars over the past 15 years and Brexit is set to exacerbate its underlying weaknesses, writes Simon Tilford of the Centre for European Reform.
Britain, don't blame the EU for your economic problems, CER says
26 September 2016
Bloomberg
The UK's difficulties in unlocking its economic potential lie at home and it's wrong to blame the European Union, according to a new report by the Centre for European Reform.
UK heading for 'hard Brexit', warns Scottish minister
26 September 2016
Sky News
The Centre for European Reform (CER) said the problems of a London-focused economy, poor skill levels, weak infrastructure and a lack of affordable housing were likely to be made worse by leaving the EU, leaving poorer regions in an even worse state.
Britain's Brexit economy is "mediocre" compared to other EU countries
26 September 2016
New Europe
“Brexit Britain: The Poor Man of Western Europe?”, the latest report of the Centre for European Reform authored by Simon Tilford criticizes Britain’s economy and decision for Brexit. It brings forth evidence that Britain is not the strong economic leader that the public perceives it as being.
European firms offer Britain scant support in divorce talks
25 September 2016
The Daily Mail
Simon Tilford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said that if Britain better understood the thinking of EU governments and businesses, it could secure a deal allowing tariff-free trade in goods with Europe. If it didn't, the two-year period between notifying Brussels of its intention to leave, and membership expiring, could pass without any deal at all, he said. "If the UK wants controls on labour movement from the EU it will have to concede membership of the EU's single market for services. I think that's obvious."
British PM Theresa May dismisses Brexit veto threat
25 September 2016
Cosumnes Connection
"Free movement is the only way that most such services-in construction, retail and so forth-can be traded, as construction workers and baristas cannot provide their services remotely", John Springford, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said in a report.
Brexit & beyond: Prospects for hard Brexit; May loses minister; French revival
23 September 2016
The Wall Street Journal
John Springford at the Centre for European Reform, a pro-European Union think tank based in London, believes the lack of an immediate recession makes it more likely that pro-Brexit politicians will win their case for a dramatic break from the EU.