Press
Le plan de crise énergétique de l’Allemagne critiqué lors de la réunion des dirigeants européens
07 October 2022
France 24
“Mais cela semble être davantage un échec de planification technique et managériale, par opposition à un échec politique”, comme en Allemagne, a déclaré Elisabetta Cornago, chercheuse basée à Bruxelles au Centre for European Reform.
Germany takes heat as EU leaders meet to discuss energy crisis
07 October 2022
The Washington Post
About half of the French nuclear power plants are under maintenance, which has deprived France of its title of Europe’s largest energy exporter and required it to import electricity from Germany.“But it seems to be more of a technical, managerial planning failure, as opposed to a political one,” like in Germany, said Elisabetta Cornago, a Brussels-based researcher at the Centre for European Reform.
Truss declares Macron a friend as pair forge working relationship
07 October 2022
BBC News
Centre for European Reform Director, Charles Grant said one of the measures of success will be "does it persuade Serbia, Azerbaijan and Turkey to lean a bit more to the West and less towards Russia".
BBC: The Context with Christian Fraser- First meeting of the European Political Community
06 October 2022
The idea behind the European Political Community is that Europe can have more geopolitical muscle than just EU member-states or countries on their own. European countries will be able to support Ukraine and stand up to Russia with one voice, Charles Grant tells Christian Fraser (from 2:58 mins).
Energy crisis: EU outlines possible gas price cap strategies ahead of meeting on Friday
05 October 2022
Euronews
"My impression is that member states are looking at prices and quantities in isolation and that's difficult because of economics," said Elisabetta Cornago, a senior energy researcher at the Centre for European Reform."It's hard to picture such a level of market intervention This is uncharted territory."
Liz Truss heads to first summit of new club of nations
05 October 2022
BBC News
It might prove to be a "modest" turning point in EU-UK relations, says the director of the Centre for European Reform, Charles Grant. While a row about post-Brexit arrangements for Northern Ireland remains unresolved, talks are restarting this week. "Neither side is trying to push that issue to the brink at the moment," says Mr Grant. "So this summit could be a sign of a modest rapprochement."
Ukraine latest news: Thousands of Putin's troops 'call Ukrainian surrender hotline' - as Russian front line 'begins to collapse'
05 October 2022
Sky News
Foreign policy expert Ian Bond, from the Centre for European Reform think-tank, says the West needs to stop being - and sounding - afraid.This is what he told the Doomsday Watch podcast:"Nothing is as provocative to Putin as weakness, so the more the West says 'we are afraid that Russia might use nuclear weapons', the more likely it Putin is to continue making the threat of using nuclear weapons - and perhaps even use one or two to demonstrate he really means it."
Liz Truss seeks her own path back to Europe
04 October 2022
Politico
The British prime minister can now claim to have secured an influential role, removing the risk of Brits being treated as “second-class citizens” opposed to the EU bloc, said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank.
CER podcast: What might Macron's European Political Community look like?
03 October 2022
In this week's CER podcast Camino Mortera-Martinez spoke to Charles Grant about the European Political Community.
Doomsday watch podcast: Putin's mobilisation gamble
01 October 2022
As Putin announces a military mobilisation and Russian men flee for the border, is his gamble of extra troops set to pay off on the battlefield? Ian Bond of the Centre for European Reform joins to discuss the Kremlin's call-up, and increasing nuclear sabre-rattling.
Doomsday watch podcast: Putin's mobilisation gamble
01 October 2022
As Putin announces a military mobilisation and Russian men flee for the border, is his gamble of extra troops set to pay off on the battlefield? Ian Bond of the Centre for European Reform joins to discuss the Kremlin's call-up, and increasing nuclear sabre-rattling.
Putin’s war hurts party backed by Russians in Latvian vote
01 October 2022
Bloomberg
“The parties in the current government are looking well placed,” said Ian Bond, a former UK ambassador to Riga and director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform. “They aren’t being punished for the economic problems because Russia has been blamed for it.”
BBC World Service to cut 400 jobs in funding squeeze
29 September 2022
Financial Times
Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, said on Twitter the cuts to the World Service — alongside those to the British Council, the cultural organisation, and the foreign aid budget — meant “the UK is eroding its soft power in every way possible”.
Institute for Government Podcast: Europe's energy crisis
28 September 2022
With winter fast approaching, politicians across Europe have been taking dramatic steps to address the ongoing energy crisis. The IfG team are joined by Alice Hancock from the FT and Elisabetta Cornago from the Centre for European Reform to assess different countries’ responses.
What Meloni's victory means for Europe
27 September 2022
UK in a changing Europe
Luigi Scazzieri examines the result of the Italian general election and sets out what the victory of Giorgia Meloni and the right-wing Brothers of Italy party means for Italy and for Europe.
Channel 4 News: Italy set to elect most right-wing government since World War Two
26 September 2022
Giorgia Meloni's coalition won't seek out confrontation with the EU says Luigi Scazzieri.
Far-right wild card Giorgia Meloni taps into Italians’ wish for radical change
26 September 2022
Financial Times
“It’s a shocking moment,” Luigi Scazzieri, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said of the party’s meteoric rise. “It’s the reflection of the electorate that feels like it has tried everything else now turning to the solution that is more radical and new.” “It’s this huge contrast with Draghi that makes it very hard for people to understand,” Scazzieri added, saying that it reflects “a country that really feels that things are going in the wrong direction” after two decades of economic stagnation.
EU holds its breath as it waits to discover Giorgia Meloni’s true political identity
26 September 2022
The Guardian
A more likely point of contention, according to Luigi Scazzieri of the Centre for European Reform, is if the EU tightly links recovery funds to Italy’s completion of judicial and civil service reforms started by Draghi. If a conflict develops over the EU’s interpretation of the rule of law there are genuine prospects of a Poland-Hungary-Italy triangular alliance, Scazzieri argues.
Liz Truss urged to ‘steer clear’ of Emmanuel Macron's new European club
25 September 2022
The Express
Director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, Charles Grant, said that French officials had told him that the British participation in the Prague summit would help UK-France relations.He said: “Macron thinks this is really important for discussing strategic issues and he wants the British to take part. The French say that the Brits can help to shape how the EPC emerges.”
Italy's tilt to the far-right: EU braced for Giorgia Meloni
24 September 2022
RTE News
The three parties also want to revise Italy’s €200 billion EU Covid recovery plan - in agreement with the EU - to put more resources into energy diversification and help consumers with higher energy prices. "This programme would be expensive to implement, and a loose fiscal policy would lead to higher borrowing costs for Italy and perhaps a financial crisis," says Luigi Scazzieri, who is a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform (CER)."Meloni is aware of the risks of appearing spendthrift, and is trying to stress that she is fiscally responsible."