Press
Political turmoil lights the powder trails to Italy's debt bomb
30 July 2022
The Telegraph
John Springford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, says: “The consensus is that Italy's debt is sustainable subject to political decision.“If we end up with a pretty populist right wing government, which just decides to throw fiscal caution to the wind, then obviously that can change.”
Will the euro crisis flare up again?
29 July 2022
Money Week
As Luigi Scazzieri of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, told the Financial Times, “the whole idea of joint borrowing by the EU is at stake here”.
CER podcast: Draghi out - What next for Italy?
26 July 2022
In this week's CER podcast Rosie Giorgi spoke to Luigi Scazzieri about Mario Draghi’s resignation as Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni and a probable right-wing coalition government.
Doubts over Italy’s access to €800bn EU Covid fund after Mario Draghi’s exit
26 July 2022
Financial Times
“The whole idea of joint borrowing by the EU is at stake here,” said Luigi Scazzieri, senior fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. “The perceived success or failure of the fund depends on whether it seen be successful in Italy, or whether it is seen to be wasteful.”
Giorgia Meloni: right-wing populist and unlikely disco star on track to be Italy’s first female prime minister
24 July 2022
The Sunday Times
“She comes across as extremely authentic and doesn’t seem like a particularly polished figure, and I think that’s part of her appeal,” Luigi Scazzieri, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said. “The heavy Roman accent also kind of helps.”
Mortera Martinez: “Il conflitto mette alle corde la stabilità dei governi europei”
22 July 2022
Il Fatto Quotidiano
“Direi che c’è un collegamento diretto tra il conflitto in Ucraina e la stabilità dei governi di alcuni Paesi europei. A settembre-ottobre le cose peggioreranno. L’alta inflazione e la crisi energetica ci mostreranno la vera natura dei governi europei”.
Brexit victory! Australia trade deal 'will boost UK economy by £69 billion
22 July 2022
The Daily Express
The Centre for European Reform (CER) released a study in June which claimed the results of Brexit on the UK economy are "troubling".
CER's Deputy Director John Springford said in his "sobering" conclusion that in the final quarter of 2021, the UK's GDP was five percent smaller.
He added: "It should trouble Labour and the Conservatives that the economy is lagging so far behind its peers."
CER's Deputy Director John Springford said in his "sobering" conclusion that in the final quarter of 2021, the UK's GDP was five percent smaller.
He added: "It should trouble Labour and the Conservatives that the economy is lagging so far behind its peers."
Everyone in UK to pay another £300 for Brexit – on top of £1,000 it’s already cost you
22 July 2022
The Metro
Estimates published last month by the Centre for European Reform suggest the UK economy was around £31 billion (5%) smaller by the end of last year than it would have been if it had stayed in the EU’s customs union and single market.
Italy and the EU after Draghi
21 July 2022
UK in a changing Europe
The end of Mario Draghi’s tenure as Italian prime minister opens a new phase in Italy’s politics. Draghi’s government of national unity provided the country with political stability at a pivotal moment, steering it through much of the pandemic and putting together a €190 billion plan to use money from the EU’s pandemic recovery fund.
Far right in front for snap Italy election after Draghi goes
21 July 2022
The Guardian
Should a Brothers of Italy-led coalition win, it “would offer a much more disruptive scenario for Italy and the EU”, wrote Luigi Scazzieri, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.
The ghost of Brexit will haunt Boris Johnson's successor
20 July 2022
Delano: Luxembourg in English
On the other hand, the UK's divorce from the EU has not been followed by the economic prosperity touted by many Brexiteers. According to the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank, the UK economy is worse off than it would have been had it remained a member of the EU.
Boris Johnson’s fall gives Brexit a chance to succeed
20 July 2022
Foreign Policy
The main effect of Brexit has been to damage manufacturing on the island of Great Britain, which is no longer able to participate in Europe-wide supply chains. According to an economic analysis by the Centre for European Reform, the goods trade is down 14 percent, adding a further Brexit shock to inflation caused by energy price rises and the waning of the COVID-19 pandemic. U.K.
TRT World: What international challenges will the next UK Prime Minister face?
20 July 2022
The conflict in Ukraine, tensions with allies over Brexit and rebuilding international trust in the post-Boris era: Britain’s next Prime Minister will have a lengthy list of international challenges to deal with.
Unlocking industrial data: Why the EU should rethink the Data Act
19 July 2022
Encompass
The ink is not yet dry on the EU’s two flagship tech laws, the Digital Markets Act and the Digital Services Act.
Will new UK data laws put adequacy agreement with EU at risk?
19 July 2022
Tech Monitor
A data adequacy agreement was signed between the UK and EU last year, despite some opposition from MEPs, allowing free flows of data to continue across the channel. But this will be reviewed by European lawmakers on a regular basis as the UK changes its domestic data legislation.
Mario Draghi struggles through mire of Italy’s turbulent politics
15 July 2022
Financial Times
Even if early elections prove imminent, Luigi Scazzieri, a senior fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said Draghi has left Italy a substantial legacy in the EU Covid recovery programme architecture, which ties the delivery of the next tranches of funds to progress on reforms.
"Future governments would have a strong incentive to keep going with reforms," he said.
With the spread between Italian and German bonds hitting their highest level for a month on Friday, Scazzieri said Italy — and its economy — would benefit from Draghi’s continued presence a little longer.
"Future governments would have a strong incentive to keep going with reforms," he said.
With the spread between Italian and German bonds hitting their highest level for a month on Friday, Scazzieri said Italy — and its economy — would benefit from Draghi’s continued presence a little longer.
Analysis: EU-UK relations 'not likely to improve' despite leadership contest
15 July 2022
Euronews
A recent June report by the Centre for European Reform (CER) showed that the UK economy is 5 per cent smaller than if Britain had stayed in the EU. The same report estimated that investment is 13.7 per cent lower, and goods trade, is 13.6 per cent lower in the final quarter of 2021.
South Africa: Competition Commission investigates Google’s advertising monopoly
15 July 2022
The Africa Report
Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow at The Centre for European Reform, believes to stop anti-competitive practices, we must first stop the “conglomerate effect”. He said, “firms like Google offer a range of different services which all work together seamlessly, making it the firm’s dominance in different services mutually reinforcing.”
EU court confirms Commission’s extended powers in merger reviews
13 July 2022
EurActiv
“The General Court’s approval of article 22 is likely to be controversial. It opens up the risk of having to go through a merger review process, for even very small and inconsequential acquisitions,” said Zach Meyers, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.
At the same time, Meyers noted that the court tried to address these concerns by stressing that the cumulative conditions required for the member states to send their request “significantly restrict the Commission’s freedom of action”. In other words, Article 22 is not to be considered a blank check.
At the same time, Meyers noted that the court tried to address these concerns by stressing that the cumulative conditions required for the member states to send their request “significantly restrict the Commission’s freedom of action”. In other words, Article 22 is not to be considered a blank check.
Ask CER - Episode 5: Europe's defence muscle, Russian-Western relations, central bank digital currencies and the EU's green transition
13 July 2022
You asked, we answered: the fifth episode of our 'Ask CER' podcast series.