Press
Das Ende der deutschen Illusion
29 December 2019
Die Welt
"Dass für die Deutschen das Militär als ein Instrument der Außenpolitik eine untergeordnete Rolle spielt, weist auf eine fortlaufend geringe Bedrohungswahrnehmung hin", sagt Sophie Besch, Verteidigungsexpertin am Centre for European Reform. Zugleich sei dies ein Beweis für "ein implizites Vertrauen, dass Deutschlands Partner - vor allem in der Nato - militärisch für die deutsche Sicherheit einstehen”.
EU bid to delay trade talks: Fury as Brussels seeks to hinder PM's Brexit drive
27 December 2019
The Express
Sam Lowe, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said he also expected the EU to try to press the UK into agreeing a treaty allowing European access to British fishing waters by next July.
Blocked in US, Huawei touts 'shared values' to compete in Europe
27 December 2019
The New York Times
“There is a fear that if you take what potentially are quite expensive decisions with regards to 5G because the Americans have told you that they are a security problem, and then President Trump gets a trade deal with China and suddenly Huawei is all O.K. again, then you’ll feel like the earth has moved under your feet,” said Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, a policy group in London.
Brussels threat to block City trade unless UK agrees to Europe's rules
26 December 2019
The Times
“As we’ve seen with the EU’s discussions with the Swiss, the decision as to whether to grant equivalence or adequacy rulings is not a purely technical one and is inherently political,” Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said.
Brexit was a distraction. Now Europe is facing a hellish 2020
21 December 2019
CNN
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, explains that the "backtracking on the rule of law in any member-states" creates "a challenge to the whole mutual trust. That is a founding principle for crucial projects such as the single market or justice."
Faut-il bannir Huawei de la 5G? La valse-hésitation
20 December 2019
Alternatives Economiques
Dans un document stratégique adopté en mars 2017, le gouvernement britannique affirmait sa « claire ambition de faire du Royaume-Uni un leader mondial » dans l’utilisation et le développement de la prochaine génération de technologie mobile.
Channel 4 News: A new year, a new government: So what now for Brexit Britain?
19 December 2019
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow a the Centre for European Reform spoke to Matt Frei today after hearing a Queen’s Speech dominated by Brexit – a done deal says the Government – by the end of January next year.
No-deal Brexit will harm UK more than EU, says Commission president Ursula von der Leyen
18 December 2019
The Evening Standard
Trade expert Sam Lowe, of the Centre for European Reform, believes Mr Johnson will have to make concessions to Brussels to get a deal in a year.“The lesson of the last few years of negotiation is the EU budges a bit, the UK has to move a lot,” he said.
CER podcast: Reviewing 2019
18 December 2019
CER researchers review the year 2019, and discuss what to expect in 2020. The conversation spans the future UK-EU relationship; the fraying of the transatlantic link; China; the state of Franco-German relations; and the EU economy.
Top tweet: Talks on UK's future to drag on beyond 2020
17 December 2019
The Guardian
The always well-informed Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, reads the tea leaves. Will he be right? "The election gives BJ the freedom to extend the transition, and to align UK & EU rules, if he wants to. He will probably do this, since leaving the transition without an FTA would be painful for the economy. He can take on ERG since he is master of his party."
Brexit bill to rule out extension to transition period
17 December 2019
BBC News
Sam Lowe, from the Centre for European Reform think tank, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that a December 2020 deadline could help the PM manage his own party when it comes to making concessions to the EU. "The prospect of a no-deal is still there," Mr Lowe said. "The question is whether Boris Johnson wants a no-deal but the evidence of recent time suggests no he doesn't."
Jeremy Corbyn apologises to Labour MPs for defeat 'for which I take responsibility' – as it happened
17 December 2019
The Guardian
Experts from the Centre for European Reform think-tank have been giving interviews today about the government’s decision to rule out an extension to the Brexit transition period. Sam Lowe, a trade specialist at the CER, described it as “domestic virtue signalling”.
UK's Johnson seeks to rule out Brexit trade pact delay
17 December 2019
The Washington Post
Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform think tank said Johnson likely believed that a “firm deadline” would help speed up trade talks with the EU. But he told the BBC that the British government “could easily introduce a later bill saying ‘actually we could extend it.’”“It’s a firmer deadline, but of course there is still some flexibility,” Lowe said.
BBC Today programme: Brexit deadline
17 December 2019
"Johnson is introducing this bill to give himself a firm deadline, but he has a big majority and he could easily introduce a later bill...you could call it domestic virtue signalling" Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform told BBC Today programme.
BBC News: Brexit bill amendment
17 December 2019
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a senior researcher at the Centre for European Reform spoke to BBC News, "a tight deadline for reaching a post-Brexit trade agreement actually helps the EU to focus minds".
The four possible scenarios of Boris Johnson's Brexit negotiations
17 December 2019
The Telepgraph
Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, has speculated that such a mechanism could be modelled on the agreement offered to the Swiss to manage their relationship with the EU.
UK's Johnson seeks to outlaw extension of EU trade pact talks
17 December 2019
France 24
Sam Lowe, from the Centre for European Reform think tank, said there would be a lot of "performance theatre" from the government in the next six months to fulfil Johnson's Brexit pledge."The landing zone for the negotiation probably won't emerge until later next year," he wrote on Twitter.
Die Angst vor dem No-Deal-Brexit ist zurück
17 December 2019
Handelsblatt
Der Vorstoß sei „ein bisschen theatralisch”, findet auch Brexit-Experte Sam Lowe vom Centre for European Reform, „das Datum wird festgeschrieben, aber natürlich ist das flexibel“, sagt er im BBC. Die entscheidende Frage sei, ob Boris Johnson einen No-Deal wolle oder nicht. „Die Vergangenheit zeigt, dass er das nicht tut“.
UK's Johnson seeks to rule out Brexit trade pact delay
17 December 2019
The New York Times
Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform think tank said Johnson likely believed that a “firm deadline” would help speed up trade talks with the EU. But he told the BBC that the British government “could easily introduce a later bill saying ‘actually we could extend it.’”“It’s a firmer deadline, but of course there is still some flexibility,” Lowe said.
BBC News: MPs return to Westminster
16 December 2019
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform outlined the trade-off between post-Brexit trade deals with the EU and the US of BBC News.