Press
As EU negotiations stall, London opens talks on US trade pact
05 May 2020
EurActiv
“We are still seeing a divide in government between those who want to sign whatever the US puts in front of it,” Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform and a member of the UK government’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group, told EURACTIV. “The US, as with the EU, tends to get what it wants,” said Lowe.
The German radical right are not so hit by the virus: a reply to Hans-Georg Betz
05 May 2020
Open democracy
The EU has failed in its response as a solidarity community for a long a time now. This longstanding institutional decline began with the financial crisis in 2008, the ‘refugee crisis’ and now the Covid-19 crisis. Luigi Scazzieri from the Centre for European Reform writes:
As world starts reopening, borders remain firmly shut
01 May 2020
The Straits Times
"It's highly likely that international borders will remain partly closed until the pandemic is under control both in Europe and in the US, which is unlikely to happen at the same time," said Mr Luigi Scazzieri, an expert on migration and transatlantic relations at the Centre for European Reform in London.
Coronavirus tests state of the unions on both sides of Atlantic
29 April 2020
Bloomberg
“If the EU does not provide the solidarity and insurance in such a crisis, parts of the EU may then question what the EU is for,” said Christian Odendahl, Berlin-based chief economist at the Centre for European Reform. “That’s why countries like Germany have been willing to debate the matter of aid - and even transfers to the south.”
Why Keir Starmer must revamp Labour's trade strategy
28 April 2020
Prospect
The world is facing a combination of US-China trade wars and new export restrictions on essential supplies thanks to Covid-19. Added to that the British government is in the process of Brexit.
EU in crisis: Brussels now WEAKER warn EU nationals as coronavirus tearing block apart
28 April 2020
The Express
The Centre for European Reform said the EU’s slow response to Italy’s outbreak, the worst-hit in Europe, has led to a surge in euroscepticism in Italy including among pro-Europeans.
The research centre wrote on April 2: “After the migration and eurozone crises, the EU’s initially poor response has reinforced concerns that the bloc is unwilling to help when Italy is most in need.”
The research centre wrote on April 2: “After the migration and eurozone crises, the EU’s initially poor response has reinforced concerns that the bloc is unwilling to help when Italy is most in need.”
UK will need to extend Brexit transition, Merkel ally warns Britain
26 April 2020
The Observer
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, who is regularly in touch with diplomats in EU capitals, said: “It will be very hard for both sides to reach the outlines of a free trade agreement by autumn, or indeed by June, which is when the PM wants to take a decision on whether it is worth pursuing a free trade agreement.
Brexit talks resume: who is involved and what is being covered?
24 April 2020
The Guardian
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform thinktank, believes an extension is inevitable but Johnson has “no incentive” to seek one until June, the deadline for a one-off UK request.
“A free-trade agreement could still be agreed but it would be hard to implement. Even if we were coming to the end of this pandemic by then, businesses will be not be prepared,” said Lowe, who described himself as optimistic that a free-trade deal could be done by the end of the year, albeit a poor one.
“A free-trade agreement could still be agreed but it would be hard to implement. Even if we were coming to the end of this pandemic by then, businesses will be not be prepared,” said Lowe, who described himself as optimistic that a free-trade deal could be done by the end of the year, albeit a poor one.
Judy Asks: Should Europe have common debt?
23 April 2020
Carnegie Europe
How to deal with the economic costs of the coronavirus is dividing the eurozone countries once again.
How Germany was able to flatten the curve
23 April 2020
The New European
Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in Berlin, put it like this: The “Anglo-Saxon idolising of Merkel is a bit pathetic, but understandable,” Odendahl’s scathing comment on Twitter went: “The political leadership of both the US and the UK is a parody, and so you are naturally drawn to the polar opposite – which is Merkel.”
CER podcast: What does COVID-19 mean for the EU-UK trade talks?
22 April 2020
Charles Grant and Sam Lowe discuss the impact COVID-19 has had on the EU-UK trade talks, and whether the pandemic will lead to the transition period being extended, taking into account the arguments for and against.
10 things to change after corona
21 April 2020
The Chosunilbo
The corona crisis put the EU (European Union) vulnerable back into the test, after weakened by Brexit (the British withdrawal from the European Union). In particular, the imbalance in the EU is deepening as southern Europe, which has suffered economic crises such as Italy and Spain, has been hit harder by Corona. Southern Europe has already paralyzed the real economy from massive national debt. If any country in southern Europe collapses, it means a retreat in European integration.
Coronavirus: EU struggling to show solidarity in face of ‘existential’ crisis
21 April 2020
The Parliament Magazine
The EU’s response to COVID-19 has given plenty of ammunition to its opponents. Frontiers have been closed and supply chains broken as countries have put their own needs first.
The case for a Brextension
21 April 2020
Financial Times
EU and UK Brexit negotiators held their latest round of virtual talks on Monday. Samuel Lowe at the Centre for European Reform makes the case for both sides to agree a maximum two-year extension that can be ended early if a future relationship deal is agreed after the pandemic.
Here's how the UK should work with EU to combat coronavirus and end the lockdown
16 April 2020
The Telegraph
As the coronavirus pandemic continues its rampage around Europe, neither the British government nor the EU plans to extend the transition period.
Cómo debe la UE coordinar la salida del confinamiento
16 April 2020
El Pais
Los gobiernos europeos esperan que las ‘apps’ de rastreo de casos les permitan relajar el confinamiento.
Pandemic across Europe - Data rush
15 April 2020
Financial Times
John Springford at the Centre for European Reform thinks tracing technologies are a prerequisite for post-lockdown life but warns that without mass testing in member states, they may still prove ineffective: “To avoid further mass outbreaks, member states must first continue to build testing capacity and develop contact tracing systems. Only then can they slowly ease restrictions, in order to determine the effects of different interventions on infection rates. The EU can help to ensure that all member states have the tests and technology to be able to do so, exchange information between them about what works and what does not, and ensure that citizens’ privacy is respected.”
UK resists calls for Brexit transition extension despite Covid-19 crisis
15 April 2020
Global Trade Review
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform (CER) think-tank and a committee member of the UK Trade Forum, pointed out in January that even if a free trade deal was agreed in time, that would still likely result in the immediate introduction of new barriers to trade.
Il tracciamento, anonimo, è realizzabile, ma senza una politica di test di massa non ha senso
14 April 2020
EU News
Un paper di John Springford, vice direttore del Centre for European Reform, i governi europei sperano che le app possano consentire di allentare i blocchi. Ma molto lavoro deve essere fatto a livello sia nazionale che europeo prima che le restrizioni possano essere alleviate.
Coronavirus crisis revives Franco-German relations
13 April 2020
Financial Times
“It is clear that they are not on the same page yet when it comes to the recovery fund,” said Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform. “The divide is still there.” Or, as one German official put it, “We agreed to disagree”.