Press
Johnson calls for tempers to cool after MPs slam his 'inflammatory' Brexit language
26 September 2019
ITV News
Former Tory Prime Minister John Major has accused Mr Johnson of “wilfully” destroying the prospects of cross-agreement on Brexit after the language row, and turning the Tory party into a “Brexit party tribute band”.“Most Conservatives are not a Brexit Party tribute band, nor have we abandoned our core values to find compromise, seek allies, and strive for unity, rather than division and disarray,” he said in a speech for the Centre for European Reform.
Exclusive: Government plan to invoke EU law's supremacy to ensure Brexit on Halloween
26 September 2019
City A.M
Former Prime Minister and Remain campaigner Sir John Major gave a speech saying he believed the plan was to “bypass Statute Law, by passing an Order of Council to suspend the Act until after 31 October.” He told attendees at a Centre for European Reform event, held at the Spanish Embassy: “It is important to note that an Order of Council can be passed by Privy Councillors – that is Government Ministers – without involving HM The Queen.”
Dominic Cummings: MPs who refuse to accept Leave vote should not be 'surprised' about anger building against them
26 September 2019
The Telegraph
Sir John Major, the former Conservative prime minister, said a general election would be “pointless” in the current climate and “would be likely to become the most unsavoury election of modern times”. Speaking at the Centre For European Reform in London, he said: “All parties profess to believe an election is necessary to clear the air. I disagree. “Until Brexit is resolved, a general election would solve nothing. It would merely fuel the current feeling of disillusionment and disunity. Far from healing the nation, it would scratch away at open wounds.
Sir John Major warns Boris Johnson could use 'political chicanery' to force through no-deal Brexit
26 September 2019
Politics Home
Boris Johnson could resort to "political chicanery" to bypass a law designed to stop a no-deal Brexit, Sir John Major has claimed. He said the Prime Minister could use a so-called "Order of Council" to avoid implementing the legislation until after 31 October.Sir John said Mr Johnson could carry out the move through the Privy Council, meaning Parliament would not be able to block it.That way, the PM could meet his "do or die" pledge to have the UK out of the EU by Hallowe'en.
Podcast du jour
26 September 2019
Financial Times
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska and Sophia Besch of the Centre for European Reform walk through the who’s who in Ursula’s von der Leyen’s incoming European Commission.
Trade on a low-carbon diet
26 September 2019
Financial Times
One of the more creative attempts to solve this problem was published this week by the redoubtable Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform. In Big Sam’s proposal, the CBT would be linked to the costs of buying carbon permits under the EU’s emissions trading scheme. A foreign exporter to the EU would have to pay a border tax equivalent to the cost of buying emissions permits to produce the same good inside the Single Market.
A landing zone for an orderly Brexit
26 September 2019
Financial Times
The Centre for European Reform’s Sam Lowe analyses the idea of a “carbon border tax” — a tariff on the CO2 content of imports — for the EU, a proposal that is rapidly moving to the centre of European trade policy debates.
Boris Johnson could bypass key law blocking no-deal Brexit by issuing order to suspend it, John Major warns
26 September 2019
The Independent
Boris Johnson may be planning to bypass a law blocking a no-deal Brexit by issuing an order to suspend it until after the scheduled date of Britain’s EU withdrawal on 31 October, former prime minister Sir John Major has warned.The order could be passed by ministers acting in the Privy Council without the involvement of parliament or the Queen, said Sir John, who denounced the tactic as “a piece of political chicanery that no one should ever forgive or forget”.
Johnson defends language after criticism from MPs
26 September 2019
BBC News
Former Conservative prime minister Sir John Major has criticised Mr Johnson and warned that a "general election would solve nothing" in the Brexit crisis.Mr Johnson has been calling for an early general election, but under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act he needs the support of two-thirds of MPs. He has twice failed to achieve this.Speaking to the Centre for European Reform, Sir John said an election "would merely fuel the current feeling of disillusionment and disunity".
Who should hold Europe's arms?
25 September 2019
Project Syndicate
Although the EU has one of the world's strongest arms-export frameworks, the rules are not enforced. If Europe is to have any chance of deepening defense co-operation, let alone creating a defense union, that must change.
Taxing times
25 September 2019
Financial Times
Taxing times It’s complicated, potentially illegal, and politically sensitive but Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform has some ideas on how the EU can design a well-functioning carbon border tax.
Everything you need to know about the UK Supreme Court ruling
25 September 2019
Politico
“[The court ruling] doesn’t make a big impact on the outcome of Brexit in the long run," Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform think tank, said. "What matters most is whether Boris can get a deal with the EU27."
Where Boris Johnson went wrong
25 September 2019
Politico
After his chastening defeat in the Supreme Court, Johnson may think twice about trying to defy the law a second time by simply refusing to abide by the Benn Act, said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform think tank.
Bloomberg: CER's Springford: Court judgementmakes deal harder for Johnson
25 September 2019
Boris Johnson’s authority has been badly damaged by the Supreme Court verdict, according to John Springford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, and that makes EU leaders less likely to make concessions in the negotiations. He tells Daybreak Europe’s Nejra Cehic and Roger Hearing an extension beyond October 31 to get a deal from Brussels is now a bit more likely.
Planet Europe
24 September 2019
Financial Times
Noah Gordon at the Centre for European Reform writes persuasively on why EU leaders should ramp up their 2030 carbon emissions target from a 40 per cent reduction on the 1990 level to closer to 60 per cent.
Boosting the role of national parliaments in EU democracy
24 September 2019
Carnegie Europe
Getting national legislators more involved in EU affairs could help the European Parliament boost its legitimacy in the eyes of voters.
Brexit: la suspension du Parlement britannique jugée illégale
24 September 2019
Le Point
Pour Charles Grant, directeur du think tank Centre for European Reform, personne ne connaît les intentions réelles du Premier ministre. Reste que ses interventions musclées et les commentaires de son entourage indiquent que sa voie préférée reste une sortie au 31 octobre « quoi qu'il arrive ».
En cas de « no deal » sur le Brexit, l’apocalypse n’aura pas lieu
24 September 2019
Le Monde
Même les experts pro-européens le reconnaissent. C’est le cas de Sam Lowe, un spécialiste des relations commerciales au Centre for European Reform, un groupe de réflexion. « En cas de “no deal”, les opposants au Brexit vont subir un contrecoup. Ce ne sera pas l’apocalypse. On trouvera à manger. »
CER podcast: Meet the new European Commission
24 September 2019
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska talks to Sophia Besch about the new European Commission. Who are Ursula von der Leyen's new commissioners – and what happens next?
Johnson seeks to woo US business with low-tax vision
23 September 2019
Financial Times
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, has warned the threat of future regulatory divergence between Britain and the EU could complicate the immediate task of brokering a Brexit deal, including arrangements to avoid the return to hard Irish border.“Johnson says he wants a minimal, Canada-style free trade agreement, with pronounced regulatory divergence from the 27 [other EU member states],” Mr Grant wrote.“That would increase the regulatory gap between Ireland and the UK, thus making the EU even keener to maintain some sort of . . . way of avoiding the need for controls on or near the Irish border.”