Press
EU prepares huge aid package for Ireland
22 July 2019
The Times
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said that EU figures were increasingly pessimistic about a deal being done. “I would say that, having talked to senior figures in Brussels and other European capitals, they now believe no-deal is more likely than not,” he said.
Room for Thought: Europe - a Leaver and Remainer talk across the divide
20 July 2019
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform and Douglas Carswell discussed thier differing views of Europe in this interview.
BBC World Service: The Real story - Europe's migration standoff
20 July 2019
Luigi Scazzieri a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform discusses is it time for the EU to forge a new pact on migration and asylum?
EU officials don't relish the idea of no deal – but they are prepared to play hardball
19 July 2019
The Guardian
Brussels is gloomy about the prospect of Britain crashing out, but political realities could see a compromise emerge.
Kristendemokraten von der Leyen drejer EU-Kommissionen til venstre
18 July 2019
Kristeligt Dagblad
Men samtidig var det blandt andre de nationalkonservative polske medlemmer af Parlamentet, der sikrede hende pladsen for bordenden i EU-Kommissionen. Og de østeuropæiske regeringer tager fejl, hvis de regner med at få medvind fra Ursula von der Leyen, mener Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska, seniorforsker ved tænketanken Centre for European Reform i Bruxelles.
What's next for Europe's capital markets?
18 July 2019
Project Syndicate
Without the UK, even integrated EU capital markets would be too small to meet the funding needs of European businesses. That is why global engagement, even at the cost of losing regulatory control, is critical.
CER podcast: Does the EU need a common arms export policy?
17 July 2019
Sophia Besch and Beth Oppenheim discuss the state of the EU's arms export regime, and whether the Union needs a genuinely common and enforceable policy.
Johnson ‘closing off escape routes’ on road to no-deal Brexit
16 July 2019
Fiancial Times
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said Mr Johnson — the frontrunner — could have chosen a strategy of “putting lipstick” on Theresa May’s deal and trying to ram it through parliament in the autumn.
A Boris Johnson declaration of no deal?
16 July 2019
Financial Times
To get a sense of how grim things appear, it’s worth looking at this Twitter thread by Charles Grant, head of the Centre for European Reform. He has been holding talks with EU officials and yesterday spelled out what the four routes to a revised Brexit deal could be.
Tories back Johnson despite mistakes
16 July 2019
The Guardian
Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform says the EU will not blink on renegotiation. It could, however, offer a new political declaration on the future relationship, confirm it does not want the backstop to be permanent, and offer a longer transition – though none of those are sure to make a difference in Westminster.
European divisions on display as Ursula von der Leyen wins narrow approval for EU's top job
16 July 2019
The Washington Post
“European elections delivered a much more fragmented Parliament,” said Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska, an expert on European politics at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank. “What is going to be pretty prominent is that the euroskeptics who failed to obtain a blocking minority in the European Parliament will try to expose the vulnerabilities of this pro-European coalition.”
Ursula von der Leyen isn't perfect, but she's better than the alternative
15 July 2019
Foreign Policy
Opposing the compromise candidate for EU commission president will further empower populists and Euroskeptics.
Europe can’t afford to turn away from London
15 July 2019
City A.M
Today, the EU’s former director-general for financial stability, financial services and capital markets union Sir Jonathan Faull reignites the debate and lays down a challenge to authorities on both sides of the channel.In a new report for the Centre for European Reform, Faull and top City lawyer Simon Gleeson question how the EU can push ahead with its highly-prized (but stalled) ambition of creating a dynamic EU-wide capital market without continued access to the City of London.
Chief trade negotiator: UK had little influence before Brexit vote
15 July 2019
Sky News
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform and a member of the government's Strategic Trade Advisory Group, told Sky News that trade policy remained "in a state of flux" and that he was "not sure it's true" to say that Britain's influence had grown.Mr Lowe said: "The UK right now is not viewed as a bastion of free trade. Brexit is viewed as protectionism - we're putting up barriers to trade with our biggest market. There's some hope that the UK might move into this role in the future, but to be honest, until the relationship with the EU is settled, people are just holding their breath."
Brexit effect? Europe's populists back away from calls to leave the union
14 July 2019
NBC News
“Populists are very good at reading public opinion,” said Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a senior research fellow at the Center for European Reform, a think tank in Brussels.
Transatlantic divergence in the Middle East
11 July 2019
E!Sharp
From Libya to Iran, Donald Trump has re-orientated US policy in the Middle East, opening a rift with Europe.
Johnson risks Whitehall backlash over ambassador’s downfall
10 July 2019
The Financial Times
Ian Bond, a former UK ambassador who is now foreign policy director at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, said: “The implication of comments made by Boris Johnson is that civil servants and diplomats will have to shape their reporting and prejudices if he gets to Number 10. What he is saying is: ‘If we don’t like your reporting or your advice, we won’t stand by you’.”
Boris Johnson and Donald Trump's UK-US trade deal ‘will never happen’, Cabinet Minister warns
10 July 2019
The Huffington Post
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think tank, said: “If the UK wants to quickly conclude a trade agreement with the US it will need to accept nearly all of the US’s demands.“This is particularly true of agriculture and food hygiene issues, which the US views as a key aggressive interest.
Peston Live ITV: Geek of the week
10 July 2019
What would the EU have made of what Boris Johnson and Jeremy Hunt said about Brexit in the ITV debate? Our Geek Of The Week Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska of the Centre for European Reform scored it 7:1 on the ‘unicorn’ scale to Boris Johnson.
Greece's experiment with populism holds lessons for Europe
09 July 2019
The New York Times
Greece represented a special, wrenching case, but its experience showed that, especially for small countries, if you are in the eurozone, “you’re not free to run a radical financial policy,” said Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform. “The combination of EU rules and the financial markets forced a kind of orthodoxy on Greece, and will probably work similarly with Italy.”