Press
The ECB presidency is distinct but not immune from backroom deals
14 June 2019
The Economist
Mr Weidmann is the most contentious candidate. His vocal opposition to ECB asset-purchase programmes was reportedly derided by Mr Draghi as “Nein zu allem”(“No to everything”). Appointing him would be a mistake, says Christian Odendahl of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank: the bank would be less activist in downturns and less supportive of fiscal easing.
Businesses must brace themselves for Tories’ brave new post-no-deal world
13 June 2019
The Times
Meanwhile, the government’s publishing of its own no-deal tariff plans, which showed that Britain was prepared to slash tariffs in many sectors, seems to have discouraged some countries such as Canada from engaging in trade talks, according to Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform.
The importance of being protectionist: A long view of the European Defense Fund
13 June 2019
War on the rocks
In 2017, EU officials rejoiced. They claimed to have accomplished more in 10 months than in 10 years in the field of defense, having launched three new initiatives to strengthen defense industrial co-operation, first and foremost the European Defense Fund.
Sky News: Tory leadership race: The view from Brussels
13 June 2019
Three EU experts discuss the candidates, their promises and whether those promises have any basis in reality.
Jens Weidmann, el alemán que asusta como candidato para presidir el Banco Central Europeo
12 June 2019
El Espanol
Se convertirán España y el resto de países del sur en las principales víctimas colaterales de una presidencia de Weidmann? "Planteemos la cuestión al revés. Alemania podría vivir con una presidencia de Weidmann. Los países más fuertes no necesitan apoyo. En la próxima crisis, Alemania no se enfrenta a ninguna restricción en materia de política fiscal y lo tendrá relativamente fácil para estimular su economía", responde a EL ESPAÑOL el economista alemán Christian Odendahl, del Centre for European Reform.
The EU's new commission will be a different animal when it comes to Brexit
11 June 2019
The Telegraph
“Barnier has been currying favour with Macron,” said Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform. “The French and the Spanish want to throw the Brits out as soon as possible but the others don’t.”
Make no mistake, one way or another NHS data is on the table in America trade talks
08 June 2019
The Times
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, was quick to point out one area where the NHS is already “on the table” — American companies can bid for contracts such as Babylon Health’s GP advice service — and another that is not. The United States wants the NHS to pay more for drugs and could try to incorporate a new reimbursement structure in a trade deal.
France Culture Podcast: Affaires étrangères - Brexit
08 June 2019
Usée par le Brexit, critiquée, Theresa May quitte la tête du Parti Conservateur qui a subi une lourde défaite. Elle a démissionné le 7 juin, mais reste Premier Ministre, le temps de la succession. Qui va mettre en oeuvre le Brexit? Jusqu'où Nigel Farage, grand vainqueur des élections, peut-il peser?
Not playing NICE: UK drugs gatekeeper in US crosshairs
07 June 2019
Politico
“They propose … an agreement by both parties to recognize a variety of value criteria; and that [health technology assessment] should not be the principle framework for assessing value,” said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.
Judy Asks: Is Germany's political crisis dangerous for Europe?
06 June 2019
Carnegie Europe
Europe needs Germany to help the continent respond to external challenges such as the changes in the relationships with China and the United States, and to lead internal EU reform.
CER podcast: What is a customs union?
05 June 2019
Sophia Besch asks Sam Lowe to explain what a customs union is. Sam argues that a customs union is still compatible with an effective UK trade policy.
Defiant and upbeat, can the ERG's no-deal manifesto break the Brexit impasse?
05 June 2019
The Telegraph
“There is little new here,” said Sam Lowe, trade expert at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. “Mr Baker wants a transition period and a basic free trade agreement without a Withdrawal Agreement and a backstop for Northern Ireland - something that the EU insists is not on the table.”
Would a trade deal with Trump boost Brexit Britain?
04 June 2019
Financial Times
Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said it was “nonsensical” to argue there could be a big enough surge in US-UK trade to make up such a gap because London and Washington do not envisage a free trade agreement remotely as deep as the EU single market.“We are hugely integrated in the EU economy and for any US deal, the most we are looking at is tariff reduction,” he said. Other motors of trade such as common standards and regulatory alignment would be much less touched by any US-UK agreement.
UK hopes trade deal with US could soften Brexit blow
04 June 2019
Deutsche Welle
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, shares a similar view and says it's "nonsensical" to believe there will be a big enough surge in bilateral trade with the US to close the gap. "We are hugely integrated into the EU economy and for any US deal, the most we are looking at is tariff reduction," he told the British business daily Financial Times recently.
US takes aim at the UK's National Health Service
04 June 2019
Politico
“The US has long taken issue with the fact that the NHS’s approach to drug procurement… pulls down prices worldwide,” said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, in an op-ed.
The long, winding road to Trump's 'phenomenal' UK trade deal
04 June 2019
Bloomberg
“All of the issues that previously emerged during the TTIP negotiations will reappear,” said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank in London. “Talk of chlorine chicken and takeovers of the NHS, however accurate or not, already have public salience,” he said, referring to the UK’s National Health Service.
The UK has much to fear from a US trade agreement
03 June 2019
The New Statesman
Any deal with Trump would likely stray into areas such as food safety and drug pricing — and the president would come back for more.
Abogados internacionales piden a La Haya que investigue a la UE por crímenes contra la humanidad por su política migratoria
03 June 2019
El Pais
No así, en aguas territoriales libias, como recuerda Camino Mortera-Martínez, experta legal del Center for European Reform. “Lo que intenta la UE es que no lleguen a aguas internacionales porque ahí estarían obligados a la búsqueda y rescate. En las aguas libias es Libia quien tiene la responsabilidad”.
Germany's resurgent Greens set the agenda as SPD flounders
03 June 2019
The Guardian
“It’s significant that an established centrist party is at last prepared to open up the discussion whether the debt brake still makes sense,” said Christian Odendahl, the chief economist at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. “That party should really have been the Social Democrats, but they were too cautious about offending fiscal conservatives among their electorate.”
The maths of a trade deal with Trump do not add up
03 June 2019
The Telegraph
Indeed, as Sam Lowe, at the Centre for European Reform points out, the UK White Paper talks about using “mutual recognition of conformity assessment” to allow US products into the UK, but the US is clearly not interested in negotiating on that basis.