Press
High heels, tiny bikinis and Soviet nostalgia: Why is Miss USSR happening in London?
27 April 2019
The Independent
“It shows a serious lack of taste and historical awareness,” former British ambassador to Latvia Ian Bond told The Independent, now foreign policy director at the Centre for European Reform.“Imagine if someone organised a 'Miss Third Reich' competition for women from countries occupied by the Nazis? Or even 'Miss British Empire'?!” he adds.
Italy and the EP elections
26 April 2019
Clingendael
The European Parliament elections will be a crucial test for all political forces in Italy, and could accelerate the end of the uncomfortable coalition between the right-wing anti-immigration League, and the populist Five Star Movement (5S).
The European Parliament’s big Brexit problem
24 April 2019
Politico
“British MEPs will have to be included in the whole game of thrones,” said Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think tank. “These elections, irrespective of the result they will bring, will bring a certain chaos in the internal working of the European Parliament.”
CER podcast: Europe and Saudi Arabia after Khashoggi
24 April 2019
Sophia Besch asks Beth Oppenheim whether the European-Saudi relationship has changed after the murder of Jamal Khashoggi last October.
Britain ‘could survive no-deal Brexit with AAA rating intact’
23 April 2019
The Times
In the meantime, the UK will “grow at a slower pace than under no Brexit”. However, it claimed that “in the absence of a disorderly no-deal exit, the initial shock to the UK economy has to some extent already fed through”. It cited research by the Centre for European Reform, which estimated the cost at 2.3 per cent of GDP since the June 2016 referendum.
The chances of a Brexit deal between Labour and Tories seem small
17 April 2019
The Economist
Being in a customs union may indeed make it impossible to do independent trade deals for goods. But Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, notes that this does not preclude deals on services, public procurement or immigration visas, even if it makes them harder.
How the City of London’s Brexit lobbying barrage failed
15 April 2019
Financial Times
The sector recognised how much it stood to lose if it did not keep its connections with the EU but the travelling caravan ruffled more than a few feathers. “There are lots of stories of arrogance . . . about the UK going round European capitals and saying ‘you need us’. That got people’s backs up,” said Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform think-tank.
Brussels goes ahead with US trade talks despite French opposition
15 April 2019
The Telegraph
Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform said the step was an effort to “stall Trump” in the imposition of vehicle tariffs.
The step is “probably all the EU can do” and will not necessarily achieve more than a delay to tariffs coming into force, Mr Lowe added. He expects the levies to come into force, possibly before the end of this year.
The step is “probably all the EU can do” and will not necessarily achieve more than a delay to tariffs coming into force, Mr Lowe added. He expects the levies to come into force, possibly before the end of this year.
Theresa May CANCELS Easter break for Brexit negotiators to fight Nigel Farage
13 April 2019
The Mirror
The People’s Vote campaign says the economy shrunk by £40 billion to £51 billion a year compared to where it would be if Britain voted to stay in 2016. Economists at the Centre for European Reform say the £360 million a week black hole – more than the £350 million Brexit boost bus claim – hit tax revenue, deepening and extending austerity.
No-deal Brexit: What it means, how it could happen, and how it might affect daily life in the UK
11 April 2019
The Telegraph
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, is confident that if the crunch comes EU member states will strike bilateral side-deals with the UK to cushion the blow. “For now the Commission is taking a strong line, but EU member states will have to look after their own interests”, he predicts.
Macron tests German patience in split over Brexit delay
11 April 2019
Reuters
“Franco-German relations are in a troubled period,” said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform. He cited differences on euro zone reform, relations with the United States, EU defence policy and tax rules for the digital economy.
“More broadly, France wants Europe to be a power and therefore believes it needs radical reform,” Grant said. Germany is quite happy with the way the EU works at the moment.”
“More broadly, France wants Europe to be a power and therefore believes it needs radical reform,” Grant said. Germany is quite happy with the way the EU works at the moment.”
BBC News: New Brexit extension
11 April 2019
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform spoke to BBC News about the new Brexit extension (at 11.45).
Judy Asks: Is Brexit bad for Europe?
11 April 2019
Carnegie Europe
Yes – and that’s not just British hubris. True, Britain has always been an awkward member of the EU, pushing back against continental hopes for a more federalist Union.
Tok FM: Agata Gostyńska "Po raz pierwszy mam poczucie - a może jednak nie wyjdą?"
11 April 2019
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform commented on the EUCO summit and the Brexit extension.
CER podcast: The cost of Brexit to December 2018
10 April 2019
The UK economy is 2.5 per cent smaller as a result of the vote to leave the EU. John Springford talks to Beth Oppenheim about his latest analysis and draws some political lessons from the findings.
Brussels weighs risks of parting shots from Britain
09 April 2019
Financial Times
Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, argues the concerns over the UK “are overblown” given UK interests in maintaining goodwill with the EU, whatever government holds office in London,“The Jacob Rees-Mogg strategy of guerrilla warfare from within would preclude that,” said Mr Grant. “And if a hardline Eurosceptic government sought to provoke the EU into forcing the British out via a no-deal situation, parliament would not stand for it. Jacob Rees-Mogg can huff and puff and feel good about what he says but it’s not a strategy that will win support among MPs.”
In Brexit delay, UK economy remains prisoner of uncertainty
09 April 2019
The Daily Mail
According to the Centre for European Reform, the British economy is 2.5% smaller than it would have been if the country had voted to remain in the EU, largely due to higher inflation and lower investment."The UK missed out on a broad-based upturn in growth among advanced economies in 2017 and early 2018 and the economic cost of the decision so far is sizeable," said CER's deputy director, John Springford.
Newsnight: The how, why and if of the new Brexit extension
09 April 2019
European fears that the UK would disrupt EU affairs during a further Brexit extension are probably overblown, Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform tells BBC Newsnight (from 06:28 mins).
Aljazeera: Right wing populist alliance
08 April 2019
Luigi Scazzieri, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform argues that the new right wing populist alliance is internally divided, and will find it difficult to co-perate in the new European Parliament.
Le Pen and Italy’s right in joint assault on EU parliament
07 April 2019
The Sunday Times
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, is sceptical about the chance of unity. “There is something about far-right groups, a bit like Trotskyites on the left, that makes them fissiparous and unable to work together,” he said.