Press
CNBC: Brexit divorce bill price won't be most difficult issue to solve
24 November 2017
How the UK government approaches the Irish border will be "much more difficult," Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, told CNBC.
Brexit bulletin: Suspicious minds
24 November 2017
Bloomberg
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, predicted this week that if there’s no breakthrough in December, it will be Ireland, not the financial settlement, that scuppers it.
Britain to face BIGGER issues than EU's demand for HUGE Brexit divorce bill, warns expert
24 November 2017
The Express
Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform (CER), said the EU’s demand for a Brexit divorce bill is a small issue in comparison to the Irish border. Speaking to CNBC, Mr Bond said: “I don’t really think at the moment that the exit price is going to be the most difficult thing to solve. I mean, that in a sense is arguing about the price of the carpet.
Michel Barnier knows the real meaning of 'taking back control'
23 November 2017
The Evening Standard
It is ironic that those on the extreme Right who want to leave the EU will thereby demolish the biggest block to Corbyn’s economic policies. It is interesting, too, that the one politician who has a clear idea of the meaning of “take back control” is not British. Michel Barnier, the European Union’s chief negotiator in the Brexit talks, made this clear at a conference on Monday in Brussels, organised by the Centre for European Reform.
Eastern partners, eastern problems
23 November 2017
EU Observer
You can tell something about the degree of enthusiasm the EU has for relations with its eastern partners from the 'Myths about the Eastern Partnership' factsheet posted on an EU website on the eve of the fifth 'Eastern Partnership' summit on November 24th.
The British machine is 'Getting its act together' on Brexit
22 November 2017
Bloomberg
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, which has a track record of predicting the next steps in Brexit talks, said the perception in Brussels of the British team has improved, and with it the chances of a deal to allow negotiations to move from separation to trade. “EU officials say that British officials are being impressive, and guiding the politicians. The Treasury is more involved and that pleases them, because the Treasury is switched on,” Grant said in an interview. “May is more involved and that pleases them. The British machine is getting its act together.”
EU Commission gives grave WARNING to UK businesses after Barnier SCRAPS passporting rights
22 November 2017
The Express
The EU’s chief Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier said on Monday that if the UK leave the single market then financial firms will lose their EU passporting rights. He claimed the UK cannot “cherry pick” at aspects of the single market and it will lose the benefits of the single market when it leaves the European Union. Speaking at a conference by the Centre for European Reform, Mr Barnier said: “On financial services, UK voices suggest that Brexit does not mean Brexit. Brexit means Brexit, everywhere.
Time for tough love for EU rule breakers
22 November 2017
Financial Times
Brussels should withhold structural funds from countries in breach of the rule of law, argue Jasna Šelih, Ian Bond and Carl Dolan in a new report for the Centre for European Reform.
'You're powerless!' Bombshell report urges Brussels to punish states flouting 'EU values'
22 November 2017
The Express
Brussles should be granted the power to punish rogue member states flouting “EU values” by withholding billions of pounds in funding from them, a landmark report says today. The dossier, compiled by the influential Centre for European Reform think tank, says the bloc’s current deterrents are too weak and have “proved impossible to use in practice”.
CER podcast series: How to save the EU
22 November 2017
In November, the CER took more than 50 of Europe's top economists and political commentators to a conference on 'How to save the EU'.
Judy Asks: Can Merkel pull through?
22 November 2017
Carnegie Europe
When I floated the idea of a German minority government in early September and argued that there were upsides to it, the reaction was critical, bordering on hostile.
Macron takes Europe's center stage while Merkel falters
21 November 2017
The Daily Mail
"Macron can only really lead Europe if he is in full cooperation with Germany," said Simon Tilford, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform. "France needs an engaged, co-operative Germany."
Keine Angst vor dem Gespenst Minderheitsregierung!
21 November 2017
Die Welt
Seit die FDP die Verhandlungen über Jamaika platzen ließ, geht in Deutschland ein Gespenst um: das Gespenst der Minderheitsregierung.
Brexiteers call on May to exploit Merkel crisis
21 November 2017
The Times
The developments in Britain took place as Michel Barnier, the EU Brexit negotiator, backed Ireland’s bid to avoid a hard border. “I know that this point is politically sensitive in the UK, it is not less sensitive in Ireland,” he said at a Centre for European Reform conference in Brussels yesterday.
Merkel's troubles may spell trouble for all of Europe
21 November 2017
The New York Times
“I don’t think it makes much difference to Brexit in the short term, because the positions of various parties in Berlin are all pretty hard-line on the issues,” said Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform. “But it might matter in the long term, because if the negotiations get stuck, Merkel and Macron could intervene to get a deal,” he said. “That might not happen if Merkel disappears, because the EU got used to her knocking heads together.”
Barnier to UK: Staying close to EU model could be ‘decisive’
20 November 2017
Politico
The U.K. needs to decide if it wants to stay “close to the European model” after leaving the EU or “gradually move away from it,” Michel Barnier, the bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator, said Monday.In a speech at the Brussels base of the Centre for European Reform, a British think-tank, Barnier said the answer to that question “will be important and even decisive” for the future partnership “and shape also the conditions for ratification of that partnership in many national parliaments and obviously in the European Parliament.”
What does Merkel’s coalition crisis mean for Brexit?
20 November 2017
Channel 4 News
Michel Barnier, speaking to the Centre for European Reform in Brussels, has warned that ratification by EU Parliaments will be tricky if the UK goes down the route preferred by the more ardent Brexiteers and chooses to diverge from EU rules. Michel Barnier’s speech was peppered with warnings for UK politicians who still think that a Brexit deal could see many of the advantages of current smooth access to the Single Market continuing post Brexit even if the UK tries to diverge from EU rules.
EU's preference is ambitious trade deal with UK - EU's Barnier
20 November 2017
Reuters
“If we manage to negotiate an orderly withdrawal, to fully respect the integrity of the single market and establish a level playing field, there is every reason for our future partnership to be ambitious. This is our preferred option,” Michel Barnier told the Centre for European conference in Brussels on Monday.
Barnier raises Irish obstacle as UK moves on Brexit bill
20 November 2017
Bloomberg
Barnier told a Centre for European Reform conference in Brussels on Monday that Northern Ireland will require a specific solution and that it’s up to “those who wanted Brexit” to come up with ideas. In comments that will rile the pro-UK. Northern Irish party that props up Theresa May’s government, he said Northern Ireland already has different rules to Britain. “Unique circumstances require specific solutions,” he said.
Speech by Michel Barnier at 'The future of the EU' conference
20 November 2017
European Commission
Michel Barnier spoke this at our 'The future of the EU' conference, click here to watch or read his speech.