Press

Sophia Besch, a researcher at the Centre for European Reform, told the RUSI audience that “on balance Brexit could mean that in the EU countries that are proponents of European protectionism, of the buy Euro mentality, will have a greater voice post Brexit.” 
Notwithstanding the economic and exchange rate pressures potentially influencing defense procurement, Besch said that whatever the outcome of the negotiations, the impact on industry may not be felt for a while, in part due to the duration of existing equipment programs.

Late last year, it was thought that the European Commission was seeking an exit bill of €60bn – around £50bn. However, in February, the Centre for European Reform (CER) estimated that the bill could range from €25-73bn...The CER calculates what we can expect to pay based on what we owe, and what we can offset. It estimates something between €25bn (based on honouring commitments made in annual budgets and maximising UK receipts), and €73bn (maximum obligations, minimum receipts).

Simon Tilford, deputy director of the pro-EU, London-based Centre for European Reform, said British officials are “naive” because they don’t realise their demands are seen across the continent as an example of “egregious free riding.” 
“It would appear that they realise they can’t have their cake and eat it. But it’s wrong to say that the British government understands now what is possible and what isn’t,” Tilford said. “They’re still much too optimistic about the amount of leverage Britain has in this process, and the amount of wiggle room the other side has.”

Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform (CER), said argued that the other 27 countries will have the “upper hand”.
She said: “It is vital that Theresa May strikes the right tone in her notification letter and get the negotiations on the right track from day one.” 

Charles Grant, head of the Centre for European Reform, says: “Arguably Cameron invested a bit too much in Merkel but there’s a view in Whitehall that she [Mrs May] has underinvested in Berlin.” While Mr Cameron could also call on Mark Rutte and Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Dutch and Swedish prime ministers, in a tight corner, Mr Grant says: “I don’t think she has those personal relationships at the moment.”
 

“Europe needs to find a new, multi-tier way to move forward that allows groups with similar interests to integrate without alienating the rest,” said Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, a pro-EU think-tank.
“The EU will survive Brexit, but the Rome summit will only be useful if it highlights the problems facing the Union. The danger is that it could all feel too self-congratulatory,” he said.

- Priorytetem jest wysłanie sygnału o tym, że Europa jest zjednoczona wobec wszystkich wyzwań, które ją trapią, przede wszystkim tych związanych z wyjściem z niej Wielkiej Brytanii. W Rzymie liderzy UE bedą starali się podkreślić to, co łączy państwa członkowskie, a unikać tych tematów, które je dzielą - mówi WP Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, ekspert Centre for European Reform w Londynie.

Both Mr. Stefanini and Simon Tilford, the deputy director of the Center for European Reform, are struck by the complacency in Brussels, with rhetoric about the possibility of a multitier Europe lagging far behind the reality of division and competition.
“In Brussels, they see a couple of quarters of economic growth as a sign that everything is well,” Mr. Tilford said. “The first sign of relative improvement is an excuse to sound defensive and complacent.”

Committee member Rem Korteweg told City A.M.: “If you leave the Single Market then passporting doesn’t make a lot of sense, but the City plays a very important role in terms of capital provision across the EU 27. So what we would want is the second best version – a beefed up version of equivalence.
“We noted the moment the UK leaves the EU its regulations and standards will be 100 per cent equivalent to the EU 27. That should be the basis for continued use of the City as the main capital provider for the EU 27.”