Press
Opting out of the EU - The guns of war
05 October 2012
The Economist
Hugo Brady of the CER, believes Mr Cameron underestimates the risk to national security and influence. But Britain has recognised expertise in criminal justice; it is full of people from other EU countries; and it has an enormous DNA database, as well as the best links with America.
My state of the Union
05 October 2012
E!Sharp
President Barroso's team recently asked me to contribute to September's State of the EU speech at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. I thought the final product was rather good. Sadly, its main message – a purposely confrontational call for a 'federation of nation states' – was obscured on the...
Après Merkozy
03 October 2012
The International Herald Tribune
Before becoming president of France, François Hollande did not appear to take much interest in the European Union.
Enders seeks to overcome Berlin wall of resistance to reach BAE
02 October 2012
Bloomberg Business Week
"Hopefully Merkel can see the wider European interest in this," said Charles Grant, director of the London-based CER. "I don't see why the Germans are so reticent, because they’ve always been upset about the French domination or the French leadership at EADS."
EU justice opt-out seen as security risk
30 September 2012
Financial Times
A report by the CER, which will be published this week, suggests that Conservative attempts to repatriate powers from Brussels and then opt back into a select number may backfire if it means the UK loses sway over immigration, crime and policing issues – the fastest-growing area of EU law.
Catalans see pain in Spain as chance for independence
29 September 2012
The Times
"The Spanish Government can do very little to address this crisis," said Simon Tilford of the CER. "It cannot pump liquidity into the markets as the UK has done. It has to attempt to meet very high levels of fiscal austerity and its economic reforms are very unpopular. The Government is most definitely not going to be in a position to satisfy the Catalans. It is a highly combustible situation."
EU anti-trust review of BAE-EADS deal may face legal limit
26 September 2012
Bloomberg Business Week
EU regulators, usually responsible for approving Europe-wide takeovers and enforcing the right to do business across the bloc, have been careful about any involvement in the defence industry because of the legal exemption, said Clara Marina O’Donnell, an analyst at the London-based CER.
Clegg tells of tough choices over Europe
25 September 2012
Financial Times
Charles Grant, director of the CER, says a fourth source of potential conflict within the coalition will arise when Britain has to decide, before 2014, whether to take its one-off chance to withdraw from 130 EU crime and policing rules. "It’s certain Britain will exercise its block opt-out," he says.
European pensions targeted
23 September 2012
USA Today
"Certainly, if you have people retiring in their 50s - and you're not looking like you're going to get the tax revenues you thought you would in the future - then it is difficult to be able to fill in some of the gaps in your public pension systems," said John Springford of the CER. "You do need to get public-sector workers to work longer."
Ideas for future EU hit instant headwind
20 September 2012
European Voice
Charles Grant of the CER, was sceptical about the prospect of changes. He said that there was "no enthusiasm for treaty change or institutional reform" in France.
Europe needs service-market liberalisation
20 September 2012
The Wall Street Journal
In exchange for sharing southern Europe's debt burden, Germany is demanding liberal economic reforms in those countries. Yet Germany is not following its own advice.
Germany's Wolfgang Schäuble at 70 – still at heart of efforts to save eurozone
20 September 2012
The Guardian
Schäuble's mantra has consistently been that what's good for Europe is good for Germany... "He's an old-fashioned, very serious European federalist," said Katinka Barysch, a German economist at the CER in London.
Merkel turns to ex-mentor Kohl to sell Europe to Germans
20 September 2012
Reuters
"There was an initial desire (in Europe) to punish Greece rather than help it," said Philip Whyte of the CER. "Germany played a big role in that and the benefits of Germany's euro zone membership weren't highlighted much."
As doubts grow about a BAE-EADS merger, could it prove a danger to national interests?
19 September 2012
City A.M
The fear that the merger might pose a threat to national security is without foundation. How? Would the German or French bits of the company withhold supplies to the UK armed forces on political grounds?
11 European foreign ministers call for greater integration
18 September 2012
The New York Times
"Germany's renewal of the concept of political union reflects the fact that the German political class has become more integrationist as the euro crisis has progressed," said Charles Grant, director of the CER.
Germany slowly comes to terms with sending its armed forces abroad
18 September 2012
The Guardian
"Afghanistan turned out a lot less safe than they thought it was going to be, but the Germans toughed it out, changed their rules of engagement, and fired back," said Tomas Valasek, the director of foreign policy and defence at the Centre for European Reform.
Stalled rally puts pressure on Spain
18 September 2012
The Wall Street Journal
Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER, said the Spanish government was right to consider the bailout request with caution. "If one of the conditions is a further tightening of fiscal policy, then the risk is that that will depress the Spanish economy even further, and they won't be able to meet the terms of the bailout," he said.
BAE-EADS merger would advance Europe's military goals
16 September 2012
Reuters
"In the broadest terms, this merger does enact what many European governments... have been saying for a long time - that in order for the European defense industry to remain competitive in the long term it needs to consolidate," said Clara Marina O'Donnell of the CER.
Germany's savers feel resentment and guilt over pressure to end euro crisis
16 September 2012
The Guardian
German taxpayers stump up a "solidarity surcharge" of 5.5% of income tax to fund the hefty costs of unification in an arrangement due to last until 2019. "East Germany might well need another trillion," said Katinka Barysch, a German economist at the CER.
Illegal immigration emerges as new crisis for Greece - and EU
15 September 2012
The Wall Street Journal
Last year, some 351,000 people were in the EU illegally by overstaying their visas... "The attention needs to be shifted to that too," said Hugo Brady of the CER. "Greece isn't the cause of illegal immigration, it's a serious patch of vulnerability."