Press
Brexit ‘largely to blame’ for £31bn loss to UK economy, study finds
10 June 2022
The Independent
Brexit is “largely to blame” for billions being lost in trade and tax revenues in recent years, according to a new study by top economists.The Centre for European Reform (CER) said that by the end of last year, Britain’s economy was 5.2 per cent – or £31bn – smaller than it would have been without Brexit and the Covid pandemic.“We can’t blame Brexit for all of the 5.2 per cent GDP shortfall …. but it’s apparent that Brexit is largely to blame,” said John Springford, author of the CER study.
Alt-Brexit
10 June 2022
Financial Times
The Centre for European Reform calculates that compared with a doppelgänger model where the UK had not left the EU, the country’s GDP is 5.2 per cent lower in the post-Brexit, post-Covid reality.
SNP accuse Rishi Sunak of failing to listen to experts as £11 billion is wasted
10 June 2022
The National
It comes as research from the Centre for European Reform (CER) showed that by the end of last year the UK’s economy was 5% smaller than it would have been had we still been members of the European Union. CER’s figures showed that this amounted to around £31 billion.
LBC: The economic impact of Brexit
10 June 2022
John Springford discussed the economic impact of Brexit on the UK with Martin Stanford. Short of re-joining the single market or the EU as a whole, John said the UK needs to invest in boosting productivity, improve transport infrastructure & streamline trade policy as much as possible.
Brexit cost the UK billions in lost trade and tax revenues, research finds
09 June 2022
ITV News
The Centre for European Reform (CER) has modelled the economic performance of a UK that remained in the EU - using data from countries like the US, Germany, New Zealand, Norway and Australia - whose performance was similar to ours before Brexit.It then compared this with the real performance of the UK economy since the referendum six years ago.
ITV News: Brexit cost the UK billions in lost trade and tax revenues, research finds
09 June 2022
Brexit has cost the UK economy billions of pounds in lost trade and tax revenues, according to research shared with ITV News by John Springford at the CER.
Europe sees Boris Johnson as a showman buffoon, but they’re still glued to the soap opera
08 June 2022
iNews
“There may be a misplaced hope that if he leaves, his replacement will make things easier with Brussels,” says Camino Mortera-Martinez, the head of the Brussels office at the Centre for European Reform. “Some think things cannot be worse, but they could. Johnson’s handling of Brexit has been amoral. But for all his misadventures, we should be careful what we wish for.”
Centre for European Reform questions if a CBDC will work
08 June 2022
Ledger Insights
The Centre for European Reform (CER) asks why central banks are pursuing central bank digital currencies (CBDC) in a recent post. The CER is a pro-European think tank that aims to make the European Union (EU) work better. “The EU should not be distracted by the prospect of a digital euro – which may sound impressive and exciting, but may give Europeans few benefits they cannot enjoy already,” states the post written by CER Senior Research Fellow Zach Meyers.
CENTRAL BANK DIGITAL MONEY RISKS BEING AN ‘EXPENSIVE FAILURE’
08 June 2022
Politico
“Central-bank-issued digital currencies run the risk of turning into a costly waste of time, according to the Center for European Reform. Europe — one of the most advanced economies considering the initiative — should instead use regulation to make payments cheaper and more competitive, the London-based think-tank said Tuesday in a report.
Central bank digital money risks being an ‘expensive failure’
07 June 2022
Bloomberg
Central-bank-issued digital currencies run the risk of turning into a costly waste of time, according to the Centre for European Reform.Europe --one of the most advanced economies considering the initiative - should instead use regulation to make payments cheaper and more competitive, the London-based think-tank said Tuesday in a report. It warned that the cost benefits and privacy incentives of a so-called CBDC are unlikely to be sufficient to entice consumers to use it.
EU officials say common charger will help consumers and environment
07 June 2022
Euronews
Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said that the speed of the agreement reflected EU lawmakers' increased "willingness to act quickly in setting digital policy, even when introducing requirements that have little global precedent."
En defensa de Bélgica: por qué sus jueces no tienen la culpa de las fracturas de Europa
06 June 2022
EL Confidencial
La falta de confianza de los gobiernos de los Veintisiete no se explica por la euroorden de Puigdemont. Las crisis de la última década han resquebrajado la unidad europea.
How 100 days of war in Ukraine changed Europe
03 June 2022
The National
“There’s been a huge trust gap between central and eastern European countries and France and Germany,” who are seen as soft on Russia, said analyst Luigi Scazzieri of the Centre for European Reform.
How long can Western unity over Ukraine hold?
02 June 2022
BBC News
"You only have to look at the struggle to get the oil embargo," says Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, referring to the tortured weeks of negotiation that resulted in this week's partial EU embargo on Russian oil.
..."There's a kind of calibration going on," says Ian Bond. "As though we're saying 'we want the Ukrainians to win but not to win too much'".
..."If either side begins to make decisive gains, then they become more of a problem," says Ian Bond.
..."There's a kind of calibration going on," says Ian Bond. "As though we're saying 'we want the Ukrainians to win but not to win too much'".
..."If either side begins to make decisive gains, then they become more of a problem," says Ian Bond.
In concession to Poland, EU opens door to frozen funds
01 June 2022
The New York Times
“This is a purely political decision to send a message of European unity,” Camino Mortera-Martínez, a senior research fellow at the Center for European Reform in Brussels, said of deal announced Wednesday by the European Commission. “Nothing has changed except for the fact that there is war going on.” She added: “Rule of law is a major victim in this conflict.”
Bruselas desbloquea el Fondo de Recuperación polaco fiándose de reformas judiciales cuestionables
01 June 2022
El Mundo
"La Comisión ha aprobado el plan de recuperación de Polonia porque quiere enviar un mensaje de unidad política ante la agresión de Putin. Esto es comprensible, pero cuestionable. Aparte de la guerra en Ucrania, nada ha cambiado en Polonia desde que solicitó el dinero", explica Camino Mortera, del Centre for European Reform en Bruselas.
Is European resolve against Russia’s war beginning to soften?
31 May 2022
Marketplace
“Hungary is very dependent on Russian oil, and its refinery is configured to deal only with Russian crude,” said Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform in London. “But Orban also has a less respectable reason for opposing the ban. He has a close relationship with Vladimir Putin. He’s made no secret of his admiration for the strongman approach that Putin takes,” Bond added.
CER podcast: Unpacking the EU's new tech laws - and the UK's answer to them
27 May 2022
In this week’s CER podcast Rosie Giorgi speaks to Zach Meyers about the motivations behind the new laws, the companies that will be affected and what the UK is doing to promote digital competition and online safety.
We must uphold online competition at home, or we risk lagging behind the EU
25 May 2022
City A.M
Right now in the European Union, law-makers are putting the finishing touches on the Digital Markets Act – a landmark law which will upend big tech firms’ business models to improve competition online.
Why have Remainers gone silent as the costs of Brexit pile up?
17 May 2022
The Independent
The Centre for European Reform does rigorous quantitative analysis to isolate Brexit effects on British exports. Its latest survey showed that British exports of goods to the EU are 15 per cent down from where they should be.