Press
What would Russian WMDs mean for NATO's 'red lines'?
15 March 2022
Deutsche Welle
Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, told DW that, though such a scenario is implausible, it's not impossible. Given Stoltenberg's rhetoric, Bond said, it's likely "that the Russians are doing things that suggest they are preparing to launch that kind of attack somewhere.”But it's the "somewhere" that makes all the difference under the alliance's current posture. "NATO, rightly or wrongly, has drawn this bright red line that says we're not going to defend Ukrainian soil, but we will defend NATO soil," he said.
Solidaire, l’Union européenne gère sa plus grave crise migratoire
11 March 2022
Le Figaro
Pour Camino Mortera, chef du bureau bruxellois du Centre for European Reform, les comparaisons n’ont pas lieu d’être. D’abord, «ce n’est pas une guerre comme les autres», mais une «menace à l’ordre international et la sécurité européenne». Cela se passe «à côté de chez nous, et pourrait se passer chez nous».
United on Ukraine, EU tackles the devil in details at summit
10 March 2022
ABC News
“The chance of all member states agreeing to admit Ukraine while it is at war with Russia is virtually zero, as it could trigger conflict with Moscow,” said Luigi Scazzieri, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.
Brexit in numbers - British exports lag advanced economies
10 March 2022
Financial Times
John Springford at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank... says that comparing UK exports to the EU in 2019 and 2021 gives a false impression that things are somehow back to normal. They are not.
In a new paper for the CER, Springford compares the UK performance with our peers in the global trade arena and finds that the UK is underperforming badly when compared to these countries that have experienced a post-Covid export boom in 2021.
In a new paper for the CER, Springford compares the UK performance with our peers in the global trade arena and finds that the UK is underperforming badly when compared to these countries that have experienced a post-Covid export boom in 2021.
United on Ukraine, EU tackles the devil in details at summit
10 March 2022
The Independent
“The chance of all member states agreeing to admit Ukraine while it is at war with Russia is virtually zero, as it could trigger conflict with Moscow,” said Luigi Scazzieri, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.
EU lets down Ukraine: France and Holland lead the calls to DENY fast-track bid to join the bloc, with membership off the table for now
10 March 2022
The Daily Mail
'The chance of all member states agreeing to admit Ukraine while it is at war with Russia is virtually zero, as it could trigger conflict with Moscow,' said Luigi Scazzieri, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.
The EU does not need to reform Schengen. It needs to build back trust
09 March 2022
Encompass
The 9/11 attacks were a wake-up call for the West: no country could fight crime and terrorism alone.
Waking a sleeping giant: What's next for German security policy?
09 March 2022
War on the rocks
“If the world changes, our politics must change,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock three days after Russia started a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
EU struggles to deepen unity on defence and energy
09 March 2022
Financial Times
“We’ve seen the almost total dependence of Europe on the US not just for troops but also for intelligence and general leadership in Nato,” said Sophia Besch, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. “That’s a dependence that becomes more perilous as the US elections near. The EU is not going to be able to secure its own defence in the next two years.”
CER podcast: Unpicking the EU’s rule of law conditionality mechanism
08 March 2022
Camino Mortera-Martínez speaks to John Morijn about the EU's rule of law conditionality mechanism and the ECJ's ruling on it.
Interview with Zach Meyers: Can Russia be crushed without crushing Europe?
07 March 2022
AMI Magazine
We interviewed Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow at the CER, an independent think-tank that examines ways to make the European Union work better. Mr Meyers, in particular, has been examining issues related to economic decoupling, separating the economies of the European Union from outside economies.
Interview with Ian Bond: 'First Invasion in Europe since 1974'
06 March 2022
Ekathimerini
We haven’t seen anything like this in Europe since the 1974 Turkish invasion of Cyprus. The Russian invasion of Ukraine will force Europe’s leaders to think much more seriously about national defense.
Germany’s dramatic reversal on defense, explained
05 March 2022
Vox
“It’s really revolutionary,” said Sophia Besch, a Berlin-based senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. “Scholz, in his speech, did away with and overturned so many of what we thought were certainties of German defense policy. He ticked off just one taboo after the next.”
EU half-awakening
04 March 2022
Financial Times
The EU’s recent leaps on common defence and sanctions against Russia are significant and have upended the bloc’s relationship with Moscow, with a phase of protracted “cold” confrontation coming up. However, the Centre for European Reform lays out why there are several reasons to be wary about claims of a “geopolitical awakening”.
The week where decades happened: How the west finally woke up to Putin
04 March 2022
The Guardian
Sophia Besch, from the Centre for European Reform, points out Scholz himself insisted he had not acted due to pressure from allies, but due to Germany changing its view of the threat posed by Putin. “The truth is the world did not change last Thursday,” she said.
The EU's antitrust lessons for America
04 March 2022
Project Syndicate
While the EU’s courts and legislative processes will moderate the European Commission’s hardline instincts about competition policy, the US risks overcompensating for past laxity.
Den store hammer
04 March 2022
Weekendavisen
Ian Bond, udenrigspolitisk direktør i London-tænketanken Center for European Reform, tvivler på det.»Spørgsmålet er, om Putin overhovedet er modtagelig for pres. Alle informationer, der siver ud fra Kreml, tyder på, at han kun tager imod råd fra en meget snæver kreds. Og de er ikke økonomer, men nationalistiske hardlinere, der mener, at Vesten er en evig trussel mod Rusland.
The EU's geopolitical awakening?
03 March 2022
UK in a changing Europe
The EU’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine took many observers by surprise. For once, the Union exceeded expectations, and by a large margin.
The EU is coming to Ukraine’s aid in several ways, but it won’t give President Zelensky what he really wants
02 March 2022
iNews
“The main problem is that Ukraine is a de facto occupied country,” says Camino Mortera, who heads the Brussels office of the Centre for European Reform, a think tank. “There are parts of Ukraine which are, officially or unofficially, under the control of another country.” This was also a headache in 2001, when Cyprus joined the EU, even though it was – and still is – partially occupied by Turkey.
TRT World: Moscow cracks down on protestors as economic sanctions hit
01 March 2022
The first round of ceasefire talks between Russian and Ukrainian officials ended with no agreements. Another round could happen within days. Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the CER, joined us from London to discuss further on the Ukraine crisis.