Press
Regions scrap for a share of the freeport funding pot
05 September 2021
The Sunday Times
Sam Lowe at the Centre for European Reform said freeports merely shift economic activity round the country. Their usefulness was also in question when it emerged that post-Brexit trade agreements with 23 countries contained clauses meaning firms in freeports would be liable for tariffs when exporting to those countries.
Germany prepares for a less frugal future after Merkel
05 September 2021
The Telegraph
“With his absolute calm and wealth of experience, he’s [Olaf Scholz] easily the most experienced, sober and Merkel-like candidate,” says Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform (CER), a think-tank.
La crisis de Afganistán reabre las heridas migratorias de la UE
05 September 2021
El Pais
No son solo los socios del Este con declaraciones populistas: es una cicatriz más profunda, que afecta a los socialdemócratas daneses o al Gobierno conservador de Austria, con los verdes en coalición”, reflexiona Camino Mortera, del laboratorio de ideas Centre for European Reform.
New Statesman Podcast: What the SPD surge means for Germany
02 September 2021
From Berlin, the New Statesman's international editor Jeremy Cliffe presents a special series from World Review focusing on the German federal election – the runners and riders, the issues and what it means for Germany and beyond.
Brexit: What next for the Northern Ireland Protocol?
31 August 2021
BBC News
Sam Lowe, from the Centre for European Reform, said the EU would not be happy at the prospect of further extensions but would not be surprised."The question is whether the grace period extensions can be agreed together, as part of a joint exercise designed to work through the issues surrounding the implementation of the protocol, or whether the UK extends them unilaterally," he said.
UK-New Zealand trade deal close but will only have a ‘minuscule’ impact in British shops, experts say
31 August 2021
iNews
Sam Lowe, of the Centre for European Reform, said: “I don’t think there will be much noticeable impact whatsoever. We’re talking about a country that’s quite small and on the other side of the world. “At best we’re talking about perhaps some additional variety in supermarkets. You could see New Zealand wine stocked more frequently, or it being half a pence cheaper or something like that, but we’re not talking about anything major and you wouldn’t expect there to be.”
The Afghanistan debacle has weakened ties between Britain and America
27 August 2021
The Economist
Ian Bond of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, notes that support for the peace process is unusually bipartisan in America. If Mr Johnson is seen as threatening it, the reaction in Washington will be fierce.
‘Bonkers’ fight over product standards shows old Brexit battles persist
25 August 2021
Financial Times
Instead of pursuing what Sam Lowe from the Centre for European Reform calls “performative divergence”, the government accepts that this is a change that comes at significant cost and with little real benefit.
UK manufacturers win big concession on post-Brexit quality mark
24 August 2021
Financial Times
Sam Lowe, trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, said that since the UK was unlikely to diverge from EU goods rules in practice in most areas, it made sense to continue to allow CE-marked goods to be sold in the UK, both now and far into the future.
UK manufacturers to get big concession on post-Brexit quality mark
24 August 2021
The Irish Times
Sam Lowe, trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, said that since the UK was unlikely to diverge from EU goods rules in practice in most areas, it made sense to continue to allow CE-marked goods to be sold in the UK, both now and far into the future.
US and UK could strike 'mini deals' before FTA: 'There is still appetite!'
23 August 2021
The Daily Express
Referring to the agreement Brussels reached with the Trump administration at the time, Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, wrote on Twitter: "When I’ve been saying the UK and US could do a mini trade deal this year, this is the sort of thing I was talking about."
Bruselas sopesa activar una vía de emergencia para ofrecer protección a refugiados afganos
19 August 2021
El Pais
El gabinete de estudios Centre for European Reform (CER) considera muy improbable que Afganistán se convierta en una fuente importante de migración, como ya ocurrió tras la invasión del país por la Unión Soviética (1979) o tras la primera llegada al poder de los talibanes (1996).
CER podcast: Why the 1991 Moscow coup still resonates
18 August 2021
Ian Bond speaks to Angela Stent and Igor Yurgens about the lessons the West should draw from the 1991 Moscow coup.
CER/OSEPI podcast: How should the EU tackle corruption?
05 August 2021
Camino Mortera-Martinez and Carl Dolan discuss European corruption and consider Katalin Cseh and Michiel van Hulten's remarks from a recent CER event.
European Commission recommends ‘No’ for Lugano as Brexit fallout intensifies
05 August 2021
The Parliament Magazine
Some observers believe that the Single Market aspect, while genuine, is not the main reason for the Commission’s stance. In a recent blog, Zach Meyers and Camino Mortera-Martinez of the Centre for European Reform (CER) think tank argue that, “A more likely explanation for the Commission’s reticence to allow the UK to re-join the convention is that Britain remains a difficult partner for the EU on a range of issues, not least in honouring its own word.”
House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee: Implications of the UK-Australia FTA for Wales
04 August 2021
House of Commons Welsh Affairs Committee
Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform (CER), told us that “there is very little substantive threat to Welsh farmers as of now. Of course, circumstances in the future could change and we could see a big uptick in Australian exports of agri-food products to the UK.”
An entente cordiale with France beckons – once Macron has gone
04 August 2021
The Telegraph
“It was not the Americans who ended the siege of Sarajevo: it was the British and the French on the ground,” said Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform.
CBAM: What might an EU carbon-border adjustment mechanism mean for the UK?
03 August 2021
UK in a changing Europe
The EU wants to introduce a Carbon-Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) to ensure that its efforts to combat climate change are effective, and do not just lead to European heavy industry relocating to jurisdictions with weaker climate rules.
Emmanuel Macron accused of stonewalling plans for Anglo-French summit
03 August 2021
The Times
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said the French were “definitely annoyed with the Brits” and this had led to a reluctance to agree to the bridge-building exercise.“The British want a summit. The French say, ‘Great — so what should we talk about?’ The British say, ‘I don’t know — let’s have a summit.’ The French say, ‘No — we’ve got to have substance.’ ”
Why are so many migrants coming to one of Europe's smallest countries? Blame Belarus, officials say
01 August 2021
The Washington Post
“These are 3,000 people who were flown from a country very far away and were just left on the border of the EU and that’s an entirely new phenomenon,” said Camino Mortera-Martinez, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. “Flying people in is a complete other level of aggression and retaliation.”