Press
Mario Draghi takes helm of crisis-hit Italy and unveils new cabinet
13 February 2021
The Telegraph
But "it is difficult to overstate the scale of the challenges that Draghi and Italy face", said Luigi Scazzieri, of the Centre for European Reform.
EU chaos: Member states told to 'let go of sovereignty' and hand over more control to VDL
12 February 2021
Express
European Union member states have been ordered to "let go of parts of their sovereignty" for the sake of Ursula von der Leyen's control of the bloc. Sigrid Kaag, the Netherlands' Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Co-operation, told the Centre for European Reform that it was time for member states to renounce control. This comes amid growing infighting inside the EU since Brussels has endured brutal humiliation over vaccine rollout and Russia.
Britain must find a way to be competitive while cutting carbon emissions
12 February 2021
The Times
Joe Biden’s accession to the White House and the US’s subsequent rejoining of the Paris Climate Agreement has given the international effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions a significant boost.
Mario Draghi set to lead Italian unity government
12 February 2021
RTE News
But "it is difficult to overstate the scale of the challenges that Draghi and Italy face", said Luigi Scazzieri, of the Centre for European Reform. ..."But spending funds is not enough," noted Mr Scazzieri, adding that the new premier "will find it just as challenging to enact long-called for reforms".
Pandemic sets stage for euro-area showdown over debt rules
12 February 2021
Bloomberg
“What was clear before the pandemic has become even more obvious now: the fiscal rules in Europe need a substantial overhaul,” said Christian Odendahl, chief economist of the Centre for European Reform.
Mario Draghi will be Italian prime minister. On the agenda: covid, an economic crisis and raising Italy’s profile in the world
12 February 2021
The Washington Post
“Draghi is like a deus ex machina figure,” said Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform. “But reforming the Italian [system] is very, very difficult.”
Mario Draghi is Italy’s best hope but the issues he'll face are huge
11 February 2021
Euronews
Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, is set to be Italy’s next prime minister.
Brussels briefing: Around Europe
11 February 2021
Financial Times
Christian Odendahl and Yiannis Mouzakis argue that Greece could use the money to fix issues in its economy that have plagued the country since its debt crisis.
CER podcast: Roaring twenties? Prospects for the economic recovery
10 February 2021
Christian Odendahl discussed the outlook for Europe’s post-covid recovery with Agnès Bénassy-Quéré and John Springford.
Angela Merkel warned of energy emergency after offering US 'dirty deal' for Nord Stream 2
10 February 2021
Express
Chief economist at the Centre for European Reform Christian Odendahl recently wrote on Twitter, attaching a picture of a survey by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Approval rating of Merkel‘s government is in free fall, on the back of the vaccine disaster and mishandling of the second wave."
EU contempt laid bare as insider claims bloc 'trying to undermine UK's vaccine rollout'
05 February 2021
Express
Chief economist at the Centre for European Reform Christian Odendahl wrote on Twitter, attaching a picture of a survey by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Approval rating of Merkel‘s government is in free fall, on the back of the vaccine disaster and mishandling of the second wave."
Europe in battle to overcome economic lag vs US, Asia
05 February 2021
Reuters
"If we manage to use this big pot of money to get some countries to do the necessary adjustments and reforms and investment they need to tap long-term potential, then this recovery fund would have served a very good purpose," said Christian Odendahl of the Centre for European Reform think tank.
Affaire Navalny : les relations Russie-UE sont au "plus bas" juge l’émissaire de l'UE à Moscou
04 February 2021
France 24
Elle a des leviers, mais elle "sous-estime sa capacité à influencer le comportement des Russes", déplore Ian Bond, chef du département de politique étrangère du Centre for European Reform (CER).
Boris Johnson backs US on Russia but he can't deliver Europe
04 February 2021
Bloomberg
“When Britain was in the European nucleus, it could counterbalance the French and German view that Russia could be dealt exclusively by trade and diplomacy,” said Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform and a former British diplomat. “When Britain left the EU, the center of gravity shifted to a softer line toward Russia.”
Europe should pay attention to Germany's debt brake debate
02 February 2021
Financial Times
But Christian Odendahl, of the Centre for European Reform in Berlin, thinks Mr Braun has done Mr Laschet and Europe a favour, “to break the taboo, for after the election”. And the chancellor was probably behind it. “This was Merkel holding the pen.”
Europol and differentiated integration
02 February 2021
EUIDEA
Europol has become a hub for differentiated integration. Initially a small anti-drugs unit, the EU’s police agency is now a fully-fledged body where law enforcement agencies from all around the world work together.
Why Britain wants to join a Pacific trade deal
01 February 2021
The Telegraph
The rules of origin requirements are a little more useful, according to Sam Lowe at the Centre for European Reform.“The benefit of having an agreement with all of these countries instead of individual bilateral agreements is that you can use inputs from other members when trying to meet local contact thresholds, which makes it a bit easier to qualify for tariff-free trade,” he says.
EU's vaccine fiasco to cause bitter 'election upheaval' in France, Germany and Netherlands
01 February 2021
Express
Chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, Christian Odendahl wrote on Twitter, alongside a picture of a survey by Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: "Approval rating of Merkel‘s government is in free fall, on the back of the vaccine disaster and mishandling of the second wave."
UK makes formal request to join trans-Pacific trade deal
01 February 2021
Reuters
Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said accession could be a useful counterpoint to those who thought Brexit was a nationalist policy and a retreat from the world stage.“Even signalling that the UK wants to join the CPTPP is a useful global signal that the UK is still interested in rules based trade, is still interested in working together with others,” he said.
A month on from Brexit, UK firms are being slowly ground down
30 January 2021
Bloomberg
“People refer to lots of the problems as teething problems,” said Sam Lowe, senior fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London. “But while businesses will learn how to fill in forms, we should acknowledge that new bureaucracy is the new reality and there’s a lot more to come.”