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For more insight into the EU’s economic future, euronews’ Naomi Lloyd spoke to Christian Odendahl, Chief Economist of think-tank the Centre for European Reform.According to Odendahl, we really need this fund. Southern Europe’s economies depend a lot on tourism and he believes the European recovery fund can bridge the gaps between the north and the south’s finances:“The amounts that are going from the north of Europe to the south are quite sizeable”, says Odendahl, adding “for a country like Greece, for example, it is bound to receive roughly 2 percent of GDP over the next couple of years. That’s a very sizeable transfer.”

« En tant qu’ancien État membre cherchant à souligner son « indépendance », le Royaume-Uni ne pense pas que son influence dans les affaires de sécurité de l’Europe dépende d’une relation contractuelle avec l’UE, mais de son statut de membre permanent du Conseil de sécurité de l’ONU, de membre de l’Otan et de grande puissance militaire » souligne Ian Bond, directeur au Centre for European Reform (CER). 

Rory Stewart, the former foreign office minister, told a Centre for European Reform event last week that the idea of “a big boys’ club of democracies” could spell “big trouble”, since it will be seen as democracies against China.

The latest numbers show that imposing a painful lockdown early is better than a series of softer stop-and-go measures, said Christian Odendahl, the Berlin-based chief economist of the Centre for European Reform.“Containing the virus effectively and in a timely fashion is what’s best for the economy in the medium run,” he said.

“It’s because it’s Europe,” says trade analyst Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform. Ultimately, he’s concluded, this isn’t about tariffs and barriers, but something far more visceral. “They’re annoyed we’re in Europe’s vicinity.” If they could move Britain physically further away from the continent, they would. They long to be free of its taint.

Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, said a possible solution would be an agreement where UK regulations would only have to be “equivalent”, or equal in effect to those in the EU, rather than having precisely the same text. “Focusing on the actual competitive advantage to businesses rather than the formal regulations would allow Britain to claim victory in the negotiations while also reassuring the EU about its core concern,” he added.

Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, described the UK's decision as "broadly sensible". He said: "If it helps lead to a negotiated settlement that’s great; if not can always re-impose the tariffs in future."