Press
BBC News: French Resistance anniversary
18 June 2020
“We should remember that of the 27 member-states negotiating with Britain, the French are...the ones always pushing for a very hard line on Brexit...
CER podcast: Can the EU and the UK strike a deal on their future relationship?
17 June 2020
Following Monday’s meeting between Boris Johnson and the three Presidents of the EU, has a deal between the EU and UK become more or less likely? Charles Grant and Sam Lowe discuss.
Europe's longtime powers unite behind EU's COVID-19 rescue package
17 June 2020
Voice of America
John Springford, deputy director for the London-based Centre for European Reform policy institute, is similarly skeptical. “There’s a realization she’s nearing the end of her term and wants to have been a chancellor that has made Europe stronger,” Springford said of Merkel.
The Barnier method: Lessons learned from the EU’s institutional approach to the Brexit negotiations
17 June 2020
European Policy Centre
The UK’s vote on 23 June 2016 to leave the EU sent shockwaves throughout the EU member-states.
BBC PM: The future of trade deals
17 June 2020
Sam Low a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform spoke to BBC PM about the UK’s trade negotiations with Australia and New Zealand and its proposed accession to the CPTPP (from 07.55 mins).
Lighthizer: Unlikely US and UK will strike deal before November
17 June 2020
The Telegraph
Sam Lowe, a trade expert with the Centre for European Reform think-tank, tweeted: “The UK may not want food standards to be on the table in the trade talks with the US, but the UK isn’t the country laying the table.”
Don’t let UK-EU foreign policy co-operation be collateral damage of Brexit
17 June 2020
The Times
Six months has passed since Brexit, but there has been no significant progress in the negotiations to define the future UK-EU relationship.
Europe must abandon muddled thinking about China
16 June 2020
Nikkei Asia Review
Up to 2018, Beijing claimed it had created 327,000 jobs, a number challenged by analysts. "A lot involves buying existing European companies," says Ian Bond of think tank the Centre for European Reform. "As far as one can tell, such investment may ensure that jobs are not lost, but it rarely seems to create much new employment."
Europe must stand up to China before it’s too late
16 June 2020
Foreign Policy
Europe’s prosperity depends on an orderly system that ensures the global flow of goods, services, capital, and – however much populists object – labor. But 2020 is turning out to be a very bad year for the rules-based international order.
The slow, rocky road to a modest EU-UK deal
16 June 2020
Financial Times
Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform think-tank puts it succinctly: “A free trade agreement does not negate the fact that the UK will be moving from a highly integrated relationship with the EU to one in which trading between the two becomes significantly more difficult.”
Brexit: Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen to hold 'high level' talks
15 June 2020
Euronews
"The best-case scenario would see the pair agree in general terms on a landing zone for the future relationship, giving the negotiations fresh impetus. The worst case would see Johnson collapse the talks in an attempt to distract from domestic criticism over his government's handling of COVID-19," Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think tank, said on Friday.
Key win secured by UK even before Boris Johnson's showdown with EU chiefs
15 June 2020
Express
Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, last week told MPs: “If – and this is a big if – the headline issues can be resolved, then actually the differences between the UK and EU are fairly minor when it comes to the substance of the free-trade agreement and can probably be resolved.”
Post-Brexit: Johnson will Brüssel drohen
15 June 2020
Deutsche Welle
Es gebe (noch) keinen Grund zur Panik, sagt der britische Handelsexperte Sam Lowe vom Thinktank "Centre for European Reform". Trotz der gegenwärtigen Feindseligkeiten gebe es noch einen Weg hin zu einem Abkommen, das für beide Seiten akzeptabel ist. Aber dafür müssten sie sich in den zentralen Punkten aufeinander zubewegen.
Key Brexit meeting concludes ‘more momentum’ needed to break deadlock
15 June 2020
The Parliament Magazine
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said, “A deal between the EU and UK remains possible. But neither side is likely to compromise on its current negotiating position until later in the year, when the cost of failure will become significantly more tangible.”
Trade triangle: US, Britain, and European Union
14 June 2020
Politico
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, also argued British attempts to game the EU on standards won’t work. He pointed out that Britain has little to threaten the bloc with, having already accepted new barriers to trade with Brussels."This could have been much more of an issue if the UK was trying to get a much deeper relationship with the European Union than it currently has, in that there would be a much bigger discussion about trade-offs and avoiding costs," he explained.
Brexit: Boris Johnson and Ursula von der Leyen to hold 'high level' talks next week
12 June 2020
Euronews
"The best-case scenario would see the pair agree in general terms on a landing zone for the future relationship, giving the negotiations fresh impetus. The worst case would see Johnson collapse the talks in an attempt to distract from domestic criticism over his government's handling of COVID-19," Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform thinktank, said on Friday.
Inforadio: Senkung der Mehrwertsteuer kann Konsum-Motor sein
12 June 2020
Das Bundeskabinett hat bis zum Jahresende die Absenkung der Mehrwertsteuer beschlossen. Ökonom Christian Odendahl vom Centre for European Reform in London begrüßt den Entschluss, da alle Bürgerinnen in etwa gleich davon profitieren.
UK in U-turn on full post-Brexit border controls
11 June 2020
Financial Times
Sam Lowe, a trade expert with the Centre for European Reform think-tank, warned that it was unlikely that the EU — which has already invested heavily in new port infrastructure and personnel in Calais and Rotterdam — would reciprocate fully.“The most we can hope for the EU is what they agreed last time, in terms of no-deal mitigations, but I wouldn’t expect them to waive animal health and plant product checks, for example,” he added.
Britain unveils plans to impose EU border checks in stages
11 June 2020
Reuters
Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said Britain could face chaos if it did not get it right. “COVID-19 has also made things worse ... and government just hasn’t had the time to fully prepare itself for a full fat border,” he said.
Brexit trapdoor exposed: How rushed deal with EU could derail UK plans
10 June 2020
Express
Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform said: “I think the best possible outcome the British Government can hope for in negotiations with the EU is the sort of bare-bones free trade agreement by the end of the year. “Covering trade and goods, zero tariffs and zero quotas.”