Research

France, Germany and "hard-core" Europe

France, Germany and "hard-core" Europe

01 August 2001
In Paris, thinking on the future of the EU tends to focus on two French worries. One is the decline of the Franco-German relationship, and the consequent threat to French influence.
Justice

Speeding up European justice

Matthew Heim
01 August 2001
The European Union's legal system is one of the most significant contributors to European cohesion, prosperity and peace; yet it is also one of the Union's least recognised strengths.
Bulletin issue 19

Issue 19 - 2001

Charles Grant, Edward Bannerman, Matthew Heim
27 July 2001
Time to act in the Middle East

Time to act in the Middle East

Steven Everts
01 June 2001
Once again the Middle East is facing a crisis with rising levels of hatred and violence on all sides. The death toll in the "second" intifadah stands at 450 Palestinians and around 100 Israelis and is rising. As a result, the prospects for a comprehensive peace accord are slipping ever further away.
Workers are entitled to consultation

Workers are entitled to consultation

John Monks
01 June 2001
In the last issue of the CER Bulletin, James Wilson argued against the European Commission's proposal for a directive on employee information and consultation. Sadly, in order to do so, he resorted to many of the crude misrepresentations which are common currency among business opponents of the initiative.

We...
EU should duplicate NATO assets

EU should duplicate NATO assets

Kori Schake
01 June 2001
Many American policy-makers are worried that the European Security and Defence Policy (ESDP) could undermine NATO and damage the transatlantic relationship.
Profiting from EU enlargement

Profiting from EU enlargement

Heather Grabbe
01 June 2001
Heather Grabbe weights up the risks of enlargement against the extra trade, investment and stability that enlargement will provide and argues that the price for the existing members will be small.
Bulletin issue 18

Issue 18 - 2001

Steven Everts, John Monks, Kori Schake
25 May 2001
Unwritten rules

Unwritten rules: How Russia really works?

Alena Ledeneva
04 May 2001
Western businesses and policy-makers must first grasp the "unwritten rules" that underpin the Russian economy, if they are to play a role in its transformation, according to this essay.
The future of European stock markets

The future of European stock markets

Alasdair Murray
04 May 2001
Alasdair Murray look at how the absence of a single market in equities within the EU increases the cost of capital and restricts Europe's ability to close the economic gap with the United States.
The stockholm scorecard

The stockholm scorecard

Edward Bannerman
02 April 2001
The Stockholm European Council was supposed to focus on Europe's "new" economy and the goal of creating "the world's most dynamic and competitive knowledge-based economy by 2010".
An EU senate is superfluous

An EU senate is superfluous

Richard Corbett
02 April 2001
The idea that the EU should create a second chamber for the European Parliament, composed of representatives from national parliaments, is a perennial favourite of member-state governments.
Don't legislate on consultation

Don't legislate on consultation

James Wilson
02 April 2001
No-one who runs a business needs to be told that staff are a company's best ambassadors. There is ample evidence that a well-informed and motivated workforce can add value to the bottom line. Proper consultation is vital to ensuring long-term success. But if a firm wanted to improve its workforce...
Bulletin issue 17

Issue 17 - 2001

Edward Bannerman, Richard Corbett, James Wilson
30 March 2001
The Lisbon scorecard: The status of economic reform in Europe

The Lisbon scorecard: The status of economic reform in Europe

Edward Bannerman
02 March 2001
It will be left to future historians to appreciate fully the significance of the Lisbon Summit of March 2000 in the economic evolution of Europe. But it is already possible to argue that its impact could be even more farreaching than that of the euro.
Europe's military revolution

Europe's military revolution

Charles Grant, Gilles Andréani, Christoph Bertram
02 March 2001
The creation of the single European currency, a revolutionary innovation for the European Union (EU), has provoked tumultuous debate across the continent and beyond. Yet the EU's plans for a common defence policy have - thus far - attracted less attention.
Unilateral America? Lightweight Europe?

Unilateral America? Lightweight Europe? Managing divergence in transatlantic foreign policy

Steven Everts
02 February 2001
The election of George W Bush as the new US President has caused uneasiness in Europe, both at the level of individual states and that of the European Union (EU). Bush has assembled an impressive team to work on foreign policy, including Colin Powell as the new Secretary of State,...
What comes after Nice

What comes after Nice

Heather Grabbe
02 February 2001
Both the outcome at Nice and the methods used to achieve it have left widespread dissatisfaction. Any deal would have been good for enlargement, in allowing the EU to move ahead. But the unseemly spectacle of 15 countries scrambling for position was hardly a shining example of inter-governmentalism at work....
Lisbon strategy

Making Lisbon work in Stockholm

Alasdair Murray
01 February 2001
Even by the standards of the EU's often optimistic policy aspirations, the decade-long economic reform process initiated at the Lisbon summit last March represents an ambitious programme.

The distinctive feature of the Lisbon conclusions is not the pledge of EU leaders to create "the most competitive and dynamic knowledge...
Turning East

Turning East: Europe Courts Asia

Edward Bannerman
01 February 2001
The United States has long cast its shadow over the formal meetings of Asian and European ministers. "How will this play in Washington?" was the unspoken caveat to the normally unexciting conclusions of most Asian-Europe Meetings (ASEM).

The January ASEM gathering of finance ministers in Kobe, Japan, suggests that this...