Research
UK looking for alternatives to Border backstop. Do they exist?
04 February 2019
The Irish Times
As Sam Lowe, a trade expert in the Centre for European Reform in London points out, fewer checks at the border itself will mean more random checks and controls away from the Border, which would also be politically sensitive.
Europeans fear Trump may threaten not just the transatlantic bond, but the state of their union
04 February 2019
The Washington Post
“Both Macron and Merkel talk of Europe being capable of strategic autonomy, of not being dependent on the U.S. for its security. But so long as Germany spends so little on defense, and so long as its strategic culture is so different to that of France, that objective is not viable,” said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform. “They can talk the talk, but they need to walk the walk.”
Die Zinsen sollten niedrig bleiben
03 February 2019
Der Tagesspiegel
Nach zwei Jahren robusten Wachstums deuten alle Indikatoren darauf hin, dass sich die europäische Wirtschaft abkühlt, auch wenn sie noch nicht auf eine Rezession zusteuert.
Polskie Radio: Brytyjska premier wciąż zabiega o zmianę umowy w sprawie Brexitu
02 February 2019
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform spoke to Polskie Radio about Theresa May’s attempt to re-open the talks with the EU about the Irish protocol.
Europe grapples with distinction between refugees and economic migrants
02 February 2019
NBC News
The leaders of other EU countries are becoming reluctant to hand Salvini "a win" in terms of his populist agenda, according to Luigi Scazzieri, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, a pro-European think-tank.
The other May problem
01 February 2019
Tortoise
Many officials believe we will need – and could easily get – an extension to the March 29 deadline for Brexit. But, with European elections looming in May, this may prove far trickier than we imagine.
Tok FM: Termin brexitu zostanie przesunięty?
31 January 2019
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform spoke about the prospects for article 50 deadline to be extended.
As chances of no-deal Brexit rise, British companies scramble to prepare
31 January 2019
The New York Times
The British economy is 2.3 per cent smaller than it would have been absent the June 2016 vote that set Brexit in motion, according to a recent estimate from the Centre for European Reform, a pro-European research institution.
Enfeebled May faces more Brexit blows
30 January 2019
Eurasia News
A think tank study claims Brexit has already cost the UK’s public finances £17 billion a year, £320 million a week or enough to pay 10,000 more police to patrol the streets and train nurses to fill every vacancy in England while paying for London’s current contribution to the EU budget. The Centre for European Reform estimated that the UK economy was already 2.3 per cent smaller than it would have been had Britain voted remain in 2016.
A last throw of the Brexit dice for Britain's May
30 January 2019
France 24
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, believes there is little chance May will succeed in her renegotiation but expressed the hope MPs will then step in. "Parliament would bring down any government that pursued or tried to allow no deal," he said.
Brytyjski parlament w końcu powiedział, czego chce. "Całkiem możliwe, że to szaleństwo"
30 January 2019
Wyborcza
Jeśli premier May na cokolwiek liczy, to na to, że jak zostanie mało czasu, twardzi eurosceptycy pod przywództwem Jacoba Rees-Mogga z European Research Group skłonią się ku poparciu porozumienia, obawiając się, że negocjacje będą się ciągnąć w nieskończoność albo brexitu w ogóle nie będzie - mówi nam Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska z brytyjskiego think tanku Centre for European Reform.
CER podcast: The rule of law under threat
30 January 2019
Beth Oppenheim asks Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska about the latest developments in the rule of law dispute between Warsaw and Brussels, and how the EU should respond to democratic backsliding beyond the Polish case.
The 'Malthouse compromise': Everything you need to know
29 January 2019
The Guardian
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said an agreement like that would be possible under the current terms of the backstop. “The EU has said they will consider technical fixes as part of the means of replacing the backstop. But the issue is that lots of this is untried and untested,” he said.
Had enough of Brexit? How about 10 more years of it?
29 January 2019
Bloomberg
Even then, notes Sam Lowe, senior research fellow and trade policy expert at the Centre for European Reform, it wouldn’t be over. Another government may want to tweak what its predecessor agreed. He cites the experience of Switzerland, which has been locked in acrimonious negotiations with the EU for years. “One of the main things we should take from the Swiss is that it will never end,” he says. “When one negotiation finishes a new one begins.”
Europe's right-wing populists unite, but face rivalry on the street
29 January 2019
The Voice of America
The minister, Matteo Salvini, is trying to form alliances with governments in Hungary and Poland. Their common foe is immigration — but there are major contradictions, says analyst Luigi Scazzieri of the Centre for European Reform. "With Italy wanting other countries to take migrants but Hungary, for example, having absolutely no intention of doing so. So the real question is, will they be able to work together to form an effective group?'"
Why the EU will reject the 'Malthouse Compromise'
29 January 2019
The Telegraph
Or as Sam Lowe at the Centre for European Reform summarises, “we already know that this will be rejected by the EU, because there is little to distinguish it from the myriad ERG proposals we have seen over the past year.”
“While the EU is - and always has been - prepared to discuss technical solutions to the Irish border as part of the future relationship, they are not prepared to rely on something that does not yet exist as an insurance policy. The backstop actually needs to be a backstop.”
“While the EU is - and always has been - prepared to discuss technical solutions to the Irish border as part of the future relationship, they are not prepared to rely on something that does not yet exist as an insurance policy. The backstop actually needs to be a backstop.”
The Tory 'Malthouse Compromise' and what it means for Brexit
29 January 2019
Bloomberg
There is little new in this proposal,” said Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform, adding that the plan’s alternative backstop is really just a more detailed version of the so-called max fac proposal already ruled out many times by the EU. “As with much of Brexit, it seems too much time has been spent working out what is palatable to the ERG, and too little spent understanding the EU’s positions and why it holds them,” Lowe said.
As it happened – MPs vote for Brady's Brexit amendment to renegotiate backstop
29 January 2019
The Guardian
Charles Grant, a long-term Brussels hand who heads the Centre for European Reform, has a sobering message for Brexiters tonight. He warns that the EU will indeed refuse to reopen talks on the backstop and highlights the gulf between what is on offer in Brussels and the kind of concessions the Brexiters now think they can win. "Having spent much of this week in Brussels, I have no doubt that the EU will refuse to reopen the withdrawal agreement/Irish backstop. EU leaders are alarmed that UK pols remain so ignorant of the EU position and the realities of Brexit."
Banks step up Brexit advice to small firms
28 January 2019
The Times
According to the Centre for European Reform, a pro-EU think tank , the UK economy is already 2.3 per cent smaller than it would have been if Britain had voted to “remain” in 2016.
'Doppelgänger UK' shows Britain's economy is 2.3% smaller because of Brexit
28 January 2019
Yahoo Finance
Britain voted to leave the European Union over two years ago and on 29 March this year, it will sever ties for good. While Brexit hasn’t technically happened, it has caused the economy to be 2.3% smaller than if Brits had voted to remain in the EU.