Research
Barnier says EU will not compromise standards in future UK trade deal
20 November 2017
The Guardian
Chief Brexit negotiator tells a CER conference today any move to abandon European laws and regulations will complicate agreement.
Barnier to UK: Staying close to EU model could be ‘decisive’
20 November 2017
Politico
The U.K. needs to decide if it wants to stay “close to the European model” after leaving the EU or “gradually move away from it,” Michel Barnier, the bloc’s chief Brexit negotiator, said Monday.In a speech at the Brussels base of the Centre for European Reform, a British think-tank, Barnier said the answer to that question “will be important and even decisive” for the future partnership “and shape also the conditions for ratification of that partnership in many national parliaments and obviously in the European Parliament.”
BBC Newsnight: German coalition talks collapse
20 November 2017
Sophia Besch, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform speaks to Newsnight about the collapse in the German coalition talks (from 03.05).
What does Merkel’s coalition crisis mean for Brexit?
20 November 2017
Channel 4 News
Michel Barnier, speaking to the Centre for European Reform in Brussels, has warned that ratification by EU Parliaments will be tricky if the UK goes down the route preferred by the more ardent Brexiteers and chooses to diverge from EU rules. Michel Barnier’s speech was peppered with warnings for UK politicians who still think that a Brexit deal could see many of the advantages of current smooth access to the Single Market continuing post Brexit even if the UK tries to diverge from EU rules.
Channel 4 News: Michel Barnier
20 November 2017
Michel Barnier speaking at the Centre for European Reform conference in Brussels (from 23.25 mins).
EU's preference is ambitious trade deal with UK - EU's Barnier
20 November 2017
Reuters
“If we manage to negotiate an orderly withdrawal, to fully respect the integrity of the single market and establish a level playing field, there is every reason for our future partnership to be ambitious. This is our preferred option,” Michel Barnier told the Centre for European conference in Brussels on Monday.
Barnier raises Irish obstacle as UK moves on Brexit bill
20 November 2017
Bloomberg
Barnier told a Centre for European Reform conference in Brussels on Monday that Northern Ireland will require a specific solution and that it’s up to “those who wanted Brexit” to come up with ideas. In comments that will rile the pro-UK. Northern Irish party that props up Theresa May’s government, he said Northern Ireland already has different rules to Britain. “Unique circumstances require specific solutions,” he said.
EU takes tough approach to Brexit as talks enter key weeks
20 November 2017
The Daily Mail
Michel Barnier told a conference in Brussels that London needs to provide clear proposals soon to find a way for the UK to leave the EU in 2019 but still have a transparent, open border between Northern Ireland and EU member Ireland. "Those who wanted Brexit must offer solutions," Barnier told a Centre for European Reform conference in Brussels.
Barnier: UK must provide solution for Irish border
20 November 2017
Financial Times
Michel Barnier said the onus was on the UK “to come forward with proposals” to avoid imposing a physical border in Ireland amid talks Northern Ireland could stay part of the EU’s single market and customs union after Brexit.“Those who want Brexit must offer solutions”, said Mr Barnier at a Centre for European Reform conference in Brussels on Monday. The UK has resisted plans to allow Northern Ireland to become an effective “special economic area” within Britain.
Michel Barnier hints talks on a Brexit trade deal will collapse if the UK doesn’t sign up to ALL European rules
20 November 2017
The Sun
In a speech to the Centre for European Reform which will enrage Eurosceptics, Mr Barnier insisted that any attempt to create new rules after Brexit even on domestic issues such as farming and healthcare will meet fierce resistance from the EU.
EU negotiator rules out special Brexit deal for UK banks
20 November 2017
The Irish Times
The European Union’s Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier has ruled out the prospect of UK financial firms benefiting from a special post-Brexit deal that will give them continued access to Europe’s single market.“Those who claim that the UK should cherry-pick part of the single market must stop this contradiction,” Mr Barnier said at the Centre for European reform conference in Brussels on Monday.“The single market is a package of four indivisible freedoms, common rules, institutions and enforcement structure. The UK knows these rules very well, like the back of its hand. It has contributed to defining them.”
Barnier warns City of London to scale down Brexit hopes
20 November 2017
Financial Times
Mr Barnier argued there would be a risk to Europe’s financial stability if the continent’s main financial centre was outside the EU’s regulatory orbit. While co-operation would be possible at international level, Mr Barnier said this could never amount to the type of access enjoyed by Britain under the single market. “Let’s not have a short memory!” he said, referring to the financial crisis. “We will not compromise on financial stability — we will never compromise on financial stability — in the EU and in the eurozone.” His assessment came in a speech to the Centre for European Reform that highlighted the hurdles remaining if Britain is to achieve “sufficient progress” in divorce negotiations by a crucial December summit.
London loses EU agencies to Paris and Amsterdam in Brexit relocation
20 November 2017
The Guardian
“Brexit means Brexit,” he said, turning Theresa May’s line back on her. “The same people who argue for setting the UK free also argue that the UK should remain in some EU agencies. But freedom implies responsibility for building new UK administrative capacity,” he told a Brussels conference hosted by the Centre for European Reform.
EU nations will block Brexit deal if Britain ditches Brussels regulations, warns Michel Barnier
20 November 2017
The Times
“The UK has chosen to leave the EU. Does it want to stay close to the European model or does it want to gradually move away from it?” he said at the Centre for European Reform in Brussels.Mr Barnier reminded the British government that any future trade agreement with the EU must be ratified in at least 38 national and regional parliaments, as well as by MEPs, before it can come into force.
Trading with Trump - it's complicated
17 November 2017
Financial Times
A UK-US trade deal will create more problems for British farmers and food consumers than it would solve, argues the Centre for European Reform.
Fighting the Trump trade threat: The EU must go through Congress
17 November 2017
EurActiv
The Trump administration’s actions on trade so far reflect a mixture of traditional, assertive American approaches and more troubling new ideas that could have serious consequences, writes Noah Gordon, warning that Europe has a lot to lose in a steel trade war against the US.
'Putting politics above prosperity' – wait, isn't that what the Brexiteers are doing?
17 November 2017
The Guardian
David Davis's ill-advised remark to an audience of German businessmen reveals an alarming ignorance about the way in which the EU is conducting negotiations.
Charting a new German foreign policy
16 November 2017
The Economist
France had wanted a smaller group; that Germany’s eastern neighbours are included is an important signal , says Sophia Besch, a security expert at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank. But for PESCO to succeed, much more is needed, including financial commitments which German voters may still be unwilling to accept.
Voice of America: EU signs historic defence pact as Brexit, Trump drive bloc to co-operate
14 November 2017
Three years later, Russia’s invasion of Crimea persuaded many European leaders of the need for closer defence.
Polska uległa presji i przyłączy się do projektu unijnej obrony wojskowej. „Zainicjowany przez Niemcy i Francję”
13 November 2017
Najwyzszy Czas
Unia próbowała tego wiele razy. Po raz pierwszy inicjatywa może zakończyć się sukcesem – mówiła Sophia Besch, ekspertka think tanku Centre for European Reform w Londynie.