Research
Dutch referendum raises concerns over EU enlargement
07 April 2016
Politico
Rem Korteweg, a Dutch senior research fellow at the London-based CER, echoed concerns throughout the region. "This will slow the accession process down and raise doubts about whether the EU can stand by commitments it makes," he said. "The Dutch government will find it difficult to agree to enlargement with any state at this juncture."
Holanda examina la profundidad del eurodesencanto en la Unión Europea
06 April 2016
El Pais
Rem Korteweg, del CER —un think tank londinense— se hace eco de las encuestas y apunta que el no holandés “es probable”. Y tendrá consecuencias: “Minaría la relación entre la UE y Ucrania, daría al presidente ruso Vladímir Putin una victoria inmerecida y avivaría los populismos a lo largo de Europa”, subraya.
Czy Holandia zechce Ukrainę? Dziś referendum w sprawie ratyfikacji umowy UE
06 April 2016
Gazeta Wyborcza
Nie musi podporządkować się wynikowi głosowania, ale pełne zlekceważenie "nie" byłoby politycznie trudne dla partii z koalicji premiera Marka Ruttego, które popierają umowę stowarzyszeniową. - Dlatego niektórzy w Holandii liczą na środowy deszcz. Obniżyłby frekwencję - mówi Rem Korteweg z Centre for European Reform.
Will Britain leave the EU over The Panama Papers? How David Cameron may affect the Brexit vote
06 April 2016
International Business Times
"Chances are many people will have forgotten the details by the time we get there," said Ian Bond, director of foreign policy for the pro-EU Centre for European Reform based in London. "But they probably will strengthen that populist sense which the campaign to leave the EU is tapping into that you have a political elite that lives in a different world from ordinary people and I think that is potentially quite damaging to the remain side."
Putin looks to the Dutch for a Ukraine boost
06 April 2016
Newsweek
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU’s Council of Ministers, ducked out from campaigning hard for a yes vote. “He fears that he has little to gain from leading [the yes campaign]. He faces general elections in spring 2017, and his party is neck-and-neck with Geert Wilders’s right-wing populist Freedom Party in the race to become the country’s largest [in the Dutch parliament],” argued Rem Korteweg of the Centre for European Reform.
Sky News with Kay Burley: In or Out? Is the EU good or bad for business?
05 April 2016
Sky News
"It is very very hard to see what problems facing Britain today would be solved by leaving the EU. We need to avoid scapegoating the EU for our own failings." argued Simon Tilford of the CER on Sky News. Asked why Germany is still the highest producer of steel in the EU, whilst the UK steel industry is contracting, he answered; "membership of the EU is not a constraint on British exporters. It doesn't handicap their ability to sell into emerging markets."
Dutch referendum could cause trouble for European Union
05 April 2016
The New York Times
The awkwardness for Prime Minister Mark Rutte is that while the Dutch Parliament has ratified the agreement, an instrument of ratification must be deposited with the European Union in Brussels for it to be legal. This gives legal space to the referendum, said Rem Korteweg, a Dutch analyst with the CER. If Dutch voters oppose the deal against the vote of their duly elected Parliament, as they are currently expected to do, Mr Rutte "will have to find a middle road," Mr Korteweg said. After all, he noted, the Netherlands currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Council.
The reckless return of migrants to Turkey is a dangerous time for Europe
05 April 2016
The Independent
Ankara has not managed to shut down migration flows in the past, and there is nothing to prevent the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, asking for more concessions.
No Dutch courage for Ukraine
04 April 2016
Carnegie Europe
Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose country currently holds the rotating presidency of the EU's Council of Ministers, ducked out from campaigning hard for a yes vote. "He fears that he has little to gain from leading [the yes campaign]. He faces general elections in Spring 2017, and his party is neck-and-neck with Geert Wilders’ right-wing populist Freedom Party in the race to become the country’s largest [in the Dutch parliament]," argued Rem Korteweg of the CER.
Britain's pro-Europe campaigners are losing the argument
03 April 2016
Financial Times
They cannot find it within themselves to say anything nice about the EU. They have to reform it first. This is what David Cameron, the British prime minister, did in Brussels in February. It is no coincidence that the best known pro-European think-tank in the UK is called the Centre for European Reform.
CER podcast: The Dutch-Ukraine referendum
01 April 2016
The Netherlands will vote on the EU’s association agreement with Ukraine on April 6th. Like the British referendum, the Dutch referendum risks making both the EU and its eastern neighbourhood less stable.
Why Britain should remain European
31 March 2016
Project Syndicate
The CER report is strongest on the real (nonfinancial) economic issues. The most contentious point here is whether the British economy is held back in some way by red tape imposed by Brussels or by European treaty obligations.It is very hard to find any such stifling effect in the data. The CER points out that product- and labor-market regulation in the UK are closer to that of the United States than to Western Europe, and the same broad pattern emerges from the OECD’s assessment of barriers to entrepreneurship.
'Brexit' gamble puts UK services firms in the crosshairs
31 March 2016
Bloomberg
"It's the area for Britain where EU action could deliver the most obvious gains," said John Springford, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform. If there was further integration in the single market for services,"you'd see Britain’s proportion of EU services markets expand quite largely."
UCL European Institute: John Springford on migration in the Brexit debate
31 March 2016
John Springford, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform on the economic and trade implications of free movement, and the role of migration in the referendum on Britain's EU membership.
Euractiv stakeholder workshop: What will TTIP mean for the UK?
31 March 2016
Rem Korteweg talks to Euractiv at their stakeholder workshop on: TTIP, what does it mean for the UK?
In Europe, states challenge austerity but lack cash to spend
28 March 2016
The Daily Mail
"What has changed is that over the past year, eurozone governments have started to openly question" the wisdom of Brussels and Berlin's policy strictures, said Simon Tilford of the CER. In Portugal, Finance Minister Mario Centeno, who has a PhD in Economics from Harvard University, is introducing income tax and sales tax cuts, tax rebates, new subsidies for household energy bills and restoring government workers' pay that was cut. Those steps, he says, will stimulate consumption.
Frauke Petry: Meet the smiling new face of Germany's far-right
26 March 2016
The Telegraph
“Do you compromise and have a chauffeur-driven car, or remain true to your values in opposition? That’s the dilemma faced by all these parties, and we’ve seen in the Netherlands, Denmark and Finland that being in government does not help them in the polls,” says Mr Grant.
Refugee crisis: Hope turns to despair as Lesbos camp becomes open-air prison
25 March 2016
The Independent
“Greece has effectively been asked to build an asylum system in two weeks,” says Camino Mortera, a research fellow for the Centre for European Reform and a specialist in EU law. “The EU claims there won’t be returns en masse but if you are not able to process people in a regulated fashion, how else are they going to deal with this?”
Brussels attacks fuel debate over migrants in a fractured Europe
22 March 2016
The New York Times
"In the public eye everything gets connected: the mass abuse in Cologne on New Year’s Eve and the attacks today," said Rem Korteweg, a security analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London, referring to the sexual abuse and robberies in Cologne on New Year’s Eve that were linked to migrants. “However different, in the public mind and for the euroskeptic populace, they’re all the same thing."
Brexit supporters and Scottish independence advocates believe in a 'false freedom', says David Mundell
22 March 2016
The Independent
In a speech at the CER he will also question how supporters of Scottish independence can be comfortable campaigning for Britain to stay in Europe, suggesting that both the Union and the EU carry similar benefits such as trade and security.“If Scotland had voted to leave the United Kingdom, those who supported that outcome would have argued that we had achieved ‘freedom’ from the UK,” he will say.