Research
Make content platforms pay for digital infrastructures, telecom CEOs say
14 February 2022
EurActiv
Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reforms (CER), said, however, that “telecoms companies seem to be ignoring the fact that digital platforms are driving huge demand in telecoms networks – for example, many consumers are prepared to pay more for a 5G connection than a slower mobile network.”
Putin’s Nord Stream 2 pipeline: The Stasi connection
12 February 2022
The Times
Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, has described this process as “Russia reversing our plumbing”.
Com’è stato il primo anno dello European Peace Facility
12 February 2022
Linkiesta
«Alcuni Stati – spiega Megan Ferrando, ricercatrice del Centre for European Reform – hanno spinto per questo progetto, ma il fatto che i negoziati siano durati dal 2018 al 2021 mostra che c’era una grande divisione su come gestirlo. Paesi come l’Irlanda e i Paesi Bassi erano preoccupati per i potenziali impatti negativi, così hanno spinto per avere delle garanzie».
European Commission expands the radio spectrum available for 5G
10 February 2022
EurActiv
For Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, the Commission’s decision on 5 GHz was a “low hanging fruit”. The real struggle is quietly taking place around the 6 GHz, a band so far primarily untouched by spectrum allocations.
Judy Asks: Do the Europeans trust France?
10 February 2022
Carnegie Europe
The issue is partly a question of motives, partly a question of process. French President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly made surprising foreign policy pitches and in turn had to face criticism from partners who feel they should have been consulted.
DW News: Ukraine, Russia, Germany and France hold talks
10 February 2022
The hope for talks between France, Germany, Russia and Ukraine would be to come to a diplomatic solution for the Russia-Ukraine crisis, says Sophia Besch.
CER podcast: Do states need to use more economic coercion to drive climate action?
04 February 2022
The first of two episodes from our economics conference on the politics of climate change.
The end of Italy's Mario Draghi illusion
02 February 2022
The Telegraph
“The whole process has been extremely painful. It revealed that there is no trust and that Draghi’s government is going to be internally unstable,” said Luigi Scazzieri from the Centre for European Reform.
Intel decision spells trouble for Vestager’s Google campaign
01 February 2022
Politico
“This ruling is likely to have an impact on how the court looks at other cases, like the pending Qualcomm exclusivity rebates case,” said Zach Meyers, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.
The EU is facing many difficulties, but Brexit isn’t one of them
01 February 2022
The Guardian
The Centre for European Reform recently estimated that there has been an 11.2% negative impact on trade as a result of Brexit. The UK share of world trade has fallen by a further 15% compared to pre-referendum projections.
Covid has been an easy scapegoat for economic disruption, but Brexit is biting
31 January 2022
The Guardian
Well before the date of departure, work by John Springford at the Centre for European Reform showed that UK GDP was lagging behind its expected level. By September 2021, he had concluded that UK goods trade was 11.2%, or £8.5bn, lower than it would have been had the UK stayed in the EU’s single market and customs union.
Germany's Russia problem: Ukraine crisis tests new government
31 January 2022
Financial Times
“Germany has persuaded itself, with Russian encouragement, that it has a special relationship with Moscow and a special responsibility for preserving peace in Europe,” says Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank. “And [it] sees Ukraine’s freely-expressed interest in getting closer to the west as a secondary issue.”
In standoff With Putin, Biden makes sure European allies are with him
28 January 2022
The New York Times
“He senses weakness in Biden and a certain amount of political churn in Europe,” said Ian Bond, a former British diplomat who is now head of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, a London research group. “Germany has a new government finding its feet, French elections, UK not in great shape, Europe emerging from pandemic. I think he does see Biden as a quite weak transitional figure.”
Zero tariffs for green
28 January 2022
Financial Times
Multilateral negotiations over free trade in environmental goods (such as batteries, electric motors, and heat pumps) collapsed in 2014. The EU should try again and reduce tariffs unilaterally if talks fail, writes the Centre for European Reform.
Ask CER - Episode 3: Strategic autonomy, the EU's taxonomy and the French election
26 January 2022
You asked, we answered: the third episode of our ‘Ask CER’ podcast series.
US prepares ‘massive sanctions’ against Russia
26 January 2022
Independent (Ireland)
Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre For European Reform (CER), told a webinar that he was “pessimistic” about the prospects for invasion, and that he believed there was a very real risk that an invasion could lead to a new Cold War between Russia and western powers.
The EU's 'unforgivable failure' over Ukraine
25 January 2022
The Telegraph
Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform says Germany will fall into line and back draconian sanctions if Mr Putin actually attacks. “Deep in their bones, the German political class are Atlanticist,” he said.
The Draghi dilemma: Italian presidential election risks turbulence
24 January 2022
Financial Times
“Italy can be seen as a potentially ticking time bomb because of its debt,” says Luigi Scazzieri, a senior fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. “If questions were to re-emerge about the sustainability of that debt, the euro’s foundation would once again be questioned.
Here are the 10 guilty parties responsible for Brexit
24 January 2022
The Independent
Every editor, MP and diplomat, and the heads of all think tanks (with the exception of Charles Grant of the Centre of European Reform) patted me on the head and said it [Brexit] wouldn’t happen.
Microsoft heads for second big EU showdown — this time over gaming
24 January 2022
Politico
“Its [Microsoft] past bruising antitrust experiences mean that it’s now more constructive than other big tech firms when dealing with regulators,” said Zach Meyers, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.