Research
UK plan to cut US farming tariffs sparks ministerial spat
14 May 2020
Financial Times
Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said a “big offer” on agriculture would be necessary to make any trade deal acceptable to the Trump administration and US Congress. “The US has long seen its beef, chicken and pork shut out of European markets because of high tariffs and restrictive regulations. If the UK is able to table an offer that deals with all of these concerns, then a trade deal can be done,” he said, adding that such concessions “might prove controversial with British farmers and consumers”.
Die EZB sollte auf das Urteil nicht weiter reagieren
14 May 2020
Capital.de
Das Urteil des Verfassungsgerichts über den Ankauf von Staatsanleihen durch die EZB wird hitzig diskutiert. Christian Odendahl meint: Die Karlsruher Richter sind zu weit gegangen und ihre ökonomischen Argumente sind dünn. Ein Selbstgespräch.
The virus isn't the only problem for Germany's nose-diving economy
14 May 2020
Bloomberg Quint
“The fiscal consolidation over the last 10 years has not increased our ability to weather this crisis,” said Christian Odendahl, the Berlin-based chief economist at the Centre for European Reform. “We refrained from going on a massive spending spree or lowering taxes massively. For the health of the European and world economy, we probably should have done both.”
Brexit civlil war: Boris faces unexpected crisis as top team SPLINTERS over US trade deal
14 May 2020
The Express
Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said a trade deal could be done with the Trump administration if there was a “big offer” on agriculture.
EU insists compromise on Brexit extension can be found
13 May 2020
The New European
Trade expert Sam Lowe from the pro-EU think tank, the Centre for European Reform, disagreed. He said No 10 was too focused on tackling the virus to properly focus on trade talks.“We’re not in a place where we’re even thinking about that [negotiations],” he told the Independent. “In order to get to a point where you can make those compromises you have to go through a lot of political theatre, I think, and at the moment everyone’s focused on Covid-19. Which is fine.”
European Union diplomats face the enemy within
13 May 2020
Politico
Ian Bond, a former British diplomat who is director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, a think tank, said it would be hard for the EEAS to take a firmer line on China — given that foreign policy decisions need unanimous agreement at EU level."You're always going to be stuck with the lowest common denominator," said Bond.Individual member countries have also been reluctant to take a tough line with Beijing, on which they are increasingly economically dependent, he said.
Spending on Covid-19 crisis may blow apart EU defence ambitions
13 May 2020
Yahoo News
“The proposed cuts to the EU’s defence budget will not put an end to the EU’s ambitions,” says Sophia Besch, a research fellow focusing on defence and security policy at the Centre for European Reform.“But they show that, on defence, the union is only as effective as member-states allow it to be.”
Why geography matters in Anglo-French trade amid row over 14-day quarantine
12 May 2020
The Telegraph
Sam Lowe, of the Centre for European Reform think tank, is likewise optimistic that the quarantine exemptions will help the tourism industry. “All these quarantines will lead to reduced tourism on aggregate but it could, if not boost tourism between France and the UK, see France become a relatively more popular destination,” he said.
“The option becomes, for everyone in the UK, that you either have to go to Cornwall or France, whereas before you had France, Greece and Spain.”
“The option becomes, for everyone in the UK, that you either have to go to Cornwall or France, whereas before you had France, Greece and Spain.”
‘They can effectively blame Covid for everything’: What coronavirus means for Brexit talks
12 May 2020
The Independent
“We’re all doing it,” says Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow and trade expert at the Centre for European Reform. “We all know what the limitations are when it comes to teleconferencing. You lose all of the informal interaction. Just by personalities interacting you get a much better grasp of the person you’re talking to.
Covid-19 has completely sunk the chances of a swift EU trade deal
12 May 2020
The Telegraph
As Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, puts it, “Europe has lots of problems, but the idea that it’s institutions are about to fall apart is for the birds”.
Boris Johnson challenge: EU’s three conditions for post-Brexit trade deal revealed
12 May 2020
The Express
Charles Grant, from the Centre for European Reform, said: “I think the EU will set three conditions for this, which will be very very hard for Boris Johnson’s Government to comply with. “The first condition is a so-called level-playing field — the EU will insist that our rules on social and environmental standards, state aid, taxation are automatically updated to follow EU rules. “Because they’re very worried, genuinely worried, that we will turn into Singapore-on-Thames, kind of slash and burn, cut our regulations and steal lots of investment from them by being a deregulated economy.”
No triumph for Putin on Victory Day
11 May 2020
Encompass
A few weeks ago, Vladimir Putin was expecting Victory Day on May 9th to cap an excellent start to 2020.
CER podcast: Putin hits a bad patch
06 May 2020
As 2020 started, Vladimir Putin’s economic, political and diplomatic position looked strong. Now he faces recession, an exploding COVID-19 pandemic and declining domestic support. What does that mean for the West?
5 things to watch in UK-US trade talks
05 May 2020
Politico
But Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, noted that Britain would struggle to get anything significant from the US on financial services, as Washington does not historically address financial regulation in its trade agreements. However a deal could lead to closer working on financial services regulation in future, he added.
As EU negotiations stall, London opens talks on US trade pact
05 May 2020
EurActiv
“We are still seeing a divide in government between those who want to sign whatever the US puts in front of it,” Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform and a member of the UK government’s Strategic Trade Advisory Group, told EURACTIV. “The US, as with the EU, tends to get what it wants,” said Lowe.
The German radical right are not so hit by the virus: a reply to Hans-Georg Betz
05 May 2020
Open democracy
The EU has failed in its response as a solidarity community for a long a time now. This longstanding institutional decline began with the financial crisis in 2008, the ‘refugee crisis’ and now the Covid-19 crisis. Luigi Scazzieri from the Centre for European Reform writes:
As world starts reopening, borders remain firmly shut
01 May 2020
The Straits Times
"It's highly likely that international borders will remain partly closed until the pandemic is under control both in Europe and in the US, which is unlikely to happen at the same time," said Mr Luigi Scazzieri, an expert on migration and transatlantic relations at the Centre for European Reform in London.
Coronavirus tests state of the unions on both sides of Atlantic
29 April 2020
Bloomberg
“If the EU does not provide the solidarity and insurance in such a crisis, parts of the EU may then question what the EU is for,” said Christian Odendahl, Berlin-based chief economist at the Centre for European Reform. “That’s why countries like Germany have been willing to debate the matter of aid - and even transfers to the south.”
Why Keir Starmer must revamp Labour's trade strategy
28 April 2020
Prospect
The world is facing a combination of US-China trade wars and new export restrictions on essential supplies thanks to Covid-19. Added to that the British government is in the process of Brexit.
EU in crisis: Brussels now WEAKER warn EU nationals as coronavirus tearing block apart
28 April 2020
The Express
The Centre for European Reform said the EU’s slow response to Italy’s outbreak, the worst-hit in Europe, has led to a surge in euroscepticism in Italy including among pro-Europeans.
The research centre wrote on April 2: “After the migration and eurozone crises, the EU’s initially poor response has reinforced concerns that the bloc is unwilling to help when Italy is most in need.”
The research centre wrote on April 2: “After the migration and eurozone crises, the EU’s initially poor response has reinforced concerns that the bloc is unwilling to help when Italy is most in need.”