Research

The EU's defence ambitions are for the long term

The EU's defence ambitions are for the long term

13 March 2024
The Commission’s new proposals to strengthen Europe’s defence industry will be hamstrung by limited funding and member-states' doubts. But in the long term, the EU’s role in defence will probably grow.
Weighed down by gravity: UK trade policy after Brexit

Weighed down by gravity: UK trade policy after Brexit

11 March 2024
The post-Brexit vision of 'Global Britain' is slowly replaced by the reality that free trade agreements deliver marginal benefits, particularly for the UK’s service-oriented economy. 
Two years (and ten years) of war in Europe: Hard times for Ukraine

Two years (and ten years) of war in Europe: Hard times for Ukraine

07 March 2024
After a difficult year for Ukraine, Putin may be encouraged to think he can win the war. But this is a fight neither Ukraine nor Europe can afford to lose.
What to expect from the Digital Markets Act

What to expect from the Digital Markets Act

05 March 2024
Thanks to the Digital Markets Act, large tech firms must now give Europeans more choices about how online services work. But competition authorities will see few reasons to relax.
A new equilibrium in Northern Ireland: Can it last?

A new equilibrium in Northern Ireland: Can it last?

Anton Spisak
01 March 2024
The agreement between the British government and the Democratic Unionist Party addresses immediate challenges but falls short of resolving Northern Ireland’s Brexit conundrum.
Europe and the superpowers: Responding to economic nationalism

Europe and the superpowers: Responding to economic nationalism

26 February 2024
Superpower competition poses a significant challenge for Europe's trade-intensive economy. The EU must evolve its toolkit and economic model to respond.
Helping Europe's digital economy take off: An agenda for the next Commission

Helping Europe's digital economy take off: An agenda for the next Commission

20 February 2024
The EU must simplify its digital rulebook, support more privacy-friendly data-driven innovation, and boost investment in digital infrastructure.
How should Europe handle China?: Annual report 2023

How should Europe handle China?: Annual report 2023

09 February 2024
The CER's annual report starts with an essay on how should Europe handle China. The report then highlights some of the CER's most important publications and events from 2023.
European Electricity Market Reform – ambitions and realities

European Electricity Market Reform – ambitions and realities

08 February 2024
The EU’s electricity market reforms do a good job of promoting more stable energy prices. But member-states must do more to deliver a fully integrated EU-wide energy market.
Europe should look to the West Bank

Europe should look to the West Bank

06 February 2024
The misery of the Gaza war threatens to spill over into a broader conflict. If they want to avoid escalation and advance peace, Europeans need a serious plan for the West Bank.

Articles

Judy Asks: Has the war in Gaza irreversibly damaged Europe's credibility?

Judy Asks: Has the war in Gaza irreversibly damaged Europe's credibility?

14 March 2024
Carnegie Europe
Europe’s response to the war in Gaza has greatly undermined its credibility in the Middle East and beyond.
Why do Britain's goods and services exports appear to be holding up?

Why do Britain's goods and services exports appear to be holding up?

08 March 2024
Encompass
On the face of it, UK exports have been surprisingly robust after Brexit. Goods exports to the EU have tracked those to the rest of the world, despite new trade barriers being imposed on the former but not on the latter.

Will Europe's DMA promote gatekeeper competition?

06 March 2024
(CEPA) The Center for European Policy Analysis
The Digital Markets Act aims to level tech’s uneven playing field. This goal requires not just reining in the largest tech companies but encouraging them to compete against each other.
Ukraine's future hangs by a (European) thread

Ukraine's future hangs by a (European) thread

21 February 2024
Time Magazine
Two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Western leaders proclaimed their full support for Kyiv, Congressional Republicans seem ready to throw Ukraine under the bus.
Europe and the Gaza war

Europe and the Gaza war

07 February 2024
Encompass
Europeans have struggled to form a coherent response to the Israel-Hamas conflict that erupted after Hamas’ brutal attacks on October 7th.
Europe must be ready for Trump 2025

Europe must be ready for Trump 2025

01 February 2024
Yorkshire Bylines
Donald Trump is not guaranteed to win the US presidential election in November 2024, but he has a much better chance than any man facing 91 criminal charges and four trials has a right to expect.

Press

Britain doesn’t need ‘reform’. It just needs to rejoin the EU

17 March 2024
The Observer
Aslak Berg of the Centre for European Reform has recently produced a disturbing study of the devastating impact of surrendering the trading privileges of membership of the nearby single market for the cloud cuckoo land of pathetically inadequate – or what prove to be nonexistent – trade deals with far-off nations such as Canada, Australia and India. The much-vaunted trade deal with the US suffered the fate of the Titanic; but, never mind, there is a trade deal with Texas instead.

As trade with China booms, some Russian companies are flourishing

13 March 2024
Reuters
"The surge in Russia-China trade illustrates simply that sanctions lose their bite over time, as non-participating countries take advantage of the economic opportunities left when Western firms retreat," said Zach Meyers, assistant director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank.

The Green Deal a “costly extravaganza.”

12 March 2024
EU Reporter
At the EU level, Elisabetta Cornago, a senior research fellow at the respected Centre for European Reform, says we have seen attempts of centre-right parties in the European Parliament to “kill” Green Deal policies such as the phase-out of internal combustion engine vehicles or the nature restoration law.

Les Vingt-Sept fixent un cap à l’Union des marchés de capitaux

11 March 2024
L'Agefi
«L’UE doit donner à l’Esma et à ses régulateurs des pouvoirs plus larges. À long terme, c’est essentiel pour s’attaquer aux différences d’interprétation et de mise en œuvre des lois européennes à travers le bloc», explique Zach Meyers, chercheur du Centre for European Reform. 

Jeremy Hunt’s budget mixtape is no match for Brexit’s greatest hits

10 March 2024
The Observer
What was that massive thing that happened in between the financial crisis and the pandemic? Oh yes, Brexit, which Boris Johnson backed and which Goldman Sachs says has taken 5% off our gross domestic product and which the Centre for European Reform says is responsible for an annual £40bn shortfall in tax revenue.

European diplomacy on the defensive

09 March 2024
Financial Times
Luigi Scazzieri of the Centre for European Reform writes: Europe’s unwillingness to take concrete steps to restrain Israel’s military operations in Gaza has strengthened the narrative that the west is guilty of double standards, treating the struggle to support Ukraine as a fight for the future of the rules-based international order while being unwilling to hold Israel to account.

How Apple stands to lose from Europe's new tech law

08 March 2024
The Wall Street Journal
The new law “strikes closer to the heart of Apple’s philosophy, approach to security and its business model,” said Zach Meyers, assistant director with the Centre for European Reform, a think tank. “Unlike Google, there is not much obvious upside or opportunities for Apple.”

Parsing Europe’s productivity stagnation

07 March 2024
Financial Times
At the Centre for European Reform, Zach Meyers has a useful guide to the factors that will determine the Digital Market Act’s success or failure.

L'UE face au défi d'appliquer ses nouvelles règles pour dompter les géants de la tech

07 March 2024
L'Express
Les législateurs sous-estiment largement le défi que représente l'application des récentes lois sur le numérique, prévient Zach Meyers, du think tank Centre for European Reform.
L'avalanche de textes accroît le risque que la Commission et les autorités nationales chargées de les appliquer ne disposent pas des ressources nécessaires pour les mettre en œuvre correctement, s'alarme-t-il.

EU faces uphill battle to rein in big tech

07 March 2024
The Australian
"EU lawmakers are vastly underestimating the challenge of implementing and enforcing the recent swathe of digital laws," Zach Meyers, of the Centre for European Reform think tank, wrote in a February report.
The sheer volume of new laws, Meyers argued, "creates a risk that the Commission and national enforcers will lack the resources to implement them properly."

Podcasts

CER Podcast: How is the EU's role in European defence changing?

13 March 2024
Charles Grant and Luigi Scazzieri discuss the EU's role in European defence.

CER Podcast: War in Ukraine: Where are we two years on?

Ian Bond, Dame Melinda Simmons, Hanna Shelest
29 February 2024
Dame Melinda Simmons, Hanna Shelest and Ian Bond discuss the conflict in Ukraine two years on from Russia's full-scale invasion.

CER Podcast: Europe's defence production challenge

Luigi Scazzieri, Camille Grand
31 January 2024
Camille Grand and Luigi Scazzieri discuss European defence.

CER Podcast: The Taiwan election: China cares, but should Europe?

Ian Bond, Christina Keßler, Philippe Le Corre, Helena Legarda
18 January 2024
Ian Bond, Christina Keßler, Philippe Le Corre and Helena Legarda discuss the Taiwan election.

CER review of 2023: What's next for Europe?

20 December 2023
Eight of our researchers reflect on the past year and look ahead to 2024.

Events

CER/UCL European Institute hybrid discussion on 'Ukraine's European future: Prospects and possibilities'

27 February 2024
Hybrid Brussels/Zoom
With Ian Bond, Maryna Iaroshevych, Natalie Pauwels, Luigi Scazzieri and Andrew Wilson

CER/Kreab breakfast on 'How to defend democracy in Europe'

22 February 2024
Hybrid Brussels/Zoom
With Věra Jourová, Vice President for Values and Transparency, European Commission

Discussion on 'Unlocking Europe's digital potential: Priorities for the next Commission'

20 February 2024
Brussels
With Milena Jabůrková, Zach Meyers, Renate Nikolay, Axel Voss and Paul Adamson. Watch the video of the event here.