Research
May and the single market in good
21 June 2018
Financial Times
Is Theresa May about to propose that the UK should stay in Europe’s single market for goods? ... The question was raised by Ivan Rogers, the former UK ambassador to the EU, at the end of his recent Glasgow speech. It was touched on by Martin Wolf in a recent column. It was fully discussed yesterday by Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform in an FT op-ed which, like the other pieces, is required reading.
CER podcast: Is Macron becoming isolated in Europe?
20 June 2018
Sophia Besch asks Charles Grant about Macron's progress on his reform agenda so far.
Brexit must-read: Single market in goods will come at a price for Brexit Britain
20 June 2018
Politico London Playbook
This op-ed in the FT by the well-informed director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, Charles Grant, predicts Theresa May is about to request customs union membership for UK goods, but not services. He warns Europe may not be open to the idea, and that the plan may trigger a Cabinet resignation or two. Worth your time.
Single market in goods will come at a price
20 June 2018
Financial Times
“For now, the odd couple of Mr Johnson and Mr Barnier is working to keep Britain out of the single market for goods. But a fightback may be approaching in both Britain and other EU countries from those who are prepared to compromise on legal principles and wish to maximise future trade.” (Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, in the FT).
Single market in goods will come at a price for Brexit Britain
20 June 2018
Financial Times
Many of the recent arguments over Brexit have concerned customs arrangements. But another thorny issue is creating discord both inside the British government and between the UK and the EU: should the UK remain in the single market for goods trade?
The necessity of multilateralism
19 June 2018
International Policy Digest
“What is new today is that the United States in particular, but also the UK, Russia, and others, often contrary to their own interests, are trying to go it alone more often—whether by pulling out of international agreements, leaving international organizations, or annexing territory in violation of international law. It is too early to say, however, that multilateralism is on the wane: that depends on how the rest of world responds to these moves,” said Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform.
Brexit briefing: Barnier talks tough on security
19 June 2018
Financial Times
The challenges facing Britain on justice and home affairs have been comprehensively set out in a paper by Camino Mortera-Martinez, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank. She says that there are three broad areas where Britain wants things to stay the same. These are: access to EU law enforcement databases, EU measures to support practical law enforcement co-operation such as the European Arrest Warrant, and co-operation through EU agencies such as Europol and Eurojust.
Tok FM: Brexit - czy możliwe jest kolejne referendum?
18 June 2018
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska speaks to Tok FM about whether there can be a second referendum in the UK and on the Withdrawal Bill.
Germany's Merkel faces political crisis over migrant policy
15 June 2018
NBC News
Sophia Besch, a research fellow at the CER think-tank, said Merkel has become more isolated on the European stage but her patience and experience could ensure her political survival. “She is fighting various fires in Europe. She has the Dutch and the northern and Scandinavian countries on her side, but she is certainly not strong enough to be called the undisputed leader of Europe as she might have been," Besch added. “She’s great at surviving these things, in part because of her calm approach, which is in stark contrast to the posturing in the CSU and the ‘Merkel must go’ faction of the CDU."
The Guardian - Politics Weekly podcast: Grenfell memorial, Brexit brinkmanship and open Scotland
14 June 2018
After a dramatic week of Brexit brinkmanship in the Commons, what has actually changed? As Tory rebels and Brexiters both claim the other side blinked first, our expert panel will fill you in on what really happened – and what comes next. Joining Pippa Crerar this week are our political correspondent Jessica Elgot, Allie Renison from the Institute of Directors and Sam Lowe from the Centre for European Reform.
Even as a Remainer, I can see that the politically compromised Brexit we are heading for is utterly intolerable
14 June 2018
The Telegraph
As Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform points out, the single market was virtually a British invention, enlargement was championed by the UK, we essentially wrote the EU’s competition and state aid rules, and the current wave of European free trade agreements was a largely British-driven phenomenon.
Both sides claim victories in chaotic 'crunch votes' on Brexit
14 June 2018
The World
“Dominic Grieve’s last-minute amendment focuses on a no-deal scenario. It does not give Parliament the opportunity to reject a bad deal, which is what the Lords’ original amendment arguably intended,” says Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a senior analyst at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. The final vote itself, she argues, is less important than the leverage it gives MPs to pressure the government to change its negotiating stance.
CER Bulletin podcast: Transatlantic relationship; Brexit and financial services; UK-EU defence negotiations
14 June 2018
CER researchers brief podcast listeners on three of the most important topics for Europe this month.
No panaCeta
13 June 2018
Progress online
Sam Lowe, trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, has collated estimates for other potential EU agreements. The largest is for Japan, with an upper estimate of 0.76 per cent of GDP. But as he notes the majority of these gains are forecast in the areas of food, feed, and processed food, with much less coming from services. This is also the most optimistic forecast, the least optimistic has gains of 0.39 per cent. Forecasts for an EU-US agreement, unlikely as that now seems, come in around halfway between Japan and Canada.
MPs have been given a say on Brexit — they should use it
12 June 2018
The Times
Last month the House of Lords sent Theresa May a clear message — Brexit does not have to mean her version of Brexit.
Brexit briefing: MPs have been given a say on Brexit — they should use it
12 June 2018
Financial Times
“When MPs vote on Tuesday they should stick to their guns and pass the Lords amendment. It gives them an opportunity to transform parliament from a bystander into an active player in the Brexit talks,” wrote Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in The Times.
May udfordrer oprørere i kamp om brexit
12 June 2018
Borsen
Ønsket om medlemskab af det indre marked får May med stor sandsynlighed stemt ned, for både Det Konservative Parti og Labour er imod, understreger Sam Lowe, research fellow ved den EU-venlige tænketank Centre for European Reform.
China, EU should work together for better globalization: Envoy
10 June 2018
Xinhua
The European Union (EU) and China should work together for a better globalization, Chinese envoy to the EU has said in a speech earlier this week. In his remarks at the breakfast meeting on Thursday co-hosted by the Centre for European Reform, an European think-tank, and Kreab, a global consulting company, Ambassador Zhang Ming, head of the Chinese Mission to the EU, shed light on how to save globalization and appealed to the EU to join hands with China to buck unilateralism.
BREXIT SHAMBLES: How May's backstop will make it IMPOSSIBLE for UK to trade with USA
08 June 2018
The Express
Sam Lowe, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said: "The UK backstop makes a US trade deal difficult for two reasons. "First, while in place it would prevent from the UK from lowering its agriculture tariffs, which is a precondition of any deal with the US. "Second, if the backstop really is to remove the need for a border in Ireland, it will also require the UK food standards remaining fully aligned with the EU. "This is something the US will demand to be changed in the event of an any UK-US free trade agreement."
The Government's proposals for a future security partnership with the European Union
08 June 2018
House of Commons Defence Committee Report
Sophia Besch a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform told the Committeethat CSDP was not at the heart of the UK’s strategic thinking and priorities but that the UK did have an interest in influencing the strategic and regional priorities in the debate on European Security. She suggested that the limited number of troops that the UK had provided to EU missions and operations had influenced the debate in Europe around whether the UK was a valuable part of CSDP.