Research
Merkel, Macron and the euro
07 June 2018
Politico
In an email forum, three experts chime in on the German chancellor’s proposal for the eurozone.
Can NATO deter both Russia and radicalization?
07 June 2018
Deutsche Welle
Ian Bond, director of foreign policy for the Centre for European Reform, suspects some of Trump's insistence that NATO isn't doing enough is because he doesn't understand how the alliance works. "NATO is not going to start picking up random people who've been radicalized on the internet and want to blow themselves up," Bond told DW. "You're not going to deploy NATO's rapid-reaction force to a guy with a van and some knives on London Bridge. NATO is not the answer to most of the kinds of terrorism that western countries are now facing."
How dangerous for the UK economy is the European Union’s latest advice to Continental firms?
06 June 2018
The Independent
Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform think tank says that sectors which traditionally find rules of origin burdensome include textiles, food, machinery and vehicles.
CER podcast: A briefing on Italy's new government
06 June 2018
Sophia Besch asks Luigi Scazzieri what to expect from the new ruling coalition in Italy.
Sky News: Rules of origin
06 June 2018
Sam Lowe a research fellow a the Centre for European Reform spoke to Sky News about rule of origin and Brexit, in particular its impact on the UK car industry.
Doubts grow over the UK's preferred post-Brexit model for financial services
04 June 2018
City AM
Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform, said member states were unhappy about being “lectured to” by government and City representatives. “There’s been a bit of arrogance,” he told City A.M. “They know it’s bad but they’re not willing to risk the legal order of the EU and the integrity of single market, which they see as more valuable.”
Here's why the Brexit 'backstop' is now the most important issue facing Britain
03 June 2018
Business Insider
Agreeing on what the backstop will look like has, therefore, become the central and most urgent issue in Brexit talks. As trade expert, Sam Lowe, wrote for BI last month: "The can kicking cannot go on forever."
The EU counts its crises as problems mount
03 June 2018
The Daily Times
“In Spain, it’s a localised issue about corruption, but Italy is obviously very serious,” said John Springford of the London-based Centre for European Reform (CER) think-tank. “It is too big to fail in terms of the eurozone, and too big to save.”
Trump's steel tariffs places the UK in a bind
02 June 2018
Daily Mirror
Trump has slapped new import taxes on European, Canadian and Mexican aluminium and steel, potentially kick starting a global trade war.
Liam Fox urges Brussels to avoid US trade war
01 June 2018
The Times
Sam Lowe, a trade expert from the Centre for European Reform, said the UK was playing a double game on EU retaliation. “In public, Britain does not want to be too critical of Donald Trump, not least because of Brexit. However, the UK is hiding behind the EU since it needs its muscle to prevent the US action going on without end. I think the UK will say it wants to curb the measures, then fall back in line if they come into place.”
Minister's fury as Trump sparks global trade war: Fox threatens to retaliate over 'absurd' tariffs on steel as Brussels joins the fightback
01 June 2018
Daily Mail
Trade expert Sam Lowe from the Centre for European Reform told The Times the UK is playing two games with the EU. He says the government doesn't want to appear too critical of Trump in light of Brexit but the UK is still hiding behind the bloc in the hope of curbing the measures.
Brexit Bulletin: A bad trade-off?
01 June 2018
Bloomerg
Sam Lowe, trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, offered a snap judgment: “I totally don’t get it.”
How will power swap in Italy and Spain change EU balance?
01 June 2018
EU Observer
"Spain is not going to be as problematic. Sanchez will try to show he can be a leader," said Camino Mortera-Martinez from the Centre for European Reform think-tank. She pointed out that the new Spanish leader saw himself as a caretaker prime minister, whose priorities will be to repeal some of Rajoy's laws on freedom of expression and social rights, and to enable dialogue with Catalonia.
Sky News: Trump tariffs
01 June 2018
Sam Lowe a reasearch fellow at the Centre for European Reform, spoke to Sky News about Trumps and tariffs saying that the UK is in a bind.
Mutual unrecognition
31 May 2018
Financial Times
The EU may have once thought about including financial services in trade deals but won't do for the Brits. It's time for the UK to get real give hopes on "mutual recognition", writes Samuel Lowe at the Centre for European Reform: "Behind closed doors, member-state representatives say that comprehensive mutual recognition is not something an FTA can allow in and of itself. It would also require the EU to change many of its laws, which only provide certain rights to financial institutions incorporated within the territories of member-states of the EU and the European Economic Area. In itself, this would not be an impossible hurdle to clear, but it would require the will to offer mutual recognition in the first place, which is currently absent on the continent."
Briten wollen wohl einen langsameren Brexit
31 May 2018
Handelsblatt
„Die Übergangsperiode ist nicht lang genug“, sagt Sam Lowe vom Thinktank Centre for European Reform. Großbritannien werde Ende 2020 immer noch nicht bereit sein für den Brexit. Im besten Fall könnten beide Seiten bis dahin ein neues Handelsabkommen aushandeln. Die Umsetzung könne dann aber nicht über Nacht erfolgen, sondern erfordere eine weitere Übergangszeit.
The first Swiss lesson for Brexit Britain: Negotiations never end
30 May 2018
Prospect
Like Switzerland we will always be arguing over something or other with the superpower on our doorstep.
Inside the headquarters of Britain's anti-Brexit brigade
30 May 2018
The New Statesman
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, is sympathetic to the people’s vote campaigners, but he sees little chance of any of the above happening and gives them just a “1 or 2 per cent chance” of stopping Brexit. He concedes that a dramatic shift in public opinion – to, say, 60-40 against leaving the EU – could change the dynamics, but cannot foresee such a change. He fears that too many of the campaigners are “naively optimistic” London-based members of the middle-class liberal elite who are simply preaching to the converted.
Italian crisis felt in Spain and wider EU
30 May 2018
EU Observer
In Rome, the EU is dealing with eurosceptic forces. "This will not be the case whatever happens in Spain," pointed out Camino Mortera-Martinez from the Centre for European Reform think-tank. Mortera-Martinez noted that the main cause of instability in Spain remained the Catalonia crisis and that market uncertainties could end up playing into Rajoy's hands by making Spanish MPs and people wary of creating even more volatility.
If Brussels to play hardball with Italy, it will be shooting itself in the foot
29 May 2018
The Telegraph
Italy is heading towards new elections. This weekend, the nationalist League and the populist Five Star Movement seemed on the verge forming a government.