Press
Theresa's Irish trilemma
11 April 2018
Bright Blue
Theresa May must soon deal with an invidious trilemma. She can only choose two of three options: leaving the single market and customs union, maintaining a border-free Ireland, and pursuing a whole-UK approach to Brexit.
CER Bulletin podcast: EU reform; Brexit and foreign policy; Europe and cyber security
11 April 2018
In the CER Bulletin podcast, CER researchers brief podcast listeners on three of the most important topics for Europe this month.
David Davis wins battle over Brexit negotiations
11 April 2018
The Times
Sam Lowe, from the Centre for European Reform, said Mr Davis’s plan may well fail. “The fact David Davis thinks we can substantively negotiate on the future relationship is slightly odd, as the EU vision and UK’s still seem a long way apart,” he said.
British banks will have to cut ties to sanctioned oligarchs, US says
10 April 2018
The New York Times
British officials have not always been enthusiastic about the American sanctions, but British businesses have tended to comply, largely out of fear of being penalized by the United States, said Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Center for European Reform. “The reality is that, for most companies dealing with the United States, the U.S. is much more important than dealing with Russia or Cuba or Iran or Libya,” he said.
A back up plan for Brexit
10 April 2018
Nezavisimaya Gazeta
“In order to get a beneficial deal from the EU, May will have to relax her demands on Brussels, but her party members are an obstacle to this, notes researcher at the Centre for European Reform in London Beth Oppenheim.
The UK and Europe: Brexit, rules of origin and barriers to trade
09 April 2018
E!Sharp
Where is the phone in your hand actually from? Designed in California, assembled in China, it says. But what about the components: the battery, the screen, the processor?
There’s little to lose from exploring sunlit uplands Down Under
06 April 2018
The Times
The long and the short of this negotiation, Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform said, is that Australia will function as a test case for the US, making American-style demands with less market power, teasing out what concessions Brexit Britain is willing to make.
India in no 'rush' to sign a post-Brexit trade deal and will tell Britain to accept more migrants
06 April 2018
Business Insider
Writing for Business Insider on Thursday, trade expert Sam Lowe warned that countries will make tricky and in some cases unacceptable demands in free trade deal negotiations with post-Brexit Britain. "When it comes down to it, I wouldn’t be surprised if the most valuable lesson we learn from our first post-Brexit forays into the world is that, when lofty free trade ambition runs up against domestic political reality, the UK is really quite 'European' after all," the Centre for European Reform research fellow wrote.
Brexit Britain looks to Commonwealth 2.0
06 April 2018
EurActiv
“Some of the demands we’ll probably hear about will be on things like agriculture quotas, such as quotas for their orange-sellers,” says Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform, of South Africa’s likely demands.
Why Britain's vision for post-Brexit trade deals is probably an illusion
05 April 2018
Business Insider
Is the United Kingdom actually a global bastion of free trade and liberalism? The honest answer is that we just don’t know yet.
'UK ignorance is harming Brexit' - expert demands Brexiteers 'wise up' about EU Parliament
05 April 2018
The Express
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, from the Centre for European Reform said: “British ignorance of the EU institutions is harming its own interests. “British ignorance of how they operate is clearly damaging the UK’s chances of success in the negotiations. “The British need to wise up about the EU and its institutions, after all it could make the difference between getting a good deal, a bad deal, or no deal.”
UK's tortured approach to EU defence takes new twist
04 April 2018
EurActiv
"The irony is that the EU is getting serious about defence just as the UK is leaving,” says Sophia Besch, a defence expert at the Centre for European Reform. The UK’s partnership paper on defence, which set out the May government’s position on future EU-UK relations, published last autumn, was received “with glee in Brussels because it was so supportive,” Besch told EURACTIV.
BBC Newsnight: British EU ignorance is harming UK interests - Viewsnight
04 April 2018
In this Viewsnight, Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska of the CER argues that if the British government doesn't pay more attention to the European Parliament, it could get a bad Brexit deal.
Industry planning jobs cull to offset Brexit
31 March 2018
The Guardian
“The government’s problem is that, as it becomes clear that the most we can hope for is a free trade agreement with the EU, more and more businesses reliant on pan-European supply chains will be forced into considering the viability of their UK operations,” said Sam Lowe, from the Centre for European Reform.
Spy poisoning reaction: Russia refuses to back down as it expels diplomats in tit-for-tat row
30 March 2018
The Independent
"They have blamed the UK, Ukraine, the Czechs, Kremlin critic Bill Browder, the Portland Down weapons research facility and poisoned pizzas," said Ian Bond, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform and a former British diplomat in Moscow. "They have not suggested they lost control of the stuff, and I find that significant in itself."
How Theresa May will navigate the perilous road to Brexit
29 March 2018
Bloomberg
As Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, puts it: “It only requires one red line to move.” The government says it can still strike deals on services and innovative new industries, and the hardliners accept this is the best Brexit they can get.
Trade expert suggests UK go for 'BIGGER RUPTURE' from EU to reap full Brexit benefits
29 March 2018
The Express
Brexit Britain could seek a "bigger rupture" from the European Union's trading system in order to reap the full benefits of being able to do business independently, Sam Lowe, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform said.
Brexit, one year to go: Labour could still shape the terms of Britain’s exit deal
28 March 2018
The Independent
We cannot be sure that the EU-27 would be prepared to negotiate a customs union, although Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform thinks its leaders are sympathetic to the idea.
CER podcast: Brexit negotiations: Will the unity of the 27 crack?
28 March 2018
Sophia Besch speaks to Beth Oppenheim and Sam Lowe about what to expect during the second part of Brexit negotiations – will the future relationship talks bring out different political and economic interests among the EU-27?
Channel 4 News: What are the prospects for UK trade after Brexit?
28 March 2018
A year tomorrow Britain formally leaves the European Union, Sam Lowe of the CER joined Gary Gibon to disuss the deals the UK could do with countries across the world and what will they want from us in return.