Press
Brexit shock: Boris Johnson’s trade deal shares major similarity with no-deal Brexit
20 August 2020
The Express
Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said “From a business preparedness point of view, for many companies there is little difference between preparing to exit the transition period with or without a free-trade agreement in place."
Judy asks: What is Europe’s best way forward for Belarus?
20 August 2020
Carnegie Europe
The EU should start with some humility. It holds few effective levers for influencing Belarus. It gives the government in Minsk only insignificant amounts of aid—though it is now, rightly, stepping up support for civil society.
TRT World Newsmaker: Belarus' opposition uprising
20 August 2020
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform spoke to TRT about the current situation in Belarus.
EU reacts to Belarus situation
19 August 2020
The World
Leaders of the European Union held an emergency teleconference today to discuss the unfolding situation in Belarus. The EU says it does not recognise the results of the presidential election on August 9th and is poised to roll out sanctions on a number of Belarusian officials. Host Marco Werman speaks to Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform.
Covid-19 makes reform of the EU’s approach towards its southern neighbours more urgent than ever
18 August 2020
LSE blog
The EU has a stated goal of promoting prosperity and stability in the Middle East and North Africa. However, its efforts to secure Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreements with its southern neighbours have so far had limited success.
Between Patel’s gunboat diplomacy and Paris’s tough talk, the entente cordiale is all at sea
16 August 2020
The Sunday Times
Yet, according to Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, Macron seems convinced he can still take a tough line at the post-Brexit trade talks. “The French want to have their cake and eat it,” said Grant.
De volgende opgave voor EU-leiders: wat te doen met de 'lastige landen'?
16 August 2020
Het Financieele Dagblad
Volgens Scazzieri groeit het besef dat er iets gedaan moet worden, hoewel hij niet verwacht dat dit op korte termijn zal leiden tot bijvoorbeeld economische sancties of het stopzetten van het kandidaat-lidmaatschap van Turkije, zoals Frankrijk heeft gesuggereerd.
Cheese proves to be biggest stumbling block in UK-Japan trade negotiations
15 August 2020
The Telegraph
For Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, the anticlimax was merely part of the “theatre” of negotiations. “From a UK perspective, there’s a need to be seen to be putting up a good fight – to be getting something the EU didn’t to show the UK can do trade agreements by itself,” he says.
Europe tests the waters for a stronger defence policy: EU leaders must agree on where threats to the continent originate
13 August 2020
Financial Times
For the past four years, the EU has trumpeted its plans to invest in defence. This summer’s budget negotiations were a test of its ambitions. Now that the dust is settling, where is EU defence headed?
As Britain Climbs Out of an Economic Pit, Tough Questions Loom
13 August 2020
The New York Times
“If you have a massive outbreak, people are going to respond by being cautious and it will take a while for confidence to return,” said John Springford, the deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, a research institute. “It makes sense that London is going to be among the hardest hit places.”
CER podcast: A rigged election in Belarus: Can Lukashenka cling to power?
12 August 2020
Lukashenka has rigged his re-election as president of Belarus, and begun a violent crackdown on protesters rejecting the result.
Belarus crackdown highlights EU’s autocrat problem
12 August 2020
Financial Times
“The reality of EU foreign policy is double standards,” said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank. “There should be more consistency — and more unity.”
Tate & Lyle: Brexit-backing firm that donated to Tories set to save £73m from trade change
10 August 2020
The Independent
“It looks like the government has granted them their wish,” said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, on the new arrangements.
Brexit backers Tate & Lyle set to gain £73m from end of EU trade tariffs
08 August 2020
The Guardian
“This is all to do with them wanting to be able to import cane sugar more easily than they did before and it looks like the government has granted them their wish,” said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank.
Boris Johnson's trade deal will look like 'clean no deal Brexit' on Jan 1
06 August 2020
Express
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think tank, said: “From a business preparedness point of view, for many companies, there is little difference between preparing to exit the transition period with or without a free-trade agreement in place.”
Why Boris Johnson’s Brexit trade deal is not so different to no deal
05 August 2020
Politico
“From a business preparedness point of view, for many companies there is little difference between preparing to exit the transition period with or without a free-trade agreement in place," said Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think tank.
CPTPP — as easy as one, two, three?
04 August 2020
Prospect
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a trade agreement between 11 countries including Japan, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, is all the rage in Westminster.
Small EU businesses voice ‘major concerns’ over lack of progress in ongoing Brexit talks
03 August 2020
The Parliament Magazine
Charles Grant, director of the UK-based Centre for European Reform, says the biggest impact of no deal would be “political.” Grant said, “An acrimonious end to the transition would hit economic confidence and make it very hard for the UK and the EU to build close cooperation on trade or security for years to come.”
UK faces paying for EU's huge debt mountain with new £160 BILLION bill
03 August 2020
Express
Commenting on the current Brexit negotiations, Sam Lowe from the Centre for European Reform said: "On Brexit and regulation, what government should be trying to demonstrate is that benefits to business of flexibility is greater than additional cost of businesses having to comply with two regulatory regimes (UK and EU) instead of one (EU)."
UK officials' new Trump dilemma: What if he loses?
31 July 2020
The New York Times
“In other words,” said Sam Lowe, a trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, “the chlorine chicken debate is here to stay.”