Press

Not all Moscow's fault

29 October 2021
Financial Times
The Centre for European Reform has analysed the functioning of the European energy markets and came to the conclusion that the recent spikes in gas and electricity prices are “not primarily Russia’s fault, though it is capitalising on Europe’s vulnerability”.

CER podcast: What's the state of UK-EU relations?

Charles Grant, Sam Lowe
29 October 2021
Charles Grant speaks to Sam Lowe about the state of UK-EU relations.

Judy Asks: Is Europe's Energy crisis self-inflicted?

28 October 2021
Carnegie Europe
Europe is facing soaring gas prices. To avoid further crises, the EU should speed up its transition to renewables, reduce dependence on Russia, and formulate a coherent energy policy.

Inflation could soon hit highest level in three decades, government spending watchdog warns

27 October 2021
The Independent
“I’m pretty confident that the impact of Brexit in the long run will be greater than Covid,” said John Springford, deputy director at the Centre for European Reform told The Independent.
Mr Springford’s modelling of the impact of Brexit on the UK’s trade with the EU was used to help inform the OBR’s analysis.

The cost-of-Brexit chart that Rishi Sunak didn’t mention in the Budget

27 October 2021
The New Statesman
The Centre for European Reform estimated that, based on recent trends for other countries, Brexit had reduced the UK’s goods trade by 13.5 per cent between January and May 2021.

Brexit: EU turns screw as Article 16 row explodes - bloc to impose tariffs on exports

Sam Lowe
26 October 2021
The Express
Sam Lowe, trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, said a further deterioration in EU-UK political relations following strains over Northern Ireland could trigger some governments in the bloc to take a tougher approach. “In practical terms, if the EU steps up enforcement, it becomes a way of imposing tariffs on UK exports,” he added.

UK exporters falling foul of post-Brexit trade rules

Sam Lowe
25 October 2021
Financial Times
Sam Lowe, trade expert at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, said that a further deterioration in EU-UK political relations following strains over Northern Ireland could trigger some governments in the bloc to take a tougher approach. “In practical terms, if the EU steps up enforcement, it becomes a way of imposing tariffs on UK exports,” he added.

RTVE Radio: Desafío polaco: la gota que colma el vaso

Camino Mortera-Martinez
23 October 2021
Uno de los grandes asuntos abordados por la reciente cumbre europea ha sido el desafío de Polonia al Estado de derecho, asunto del que hablamos con Camino Mortera Martínez, investigadora principal del Centro para la Reforma Europea.

New Zealand trade deal 'another nail in the coffin' of UK mussels industry

Sam Lowe
22 October 2021
The Telegraph
Trade expert Sam Lowe, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said, “The real problem isn’t so much the additional competition from some islands on the other side of the world, rather that it is happening at the same time as them being closed out of selling to their biggest export market.”

A new German economic era dawns as the Bundesbank changes guard

Christian Odendahl
22 October 2021
Financial Times
Global tensions have convinced politicians that an economically strong and united Europe is more important than a balanced budget.

Jens Weidmann steps down from the Bundesbank

Christian Odendahl
20 October 2021
The Economist
“A new head of the Bundesbank willing to take on Germany’s conservative consensus would help give the ECB cover in the critical months ahead,” says Christian Odendahl of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank in Berlin.

UK reaches agreement on New Zealand trade deal

Sam Lowe
20 October 2021
Financial Times
Sam Lowe, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said the deal should be judged on its strategic aims. “The benefits of this deal are less about the economics, which are negligible and more about the signal it sends about the UK’s intentions in the region, and as a stepping stone towards a big push for CPTPP accession next year.”

New Zealand agrees post-Brexit free trade deal with UK to cut export tariffs

Sam Lowe
20 October 2021
iNews
Trade expert Sam Lowe, of the Centre for European Reform, said the small size of New Zealand meant that the overall benefit to the UK’s economy would be small. He told i: “It’s a politically significant agreement but not an economically significant one, although of course there will be some firms that benefit from it.”

CNBC: Impression by how smoothly coalition talks advancing

Christian Odendahl
18 October 2021
"The Finance Minister has become the most important position in government after the Chancellor...The national interest of Germany will shape Christian Lindner more than Christian Lindner will shape the Finance Ministry," Christian Odendahl, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform told CNBC.

On defence, the ball is in Europe's court

Sophia Besch, Luigi Scazzieri
18 October 2021
Encompass
This summer’s US withdrawal from Afghanistan and the subsequent announcement of the AUKUS submarine deal should show Europeans three things.

Gig jobs: Lyfts to wages make it tougher for platforms to Deliveroo

17 October 2021
Today UK News
Industry consolidation is under way in Europe, with half of gig earnings stemming from the five biggest platforms, according to the Centre for European Reform. Wage inflation could accelerate the process by forcing weaker competitors out. If so, expect more protests from gig workers. The pressure for politicians to intervene will rise.

Pandora's box

Sam Lowe
15 October 2021
Financial Times
The Brexit deal has the potential to open a Pandora’s box on market access. In future trade deals, the EU may need to offer more access to other countries, particularly for food products, argues Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform in this policy brief.

Brexit y pandemia, tormenta perfecta en Reino Unido

Camino Mortera-Martinez
15 October 2021
El Universal
Para Camino Mortera, investigadora del Centre for European Reform, con sede en Londres, el culpable es el Brexit. “Es una combinación desafortunada entre el Brexit y la pandemia, pero si tuviera que escoger un porcentaje diría que es 70% y 30%. Esto es bastante comprobable cuando uno compara la situación en el Reino Unido con la del resto de Europa”, dice Mortera a EL UNIVERSAL.

CER podcast: Europe's gas crisis heats up

14 October 2021
Christian Odendahl speaks to Ian Bond, Elisabetta Cornago and Zach Meyers about Europe’s current gas crisis.

Italy: Fresh pandemic woes for those jabbed with ‘wrong’ vaccines

Camino Mortera-Martinez
14 October 2021
Aljazeera
“I think the situation that people in Italy are facing at the moment is basically a choice of Italy to go down this route, and not the choice of the European Union,” said Camino Mortera-Martinez, a lawyer researching the Green Pass and freedom of movement at the Centre for European Reform in Brussels.