The Guardian, Newsblog, 30 December 2005
Paying the piper
"Many Russians fear that the Ukrainian-Russian border would turn into a new 'iron curtain' if Ukraine joined the EU and that bilateral trade would be disrupted," says Dmitri Trenin, in a recent essay for the Centre for European Reform. ...As Mr Trenin argues: "Russia needs to abandon the last remnants of imperialist thinking, be it spheres-of-influence fantasies or the use of subsidised energy supplies for political leverage." But such an approach will be difficult with parliamentary and presidential elections in Russia looming, in 2007 and 2008 respectively. "If Putin is seen as 'too soft' in his foreign policy, populists will seek to exploit nationalist sentiment by accusing him of having 'lost' Ukraine," Mr Trenin says.

Bloomberg News, 29 December 2005
EU May Slow Entry Bids of Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey
"It's possible Bulgarian and Romanian accession will be put off,'' Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the London-based Centre for European Reform, said by telephone on Dec. 22. "The reason would be not enough progress in fighting corruption.''

Reuters, 27 December 2005
Democracy and Iran tension to test Russia's G8 lead
Putin may thus find himself in the awkward position of having to congratulate Lukashenko on an election victory denounced by his G8 partners. "Belarus looks like being a bit of a train crash," said Katinka Barysch of the London-based Centre for European Reform.

Reuters, 22 December 2005
Germany's Merkel shows she's ready for big stage
"What we saw in Brussels was a change in German style as well as substance," said Charles Grant director of the London-based Centre for European Reform. "Because of the crucial role Merkel played there, she will be perceived as a real leader at home and that can only help her domestic agenda."

The Independent, 21 December 2005
EU Analysis: UK presidency was forced on to the defensive after a flying start
Charles Grant director of the Centre for European Reform, argues that, while the presidency was successful overall, "some east European diplomats were shocked, not just by the brutal proposed cuts, but by what they saw as the arrogant style of the presidency".

The Washington Times, 18 December 2005
Europeans move against terrorists; London, Madrid bombings fuel nations' efforts
EU counter-terrorism - According to a recent report from the Centre for European Reform (CER) in London, European nations agree in principle on the need for counter-terrorism cooperation at the EU level but are reluctant to give the European Union the powers and resources necessary to be truly effective in this area. Daniel Keohane, senior research fellow at the CER, said this is "because security policy - especially when it concerns protecting citizens - goes to the core of national sovereignty, and governments are reluctant to give the EU powers that could interfere with their existing laws and national-security practices." Moreover, as Mr. Keohane noted in "The EU and Counter-Terrorism," greater coordination of EU anti-terrorism policy is limited by the fact that the European Union is not a national government with prosecutorial or intelligence capabilities. In addition, counterterrorism is not a well-defined EU policy. As Mr. Keohane explained, it is difficult for national governments to coordinate all the agencies involved in their own counterterror policies, and coordinating the efforts of 25 governments is vastly more difficult. ...Mr. Keohane of the CER said Mr. de Vries "has few powers, a small budget and no right to propose EU-level legislation in his area; nor can he call meetings of national justice or foreign ministers to set the anti-terrorism agenda." Consequently, said Mr. Keohane, the counterterrorism co-ordinator is limited primarily to monitoring progress on the anti-terrorism action plan and encouraging the many entities of the European Union to work more closely with each other to co-ordinate counterterrorism policies.

Reuters, 17 December 2005
EU budget deal may further Blair's ambitions
"In terms of reforming the budget, it clearly didn't happen. He has failed to do that ... because other countries didn't want to," said Katinka Barysch, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform think-tank.

International Herald Tribune, 16 December 2005
EU leaders carry competing visions of Europe into crucial meeting
Hugo Brady, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based research institute, said an unsuccessful summit meeting risked creating a more permanent rift between Britain and the other EU members, stalling vital economic reforms. "Relations between Britain and the rest of the bloc could reach an all-time low, while EU business could slow to a considerable standstill," he said.

The Times, 16 December 2005
Awkward Poland makes alliance with the French
Poland "is an awkward customer and was always going to be", said Alasdair Murray, of the Centre for European Reform, the London-based pro-European think-tank. He attributes some of that awkwardness to the "populist conservative trend in its politics, which has been there since democracy"...Poland also has "complicated views on the EU itself", Murray adds.

Bloomberg, 16 December 2005
Turkey's EU Entry Gets `Litmus Test' as Trial of Writer Begins
"If they really end up putting Pamuk in jail then you might see the EU suspending membership negotiations,'' said Katinka Barysch of the London-based Centre for European Reform, in a telephone interview Dec. 9. "I can't think of anything quite as drastic as locking people up for criticizing the state.''

The Guardian, 15 December 2005
Look east for the victims of infighting
"Enlargement has been the union's most successful foreign policy tool and the EU should not give it up," the London-based Centre for European Reform and France's Institut Montaigne said recently. "However, the EU needs to take into account people's concerns ... by restating that it will only admit European countries and only if further enlargement does not threaten its cohesion." That sounded ominous for Turkey.

Christian Science Monitor, 15 December 2005
Europe's farms vs. free trade
Meanwhile, in Hong Kong, there is a fear that unless the WTO can reach a satisfactory deal, perhaps at a specially convened meeting next spring, its most powerful members might lose faith in multilateral trade negotiations altogether and revert to bilateral and regional agreements. If so, the losers would be the developing countries, says Aurore Wanlin. "The least developed countries with nothing to offer would not be invited to do any deals, and the emerging nations would be much more vulnerable dealing directly with superpowers."

Malaysia Star, 14 December 2005
Is Germany's Merkel the key to EU summit success?
"I think Merkel can seize this opportunity," said Hugo Brady, a research fellow at Centre for European Reform (CER) in London. "She is the key personality at this summit."

Bloomberg, 14 December 2005
Mandelson may be scapegoat for WTO's lack of progress
The EU "put its cards on the table too fast,'' said Aurore Wanlin, a research fellow at the London-based Centre for European Reform. Mandelson "has a difficult job because it is a difficult trade round,'' Wanlin said. "It's more difficult for him because he's a new commissioner coming at a critical time in the negotiations without having the background.''

Gulf Times [Qatar], 13 December 2005
Crisis-hobbled EU fears new blow over budget
The budget standoff is not yet an all-out crisis: Officials note that in the bloc's last long-term budget negotiations a deal was only struck in the spring before the round began – a scenario which, if repeated, would leave the door open until next March. "For the EU it wouldn't be a disaster. You could still have another go in early 2006," Katinka Bayrisch of the Centre for European Reform in London said. But she added: "It would be a blow for the British presidency," noting that: "Budget negotiations won't get any easier."

EurActiv, 12 December 2005
CER: Failure of Doha talks would undermine WTO's credibility
The collapse of the Doha round would also call into question the future of the WTO itself, writes Aurore Wanlin in a policy brief for the think tank the Centre for European Reform. The organisation is still young and in need of further institutional reform. Developed countries criticise the WTO heavily for not taking into account the economic importance of its member states. NGOs and developing countries also accuse it of promoting economic liberalisation at the expense of development, social and environmental goals. Doha is the WTO's first round of negotiations. Their success would strengthen the position of Pascal Lamy, director-general, and make internal reform easier. Doha's failure would weaken the organisation and boost those who wish to undermine multilateral trade. Read full article

Bloomberg, 9 December 2005
WTO Hasn't Made Enough Progress for Summit, EU Says
Poor farmers in countries such as Mozambique, Ethiopia and Jamaica have an interest in seeing rich nation subsidies trimmed because they encourage overproduction of goods that are then exported to developing markets at prices below the cost of production, aid agency Oxfam says. "The problem is that the European and American offers on agriculture were interesting for Brazil'' but "not at all interesting to very poor developing countries'' that already have preferential access to markets that, if opened to Brazil, would expose them to more competition, said Aurore Wanlin, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London.

The Washington Post, 8 December 2005
EU Leaders and Public Differ on Pullout in Iraq - Power Structure Supports US Presence Despite Widespread Calls for Withdrawal
"I think most Europeans are against the war in Iraq and feel that the US is part of the problem now and is causing more damage by staying and should just admit it got things wrong and leave," said Daniel Keohane, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London. "But when you talk to leaders, it's more maintenance," he said, explaining that to leaders who feel Iraqi forces are not ready to control the country, "it makes sense for the U.S. to stay there and finish the job."

International Herald Tribune, 8 December 2005
UK acts to resolve fight on EU work rules
"It is a proxy battle for a more flexible employment model versus what the French like to call a social model for Europe," said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a research group in London.

Bloomberg, 8 December 2005
UK Offers Work Safeguards to End Standoff With France, Sweden
The opposing camps have grappled for more than a year and a half over a proposal to forge more consistent employment rules and rein in the use of waivers, with which a third of British workers sign away their right to the EU limits. "It is a proxy battle for a more flexible employment model versus what the French like to call a social model for Europe,'' said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a policy research group in London.

The Washington Post, 7 December 2005
Did Rice say US erred in detaining German?
Daniel Keohane, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London, said "she [Rice] seems to be implying that Europeans were well aware of who's going where in their airspace and in their territory." He suggested European governments "probably would prefer to brush this under the carpet."

AP World Stream, 7 December 2005
Russia ask EU to help mediate in Ukraine gas price dispute
Since the collapse of Soviet Union, the EU has been at pains to improve ties with Moscow. In the 1990s, Russia "tended to underestimate the impact of the EU's eastward enlargement," regarding it as a lesser evil than NATO's reach into Eastern Europe, Dmitri Trenin, deputy director of the Carnegie Moscow Centre, wrote in a recent report for the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank.

Zaman [Turkey], 6 December 2005
Proposal to Enjoy the Word Cosmopolite
The international relationship expert and one of the most cosmopolite voices in the Europe, British analyst-intellectual Mark Leonard, has disclosed in the think-tank meeting the 21st century will be the future of Europe; henceforth, Turkey should be definitely involved in the frame. Leonard regards the European project as "working jointly today so as to avoid errors of the past". In his books and speeches, Leonard points at a Europe constituting an independent alternative in terms of policy, philosophy, economy and culture for the nation-states regarding their differences not as a problem but as a richness and rising on the aggressive foreign and internal policies, and where the heroic uttering is removed and the potent willpower is rasped.

Assyrian International News Agency, 2 December 2005
The European Union's Turkish Dilemma
The Turks, for their part, must think in terms of being co-responsible for internal EU developments. As Katinka Barysch at the Centre for European Reform suggests, Turkey must present itself as a "normal" European country. If Turkey is to join the EU, the traditional take-it-or-leave-it accession method must be modified as both sides share a willingness to work together on easing the other's political problems. This dialogue would be greatly strengthened by a major increase of mutual study-trips and conferences by people from all walks of life.

Reuters, 2 December 2005
UK's Blair walks political tightrope on EU budget
Blair may now offer to give up more of those funds or agree a mechanism by which London pays more towards enlargement. He could then claim he had defended the rebate on the CAP. "The whole thing is so incredibly complicated that they are going to put a spin on it," said Katinka Barysch, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. "I'm quite sure the government will come up with some mechanism that makes this sound acceptable in Britain."

The New York Times, 1 December 2005
Britain, the continent and the issue of foreign ownership
Britons "don't expect the state to be the first to fix it," whatever the problem, said Katinka Barysch, economist at the Centre for European Reform, which is based in London. "They have less confidence in the state managing things." Underlying the differences, many in Continental Europe see the takeover culture of Britain and the United States as, quite simply, a threat to jobs - even though the statistics show that the traditional social model of France and Germany has not been able to generate work for millions of Europeans. "The perception is that foreign investment is not good for jobs," Ms. Barysch said.

United Press International, 24 November 2005
Paris moves cautiously on reforms
"The climate in France is quite explosive, and the government is very cautious about what it's going to do because it doesn't want the situation to run out of control," said Aurore Wanlin, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform, in London. "There was a kind of peace for some time, but now its running out and the French are holding the government responsible for what's going on, and expecting it to do much more to improve the situation." ..."There is very strong resistance in France to anything that will make the economy more liberal," said Wanlin, of the Centre for European Reform. "French are already very suspicious of the market." As a result - and even without the specter of another nationwide strike in the near future - the government is unlikely to rock the status quo in the coming months, she and others believe. "I would expect the government will continue on its path - which is to implement very small reforms in an incremental way," Wanlin said, "and not do any of these radical reforms that France really needs, for fear they will backlash before the elections."

Reuters, 23 November 2005
Blair seeks allies to end EU budget deadlock
Merkel's first foreign trip was to Paris and the coalition agreement that brought her to office protects farm spending in the Common Agricultural Policy under a 2002 Franco-German pact. "She won't want to antagonise the French early on by touching the CAP deal," said Katinka Barysch, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. Analysts do expect Merkel, however, to back publicly Blair's general vision of a future-looking EU budget with more spent on innovation and technology. She may also be more amenable to committing to future CAP reform several years down the line. "I don't think she'll cling so closely to Chirac as (former Chancellor Gerhard) Schroeder did," added Barysch. "This could set the scene for a budget that is a bit more reformist."

United Press International, 19 November 2005
Integration woes a European phenomenon
"The UK has been quite a successful model - although there was a particular outcry here and sense of shock that the terrorists of July 7 [bombing attacks in London] were British born," said Hugo Brady, an analyst a the Centre for European Reform in London. "But it's generally recognized that the UK has been quite good at promoting an open society where the immigrants integrate quickly."

European Voice, 17 November 2005
Spain steps up military ties with France
France already has similar alliances with Germany and the UK, but an alliance with Spain offers both nations the chance to discuss more Mediterranean-focused issues. The council will include the government leaders and foreign and defence ministers. "It shows the fact that Spain wants to be seen as a bigger player in defence and also in the EU in general," said Daniel Keohane, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London. "Spain is realising it's not as effective as it should be. Spain is quite an effective foreign policy player but not so in defence, especially not for a country with a gross domestic product like France or the UK." Still, Keohane pointed out that the Franco-Spanish defence alliance should not expect to be as prominent as the Anglo-French summits because the UK and France provide most of the EU's military funding and manpower for peacekeeping missions. "But that's not to say it can't be important in other ways, partly because it's part of the bigger
picture of European countries having greater integration of their ministry ideas," Keohane added.

The Observer, 13 November 2005
A dismal science, but enlighten up
What is happiness without a drink? It was a Friday evening, after a reasonably hard week's work. I was at Ditchley Park in the heart of rural Oxfordshire, for what the Centre for European Reform described as a 'high-level conference on the Future of the European economy'. We had already had a 'plenary session', during which every known macro and micro economic problem affecting the future of the European economy had been given an airing, then it was 'drinks before dinner'. Full article

The Age [Australia], 12 November 2005
Cousins find little egalite in France
The result is a society of insiders and outsiders, says French woman Aurore Wanlin, a research fellow at London's Centre for European Reform. She thinks, for example, that France effectively chooses to accept high unemployment in order to protect those with jobs: since the country's rigid job protection laws make it hard for employers to fire, they are also loath to hire.

Voice of America, 11 November 2005
Europe's Fears Increase Over Immigrant Unrest
Hugo Brady is an immigration expert at the Centre for European Reform, in London. Like their integration policies, he says, the problems European countries face in assimilating foreigners are different as well. "While there may be regional trends within the EU, there's not one common problem regarding the integration of immigrants. The Euro-Med area - like Spain, south of France, Greece - have their own particular problems of immigration for areas such as Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya," said Mr. Brady.

EurActiv.com, 11 November 2005
WTO talks: Director General calls for new "negotiating spirit"
"From a negotiating point of view, the EU suffers from a problem of timing. Its negotiating partners take the CAP reforms it did in 2003 for granted and are therefore asking for more," said Aurore Wanlin, a reseacher at the think-tank the Centre for European Reform to EurActiv.

International Herald Tribune, 10 November 2005
In EU reshuffle, woman will head civil service
Barroso's new team appeared to be less integrationist and directed more toward liberal economic change than in the past, analysts said. "This is a symbolic break with the Delors era," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform in London.

The Telegraph, 10 November 2005
Thatcherites gaining ground in Brussels
Charles Grant, from the Centre for European Reform, said the Commission was now the EU's engine of free-market change, though it has been stymied by governments and Euro-MPs. "British eurosceptics have trouble facing up to the fact that the Commission is not the enemy," said Mr Grant. "The reality is that the rest of Europe now sees it as a liberal institution, which is why the French hate it so much," he said.

The Guardian, 9 November 2005
Europe faces 'fear of all things foreign'
But problems of discrimination, youth unemployment - half of the detained French rioters are under 18 - racial prejudice, religious intolerance, and xenophobia induced by fear of terrorism and globalisation are entrenched in most European countries, said Aurore Wanlin of the Centre for European Reform. And they have potential to cause more explosions. "There is a debate in every society about how to integrate minorities and migrants, especially unskilled workers at times of economic difficulty," Ms Wanlin said. "But they don't agree what to do so this debate is usually very quiet. There is a lack of visibility about the problem - until there's a crunch like in France and suddenly it cannot be avoided. So you cannot say it will not happen somewhere else. It will, although probably in a different form." ...Europe's failure to agree on how to deal with its principal minorities, or even how to address them, extends to the EU itself, Ms Wanlin said. "The EC has been trying to develop guidelines on integration but the issues are so sensitive that it has been difficult to find common ground." And while Europe's governments fumble, the rise of far-right political parties represented another trend that could trigger trouble, she said. "The advance of the extreme right is an expression of a degree of racism in Europe but more deeply ... social malaise - fear of anything foreign."

Financial Times, 9 November 2005
Barroso to promote reformers in reshuffle
Charles Grant, who chronicled Delors in his book 'Inside the house that Jacques built', said: "The overall trend over the last 10 years has been for the Commission to become increasingly liberal, and this reshuffle will reinforce that. Mr Lamoureux's departure is very symbolic. He has been one of the chief federalists and thinkers inside the Commission in the last 15 years".

Voice of America, 4 November 2005
Governments Debate What to do About Iran's Nuclear Program
Charles Grant, Director of the Centre for European Reform in London, and Philip Gordon of Brookings Institution, both say diplomacy - not military action - is the answer. "I think there's no alternative but to keep going with diplomatic strategy. I don't think a military action of any sort would make things better," says Mr. Grant.

Reuters, 4 November 2005
China's Hu to tell Europe arms ban should go
But with booming Chinese exports to Europe, trade threatens to become increasingly contentious for London and Berlin. "At the policy level, China and India are the big issues," said Katinka Barysch, an analyst of Chinese-European relations at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank in London. ..."Americans seem to talk of nothing but the China threat, but people in Europe are not really fully aware how China is reshaping the international division of labour," said Barysch. "People here are more worried about Eastern Europe."

Le Monde, 3 November 2005
Trois idées pour une relance, par Thomas Ferenczi
Deux de ces "think tanks", l'Institut Montaigne, à Paris, et le Centre pour la réforme européenne (Centre for European Reform), à Londres, ont uni leurs efforts pour "mettre sur la table des propositions concrètes". "Dans ce climat de confusion, il est tentant d'en appeler au pragmatisme et de préconiser des avancées progressives, écrivent-ils. L'UE, c'est notre opinion, doit se concentrer sur des domaines dans lesquels des progrès réels sont possibles." ...Le document de l'Institut Montaigne et du Centre pour la réforme européenne suggère que l'Union utilise une partie de son budget "pour transformer une demi-douzaine d'universités en centres d'excellence", en retenant celles qui ont "u n département de recherche réputé" et "des liens solides avec le monde de l'entreprise". ...Les deux "think tanks" estiment que "l'Europe devrait figurer en première ligne de la lutte contre le réchauffement climatique et impulser l'élaboration d'un accord post-Kyoto".

United Press International, 3 November 2005
Time for a clear Iran policy
Sanctions, if applied, must be cautious and selective. "What sticks should we use?" says Charles Grant, who heads the Centre for European reform, a London-based think tank "Most people in Europe believe that economic sanctions don't work." Grant advocates carefully targeted sanctions, such as restricting foreign travel for Iranian officials. Blanket measures affecting the entire population could reinforce Iranian nationalism and lead to greater intransigence, he says, citing Burma, Cuba and Iraq. Grant believes the United States and Europe can draw on their more productive use of limited sanctions against Serbia and South Africa to pressure the Iranian regime.

La Tribune [France], 3 November 2005
La Grande-Bretagne n'est pas faite pour les subventions de Bruxelles
"Elle n'est pas adaptée au budget européen, et c'est pour ça que le rabais est justifié", explique Katinka Barysch, économiste au Centre for European Reforms. ... "Les avantages bénéficient à tous les membres de l'Union européenne, rétorque Katinka Barysch. Quand il s'agit d'argent, les membres ont tendance à faire preuve d'une certaine étroitesse d'esprit."

The New York Times, 1 November 2005
Open arms for foreign buyers on one side of Channel
Britons "don't expect the state to be the first to fix it," whatever the problem, said Katinka Barysch of the London-based Centre for European Reform. "They have less confidence in the state managing things." Underlying the differences, many in Continental Europe see the takeover culture of Britain and the United States as, quite simply, a threat to jobs - even though statistics show that the traditional social model of France and Germany has been incapable of generating work for millions of Europeans. "The perception is that foreign investment is not good for jobs," Barysch said.

Turkish Daily News, 30 October 2005
Blair targets critics of 'non-event' British EU presidency
"The best thing that can come out of this summit is a family photo of smiling leaders," said Katinka Barysh of the Centre for European Reform think-tank in London.

The Guardian, 27 October 2005
EU summit: Criticism: 'If you call for debate on Europe's future you must follow that up'
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, said: "The criticism is understandable and partly justified. Just after the speech you had the terrible bombings in London which obviously diverted the government. But if you ask for a debate on the future of Europe you need to follow that up." But Mr Grant said presidencies could only be judged in the round: "If there is a deal on the budget - after the start of accession talks with Turkey - it will be seen as successful. If there is no deal on the budget it will be seen as unsuccessful."

International Herald Tribune, 27 October 2005
Blair says EU must modernize or lose out
Analysts said Blair was trying to show humility at a time when Europe's ideological rifts are widening. "He is trying to lower expectations ahead of the summit," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank.

AP Worldstream, 27 October 2004
Blair hosts one-day summit aiming to end EU's sense of drift
"The EU has lost its sense of purpose, and with that, its popularity," the London-based Centre for European Reform and the Institut Montaigne in Paris said in a joint report issued Wednesday. "The Union has helped to bring peace across the continent and wealth for most of its inhabitants. But citizens are hardly aware of these benefits."

The Guardian, 27 October 2005
Can Hampton Court be Europe's Great House of Easement?
In the spirit of Franco-British detente, and general, all-round easement, let me suggest that a large lump of this money should go to an all-European research centre based in France. For France also has one of the perfect sites for such a centre: the magnificent modern building, and top-notch office facilities, of the European parliament in Strasbourg. (I owe this idea to a Franco-British manifesto recently published by the Institut Montaigne and the Centre for European Reform.)

CNN, 27 October 2005
Blair hosts scaled-down EU summit
The EU has lost its sense of purpose, and with that, its popularity," the London-based Centre for European Reform and the Institut Montaigne in Paris, said in a joint report issued on the summit's eve. "The Union has helped to bring peace across the continent and wealth for most of its inhabitants. But citizens are hardly aware of these benefits."

The Guardian, 26 October 2005
Liberal v social EU: the false dichotomy
Much of this might have been avoided, suggested Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform in a recent paper, if politicians - and journalists - had resisted the temptation to exploit the issue. The debate over "liberal versus social Europe" was to a large degree misconceived. "Is the gap between the Anglo-Saxon economic model and the continental one really that big?" Ms Barysch asked. "On closer inspection there are as many similarities as there are differences. More importantly, perhaps, there are signs of convergence." ..."All EU countries are struggling to preserve a decent level of social safety and public services in the face of growing global competition and ageing populations," Ms Barysch said. "Each country will have to find its [own] answer. But the EU can help them to compete, compare and learn from each other."

Inter Press Service News Agency, 25 October 2005
GLOBALISATION: Amid Budget Spat, EU Searches for the Big Picture
Alasdair Murray, deputy director of London's Centre for European Reform, says all EU countries are facing similar challenges to their social models such as ageing populations, low-wage competition from Asia, and in some places high unemployment. "Unless EU leaders reassure voters about the future of Europe's social dimension, they will not get public support for much-needed reforms, such as the opening of EU services markets," he said. "The EU should not (and cannot) become the focal point for social policy. What the EU needs is not extra rules or powers, but a new narrative that better explains, and advocates, its social dimension," he added.

United Press International, 24 October 2004
Top Europe think-tanks urge refrom
The European Union is at a critical crossroads ahead of this week's Hampton Court summit of the 25 member states, say two of Europe's leading think tanks. Britain's Centre for European Reform in Britain and France's Institut Montaigne published Monday a joint plan to get the EU back on track. "Critics have called into question some fundamental EU policies, such as the euro and the common agricultural policy. Politicians ask whether the Union is really capable of making Europe stronger and more competitive. Many voters across the EU seem to have lost faith in the European project," the joint report begins. Full article

Newsweek, 24 October 2005
Immigration: At the Gates
As the European Union expands, it's come face to face with a new world
"Some say we should keep our buffer zone, and that Europe shouldn't be naive about what it is bumping up against," says Daniel Koehane of the Centre for European Reform in London. "Others say it would help the EU to shape those countries, similar to the way that it has successfully shaped the new member states in the east and even Turkey."

International Herald Tribune, 23 October 2005
Globalization drives a wedge into EU
According to Aurore Wanlin of the Centre for European Reform in London, Sarkozy has shifted his position after witnessing Angela Merkel, chancellor-designate in Germany, who campaigned on a promise of modernization but failed to win a decisive victory.

Times of Oman, 23 October 2005
Blair aims to reassert his EU role at summit
"I get the impression that officials have found this informal (summit) - which was very much Blair's idea - extremely difficult to prepare for," said Alasdair Murray of the Centre for European Reform, an EU-focused think tank in London. "What are you trying to achieve? ... It is an informal. It's not clear that there will be any deal or form of words that is going to satisfy anyone." "They want to talk about social models and long-term reforms of the European model," added Murray in an interview with AFP, "but they haven't really done a lot of preparation on it."

International Herald Tribune, 21 October 2005
For France, cutting farm support may be last straw
With globalization increasingly blamed in France for problems like high unemployment, politicians are unwilling to push through further market openings, said Aurore Wanlin, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, a policy Centre based in London. "France will not be necessarily unhappy if Hong Kong is a failure," said Wanlin said.

The Washington Post, 19 October 2005
French say citizens recruited for terror - Training camps in Middle East
''Islamic terrorism is a much bigger problem in Europe than in the US because you don't have the relatively large Muslim community that we do," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform in London. ''What the war in Iraq has done is radicalize these people and make some of them prepared to support terrorism. Iraq is a great recruiting sergeant."

International Herald Tribune, 17 October 2005
The Internet in proportion
In "Selling Turkey" (Oct. 8), Mark Leonard of the Centre for European Reform in London is quoted as saying that "rebranding Turkey as an industrial powerhouse is perilous strategy" because "the reality is that most Turks are in agriculture" and that "to pretend that Anatolia is Silicon Valley won't work." The reality is that 90 percent of Turkish exports are industrial goods. The agricultural sector occupies effectively 25 percent of the active population and is responsible for 12 percent of Turkey's gross national product. Nobody has ever pretended that Anatolia is already a Silicon Valley, but it is becoming a major industrial Centre for the European economy. In Europe, Turkey ranks seventh in the automotive industry, first in television manufacturing, first in clothing exports, sixth in refrigerator manufacturing, first in flat glass production and sixth in the iron and steel sector. Turkey's information and communication technologies market, research and development budget and e-government spending have been increasing by several folds in the last years. The reality is that Turkey is the only large, young, dynamic, entrepreneurial and industrial emerging market in Europe. These are basic but not yet well-known facts. Bahadir Kaleagasi, Brussels Turkish Industry and Business Association

BBC Monitoring Service, 15 October 2005
Turkey, Greece, united Cyprus to bring peace in East Mediterranean - minister
Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Friday [14 October] that Turkey's EU membership will help EU fight common problems in the world on a more sound basis. Addressing a dinner hosted upon the start of a conference on Turkey-EU relations organized by British Council, Centre for European Reform and Turkish Foundation of Economic and Social Studies at Britain's consulate-general in Istanbul, Gul said that NGOs had an important role in Turkey's accession negotiations with the EU. Turkey's membership was to the advantage of EU, Gul said, noting that the reform process in Turkey, particularly restructuring of political, economic, social and judicial standards, would continue. Referring to the good economic and social indications of Turkey, Gul said that Turkey's economy was ranked 17th among world countries and that its annual growth rate was around 10 per cent. Turkey aimed to install security, stability, balance and harmony in its region, said Gul, stressing that Turkey had always been an element of balance in sensitive issues like the Middle East and Iraq. Turkey contributed to efforts of reconstruction in Iraq, resolution of Arab-Israeli conflict and clashes in South Caucasus. Referring to Cyprus issue, Gul said that "I still believe that Turkey, Greece and a united Cyprus will constitute the basis of peace in East Mediterranean." Turkey would continue its active contributions to producing fair, equal and lasting solution to Cyprus problem in consultation with the UN, Gul said. "We all expect EU to implement the decision it took on 26 April 2004 for removing the restrictions on TRNC," Gul said. "Europe is a super power and I believe that Europe will fulfil its global responsibilities in the 21st century. Turkey will contribute significantly to Europe in this process," Gul said. Pointing out to the economic, politic and strategic contributions of Turkey's membership to EU, Gul said that "Turkey has always been a good partner of EU and it will be a responsible, creative and energetic member in the future." The conference which aims to determine the things that need to be done in Turkey's membership process, will continue in closed sessions on Saturday [15 October].

Bloomberg, 14 October 2005
UK's Brown urges British companies to boost sales to China
"Capital-intensive projects by companies including BP Plc, Europe's biggest oil company, and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the second largest, form the backbone of U.K. investments in China," said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a policy institute in London.

European Voice, 13-19 October 2005
Europe 'unprepared' for chemical terrorist-attack
But Daniel Keohane from the Centre for European Reform in London said that not enough resources were being devoted to civil protection. The Commission spent just €6 million on this area in 2003, he noted. The traditional friction between the main EU institutions is hampering preparedness, he felt, arguing that there was also a case for the Commission setting up a 'homeland security' directorate, modelled on the US Department of Homeland Security. "If Berlin suffered a biological attack, Germany's neighbours could be affected as infectious agents can travel easily through the air," he said. "A homeland security directorate would seem to be the obvious place to organise an EU-level response to cross-border terrorist attacks. However, the Commission does not have any police forces, soldiers or emergency services. Only national governments have these resources and can decide how to use them, and they are not willing to cede any powers in this area to the Commission."

Financial Times, 12 October 2005
A union with Turkey would be a prize for a divided world
Yet, as Katinka Barysch, of the Centre for European Reform, notes in an assessment of the economic challenges, the Ecevit and Erdogan governments have put through a host of important reforms since 2001. The economy has returned to healthy growth, while inflation has fallen to single-digit levels.

EurActiv.com, 12 October 2005
Lisbon National Plans: New impetus or just for show?
Other analysts, however, are not so sure about the success of the exercise. "The NAPs are a step in the right direction, as member states are forced to take ownership, but the step may turn out to be too small," said Aurore Wanlin from the Centre for European Reform (CER). "The danger is that because the drawing up of the NAPs is down to the member states, they are not self-critical enough, but that they take this as an opportunity to show off what they have done, rather than focusing on what more needs to be done. Because this is handled under the open method of coordination, the Commission does not have the power to force the member states to implement the NAPs and to be ambitious."

EU Observer, 12 October 2005
Brussels to launch citizens charm offensive
Speaking about the idea for national debates, Daniel Keohane, expert at the Centre for European Reform, said he welcomed the plan, but feared citizens were no longer in the mood to "reflect". "It is not very clear for people what to reflect upon. There is no new treaty that they can now approve or disapprove. People rather demand less talk and more action from the EU.", Mr Keohane stated.

The Times, 11 October 2005
Merkel pays high price for top job
"There is no doubt we will see a watering down of Merkel's programme,"Katinka Barysch, of the Centre for European Reform, said. "When you look at the breakdown of her Cabinet, it is clear she will need a lot of skills to keep this government together."

EU Observer, 11 October 2005
Merkel chancellorship might improve EU relations
Katinka Barysch, from the Centre for European Reform, says that while Mrs Merkel does not give the impression of being an "ardent pro-European" and will continue to protect German interests, she is likely to have a natural sympathy with the current commission. The change in the relationship with the commission will come about mainly because of an expected change in the Franco-German relationship, according to Ms Barysch. She points out that Mr Schroder has stood by French president Jacques Chirac, who has been publicly bashing the commission for being too neo-liberal, but adds that if Mrs Merkel "makes up her own mind ...she will probably have better relations with the commission". ...However, Ms Barysch adds a note of caution to this scenario. She points out that Edmund Stoiber, tipped to become the country's economics minister, may be given more European powers. This will have a "negative effect" if it means more power over the EU budget. Coming from staunchly conservative Bavaria with its large farming lobby, he is set to oppose all changes to the Common Agricultural Policy.

Reuters, 10 October 2005
German parties in deal to make Merkel chancellor
"I presume it will be someone of a lesser standing (than Schroeder), so the SPD mark on German foreign policy will be weaker," said Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform.

The New York Times, 9 October 2005
Europe offers a well-padded safety net
As Katinka Barysch, the chief economist of the Centre for European Reform in London, put it, "the best place to lose your job is in a country where it's easiest to find a new job."

Financial Times, 8 October 2005
Cameron edges ahead to become bookies' choice
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said: "Psychologically such a move would be significant. Even Michael Howard was concerned that the Tories should be in the EPP. If the Tories do leave the EPP, they will have to rub along with more nationalist groups. Psychologically, it would make quite a statement about where they are heading on European issues."

International Herald Tribune, 7 October 2005
Selling Turkey
Mark Leonard, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform in London and the brains behind Britain's rebranding exercise, says rebranding Turkey as an industrial powerhouse is a perilous strategy. "To avoid a backlash, a country's narrative needs to be based on reality," he said. "And the reality is that most Turks are in agriculture. To pretend that Anatolia is Silicon Valley won't work."

The Financial Times, 5 October 2005
Assertive Berlin keeps up bare-knuckle stance
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said in a recent paper that Germany's attitude towards EU institutions under chancellor Gerhard Schröder had gone from "communautaire" to "arrogant".

The Guardian, 5 October 2005
European elites can't ignore the views of their peoples
For Mark Leonard of the Centre for European Reform this is where the EU's bureaucratic style comes into its own. Submit Turkey to a decade of Brussels "nit-picking" and Ankara will have to clean up its act - not just passing liberal laws but implementing them. "It won't be good enough to do it for 10 minutes," says Leonard. "It's got to be for 10 years."

CNS news.com, 4 October 2005
Long, hard road ahead for Turkish EU membership
"Once countries find out that the E.U. is a very difficult negotiating partner, demanding all sorts of difficult things, from prison reform to banking sector reform to food standards, people get less enthusiastic," said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in London. "They find out that the E.U. basically just imposes its will. It doesn't negotiate, because what accession is about is countries wanting to be members of the European Union and not the European Union getting ready to adjust itself to whoever wants to come in," said Barysch. And although Erdogan has been quoted as saying that if negotiations with the EU don't succeed, there are "alternatives," Barysch said she thought it unlikely that Turkey would seek trading partners elsewhere. "If you're located where Turkey is located, if you're at that stage of development where you're producing manufactured goods, then where are your markets?" she said. "Who are they going to sell that stuff to, China, Russia? No, it's the European Union." Barysch also did not think alliances with other Muslim nations in the Middle East were that likely an alternative for Turkey, which was viewed with suspicion by nations in that region. "Turkey has been a member of NATO since 1952, has a been a staunch ally of the United States until quite recently, has very good relations with Israel and is not an Arab country," said Barysch.

Bloomberg, 29 September 2005
EU Will Hold Emergency Meeting to Save Turkish Talks
Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the London-based Centre for European Reform, said the prospect of a last-minute accord depends on how much support Austria has from other EU nations. "If Austria is isolated, as I think it is, the likelihood of an agreement is very high,'' she said by telephone today from Munich. "In the unlikely event Austria has a strong coalition with some big member states, there would be language in the negotiating plan on a privileged partnership, the Turks would walk away and the talks would be delayed.''

The Washington Post, 29 September 2005
EU Official Vows to Trim a Thicket of Rules
"The perception is that unelected bureaucrats are constantly sending out directives, particularly on business and all sorts of issues, from the size of tractor seats to much more serious health and safety issues," said Daniel Keohane, a senior analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform. "The main idea is to show it is getting away from interfering."

Kurier [Austria], 29 September 2005
"Wiens wenig durchdachter Vorschlag"
Die oft beschworenen Probleme bei Verhandlungen und letztlich der Aufnahme der Türkei in die EU für durchaus lösbar hält auch das einflussreiche Centre for European Reform (CER) in einer neuen Studie. "Trotz aller Schwierigkeiten ist es wichtig nicht zu vergessen, welche Vorteile ein EU-Beitritt der Türkei beiden Seiten bietet." Neben Sicherheit und Stabilität könnten die bisherigen Mitgliedstaaten auch auf wichtige Konjunkturimpulse aus der Türkei, einem rasch wachsenden Markt mit riesigem Nachholbedarf, hoffen. "Eines ist klar: Es wird ein langer und harter Weg", schreibt Ko-Autorin Katyinka Barysch. Nach Ansicht Londons aber ist es ein lohnender.

Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung, 28 September 2005
"Wenn Deutschland nicht schnell eine handlungsfaehige Regierung bekommt, die entschlossen die Probleme bei Finanzen, Sozialsystemen und Arbeitsmarkt in Angriff nimmt, wird das auf Dauer ganz Europa zu spueren bekommen", analysiert Aurore Wanlin vom Londoner Forschungsinstitut Centre for European Reform. ... "Europa wartet sehnsuechtig darauf, dass Deutschland zu alter Staerke zurueckfindet", glaubt Wanlin vom CER.

Tageblatt [Letzebuerg], 28 September 2005
La France brouille sa position sur l'adhésion de la Turquie à l'UE
"Il n'y a plus de position française" sur la Turquie, estime Katinka Barysch, du Centre for European reform, de Londres, selon laquelle "la confusion vient du fait que Chirac veut être au diapason de l'opinion française".

Monsters & Critics, 27 September 2005
Eye on Europe: Turkey's PR battle
'Turkey has to persuade the EU member states that it is like them,' writes commission official Heather Grabbe in a recent essay for the Centre for European Reform think-tank. 'Turkey will not be allowed to join unless all EU countries are convinced that the Turks share European values.' For the former policy analyst, this means accepting a debate on political issues like torture, the treatment of the country's Kurdish minority, the Cyprus situation and the massacre of Armenians almost a century ago. 'They need to meet criticism not with prickliness and nationalist rhetoric, but with moderation and coolness,' writes Grabbe, who now works in the private office of EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn.

The Guardian, 26 September 2005
Regime change, European-style, is a measure of our civilisation
Turkey will have to jump through a number of hoops on issues such as corruption and sewerage, which might trip up many of the oldest EU members. It's a style of regime change which is "cheap, voluntary and hence long-lasting", points out Steven Everts in a new report,Why Europe Should Embrace Turkey.

BBC News, 22 September 2005
Giscard scorns UK's EU presidency
Mark Leonard, foreign policy director of the Centre for European Reform, said the UK presidency could not yet be accused of under-achievement, because July and August were holiday periods in Brussels. Also, he said, the key events of the presidency were always scheduled to fall in the autumn and winter months - such as the start of membership talks with Turkey and an informal summit on economic reform next month. "The interview as a whole was slightly pathetic," Mr Leonard added. "The whole tenor was of a slightly hurt old man who is desperate for a legacy. There are bigger issues on the agenda than re-starting the constitution."

Financial Times, 20 September 2005
Poll deals blow to advocates of EU economic reform
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said: "An awful lot of people thought she would win decisively and that would allow the EU to start again. "It's hard to see how a grand coalition would be particularly good at pushing through the structural reforms that Anglo-Saxons think are necessary." However, Mr Grant argues that if Ms Merkel did become chancellor, the acrimonious group dynamic of the EU - which has pitted Mr Schröder and Jacques Chirac, French president, against Mr Blair and José Manuel Barroso, the liberal European Commission president - could change. "It would leave Chirac much more isolated at European summits and relying on a dwindling group of friends," he said.

CNS News, 20 September 2005
US, EU Want Security Council Referral for Iran
Mark Leonard, foreign policy director at the Centre for European Reform in London, said that he expected the E.U. trio to continue on the diplomatic path. "My feeling is that the diplomatic process will carry on and Iran's strategy based on walking a fine line between giving people enough so that it doesn't lose the support of the international community is going to create a protracted process and not an immediate crisis," he said. ...Leonard argued that the talks had failed because "the EU hasn't been able to offer a clear enough differentiation - very juicy carrots so that Iran foregoes its attempts to master the fuel cycle, and tough sanctions if it doesn't."

The Scotsman, 20 September 2005
Deadlock in German leadership race slows reform
"Tony Blair wanted Angela Merkel to win with a clear mandate," said Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform, a London think-tank with close ties to Downing Street.

Agence France Presse, 20 September 2005
German poll result clouds Europe's reform drive
"Germany will not be able to restore its position as one of the EU's natural leaders so long as its economy continues to stagnate," said Charles Grant of the London-based Centre for European Reform. "The next government ... should take a lead in reinvigorating the EU's Lisbon process of economic reform," he added.

International Herald Tribune, 19 September 2005
Barroso nudges Germans
Charles Grant, director of Centre for European Reform in London, said that although Gerhard Schröder had pushed for economic change during his tenure as chancellor, he would now agitate against further economic reforms if he remains in government as he positions himself for another election, which could come soon.

Deutsch Welle, 19 September 2005
Election Raises International Questions
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, believes the Franco-German alliance is a central one for Europe. "Relations with France should remain central to Germany's European policy," whatever government comes to power, he wrote in an essay. "Without close Franco-German co-operation, the EU can achieve very little. But this alliance should be less exclusive and exclusionary than it has been under Schröder," he added.

Mail & Guardian Online [South Africa] 19 September 2005
How German voters disappointed Blair
"I think Downing Street was hoping for a clear victory [by Merkel] for three reasons," agreed Mark Leonard, of the Centre for European Reform think tank in London. "First of all, for personal reasons, because relations with Gerhard Schröder had reached an all-time low. "Secondly, for political reasons, because it [Downing Street] wants allies for economic reform in Europe - and a clear, strong Merkel mandate would have completely changed the political dynamics. "And thirdly, in a way, they just wanted to see a government with a mandate. When Germany is so internally preoccupied with its problems, it's not really playing a constructive role ... It's tempted to block things rather than act."

Newsweek, 19 September 2005
Germany: It's Decision Time
"If Germany reforms, France and Italy will be pressed to follow," says Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform (CER), a —London think tank. "That can only make Europe stronger." ... "Any government has to accept that, in some sectors, Germany won't be able to compete. Jobs will go to Eastern Europe or China," says the CER's Barysch. "That's the driving force for reforms, not whether or not Germany gets a Reagan or a Margaret Thatcher."

Business Week, 19 September 2005
France: More Talk, Little Action
While the government has eased some provisions of the notoriously rigid labor code, it has left in place stringent anti-layoff rules that deter employers from hiring. Nor has it proposed any significant cut in public-sector spending, which consumes about half the national economy. "Nobody wants to touch these things before an election," says Aurore Wanlin, a French political analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform.

TF1 [France], 18 September 2005
Merkel et le couple franco-allemand
Chirac et Schröder "ont réussi à se rapprocher, mais dans la défense purement tactique d'intérêts (Politique agricole commune, budget, Irak)", relève Aurore Wanlin, du Centre for european reform, basé à Londres. "C'est un moteur qui tourne à vide", estime-t-elle. Pour Sylvie Goulard, spécialiste de la relation franco-allemande et enseignante au Collège d'Europe à Bruges (Belgique), Merkel "remettra en cause, et c'est une bonne chose, certaines dérives Schröder-Chirac". ..."Merkel pencherait plus du côté de Tony Blair que du côté français", dit Aurore Wanlin. "Mais elle va se retrouver dans la même position que Gerhard Schröder : s'appuyer sur les Français, sur le budget ou sur la PAC, est souvent plus facile".

The Financial Times, 15 September 2005
Schröder's efforts poised to bear fruit just as he prepares to depart the scene
For Charles Grant, the head of the Centre for European Reform in London, "Schröder and Joschka Fischer, his Green foreign minister, deserve credit for giving Germany a more 'normal' foreign policy."

The Guardian, 14 September 2005
Bush should not count on a pushover
But although the CDU calls for a "new start" in US-German relations, Ms Merkel would be no pushover, said Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform. "Merkel will go as far as she can but she can't go overboard. Public opinion is a factor and Bush is very unpopular in Germany. She may have to wait for a new US president." ...Both men could be politely rebuffed, Ms Barysch suggested. "Merkel is less likely to cosy up to the French and will be closer to Blair and the UK on some issues ... It's about recovering Germany's traditional balancing function within Europe and in the transatlantic relationship. Germans like France, they like the social market, they admire its stand on Iraq. But she knows she has to disentangle herself from the French embrace."

CNS News, 16 September 2005
Conservative Still Favored to Win in Germany
"If Merkel gets elected it will definitely be positive for Germany's relationship with the United States because there was a personality problem between Schroeder and Bush," said Aurore Wanlin, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London. Wanlin did not believe, however, that transatlantic relations would not return to the level of warmth they enjoyed during the Cold War and the Helmut Kohl era (1982-1998). "Germans used to be grateful after the Second World War when the U.S. helped rebuild Germany but now Germans think that is the past," said Wanlin. "They have become pacifists and they don't share the views of the 'neoconservatives' in the U.S. They're quite shocked by their attitudes toward Iraq and even Iran." ..."If Angela Merkel gets elected, it will be positive in the economic reform process in Europe," said Wanlin. "There's going to be a big momentum and Europe needs Germany to be performing well."

World Peaace Herald, 16 September 2005
German foreign policy shift seen
"One of Schroeder's biggest foreign policy mistakes has been to cozy up to Chirac at a time when the Franco-German alliance has run out of steam," says Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the London-based Centre for European reform. "Being too close to France is not in Germany's national interests. It has lost Berlin friends in Europe and made it support policies it doesn't believe in -- like the Common Agricultural Policy."

Agence France Presse, 13 September 2005
Merkel pourrait créer un électrochoc salutaire au couple franco-allemand
Chirac et Schröder "ont réussi à se rapprocher, mais dans la défense purement tactique d'intérêts (Politique agricole commune, budget, Irak)", relève Aurore Wanlin, du Centre for European Reform, basé à Londres. "C'est un moteur qui tourne à vide", estime-t-elle.

The Observer, 11 September 2005
Iron frau with a tinpot plan for Germany
'Schroeder's done much more than Kohl did in 16 years,' said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform. 'I would be more bullish about the German economy in the circumstances, because they have gone through a lot of pain. I think either leader would necessarily continue the reform process. There's a consensus that Germany has to change.' ...Barysch says there has also been plenty of change at the grassroots. 'The real revolution has happened at company level: real wages have been stagnating for years, people are working more hours for the same money, and so on.'

Reuters, 9 September 2005
Merkel could transform EU
During the last three years, Schroeder has revived Germany's close relations with France in ways that damaged ties with the United States, the UK and the countries of central and Eastern Europe," Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform, wrote in an essay. "Germany will not be able to restore its position as one of the EU's natural leaders so long as its economy continues to stagnate," said Grant. He argued that the next Berlin government should take a lead in reinvigorating the EU's Lisbon process of economic reform, continuing to work with France but involving Britain, Spain, Poland and smaller countries more frequently.

Financial Times, 9 September 2005
Merkel's meeting with Putin signals policy continuity
Katinka Barysch, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform, also foresaw no "fundamental realignment of German foreign policy under Merkel. There is no need to change the basic parameters."

CNN, 8 September 2005
Europe terror measures logjammed
Hugo Brady, of the Centre for European Reform, said: "There is overlap between, say, the Europol and the EU's Threat Assessment Centre, as to which receives co-operation from the national security services, from the intelligence services, and this information is really gold dust." ...The hope is that they will settle a basic strategy, doing less but doing it better, thinning down that list of 150 measures. But experts say the best hope lies in ground-level practicality. "That means closer cooperation between police forces, more instinctive trust between police forces, more instinctive trust between the security services. But that is something that can only be built up with time," Brady said.

EurActiv.com, 8 September 2005
After textiles shoes may be next EU-China trade issue
Katinka Barysch, a policy analyst from the Centre for European Reform, told EurActiv: "China is the biggest target of EU anti-dumping action. If there were any action on shoes, it would be taken on the basis of anti-dumping rules if it could be shown that China was sending goods to Europe at markedly lower prices than were being sold in Asia." However, she added that "the Commission does not want to be seen to be acting in response to the shoe manufacturing lobby as it would send a message to other lobbies to come and do likewise."

The Guardian, 7 September 2005
Bush failed to charm EU, says survey
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, said: "George Bush's charm offensive did work. It was aimed at governments and he did well at that level - that is important because foreign policy is decided by governments, not by public opinion. He did talk up the EU and they did shift slightly on Iran and the Middle East."

International Herald Tribune, 6 September 2005
Schröder legacy: Failure on German-vision thing
A series of tax measures and the Hartz IV labour market program called timid even by the London-based Centre for European Reform, generally disposed to be favorable?

Newsweek, 5 September 2005
The 'Anglo-Social Model'
"Increasingly, European countries are looking at each other to see what's working, and what's not," says Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in London. ...As Barysch has pointed out, Britain's budget has swung from a big surplus (almost 4 percent of GDP in 2000) to a sizable deficit (close to 3 percent of GDP in 2004). ...This makes Britain resemble something of a socioeconomic chameleon. One moment it looks American; the next, European.

International Herald Tribune, 5 September 2005
EU presses on after charter vote
Will there be a budget deal by December? "I don't think so," said Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform in London. "Every country is under pressure to defend their national interest."

Gulf Times [Qatar], 5 September 2005
Textile row casting a shadow over Blair's EU mission to China, India
"Tony Blair will find himself in the rather strange position of a free-trader ... defending a position he doesn't believe in," said Mark Leonard of the Centre for European Reform, a London think-tank.

EurActiv.com, 1 September 2005
UK in breach of stability pact for 2nd year in a row
Pointing out that the pact's sanctions mechanism did not apply to the UK as a non-eurozone country, Katinka Barysch, an economic policy analyst from the Centre for European Reform, told EurActiv that, "with the emphasis of the pact having moved to sustainability (ie debt levels), it is unlikely that the Commission will come up with and even less likely that EcoFin will back a harsh report for the UK".

EU Observer.com, 30 August 2005
EU faces uphill struggle as it returns to work
In a recent article for the Brussels-based E!Sharp magazine, Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, argues that because of the difficulty in getting every member-state to ratify a treaty "there will be no more treaty-based integration in the foreseeable future". "Twenty years of progress to a more united Europe have come to an end", he concludes.

The Washington Post, 29 August 2005
Denmark Tries to Act Against Terrorism as Mood in Europe Shifts
"The mood has shifted in Europe more toward security than it was before the London bombings," said Daniel Keohane, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London. "The Europeans have always been very nervous about infringing on civil liberties. But when you experience terrorism, it changes your views."

The Washington Post, 26 August 2005
Vast relationship behind textiles dispute
China's growing economic strength is "turning up the heat on the EU, and not only in textiles," said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the CER. But the EU "often finds it difficult to think about China in strategic terms," she added. "Most Europeans are hardly aware of China's growing importance" in world trade, she wrote in a recent study on EU-China relations.

Financial Times, 26 August 2005
Consumers ambiguous on low-cost clothing
Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank, says organising consumers in trade debates is hard. "For textile workers, these quotas matter a great deal. But no one is going to demonstrate in the street with a placard because their T-shirts are 80 cents more expensive."

Corriere della Sera, 12 August 2005
Co-operation in anti-terror struggle will make or break EU
Between Middle Eastern fronts and European rear areas, the new geopolitics of the jihad does not allow separating foreign security from domestic security. Taken singly, measures like the suspension of Schengen [agreements] will not do much good. The worst-case scenarios for European solidarity, or what remains of it, are different, however. The first is the one hypothesized by a recent study by London's CER [Centre for European Reform] on counter-terrorism in Europe. After a terrorist attack, a European government could discover that another EU government has not shared information crucial to preventing it. The example cited by the CER, in order to stress the "holes" in European co-operation, is important for Italy: the case of Mohamed Daki, already interrogated by the German police in 2001 for possible ties with the "Hamburg cell" (author of the attack on the Twin Towers), later released for lack of evidence, and then arrested in Milan in April 2003 while he was recruiting jihadists for the Iraqi front.

Reuters, 12 August 2005
EU has few options as Iran talks near collapse
In the long run, several analysts predict a return to negotiation, if only because the stakes are so high. "Diplomacy will return at some point because no one wants Iran to have an unfettered nuclear programme," said Mark Leonard of London's Centre for European Reform.

The Guardian, 12 August 2005
Germany's new left upsets the applecart
Similar grassroot pressure is also evident in post-referendum France and the Netherlands. But such a mould-breaking upheaval was incredibly hard to achieve under Germany's electoral system, said Mark Leonard of the Centre for European Reform. The 1998 election was the only occasion in the postwar period when a government was forced out by voters alone, he said. Change was normally achieved by minor parties such as the Free Democrats switching sides. "This encourages identity politics... That's what's happening now. The focus is on individuals like Merkel, not on policies, because nobody really knows what to do. The energy is all on the left. But they are not going to win, so it's a negative force."

World Peace Herald, 11 August 2005
Analysis: Which economic model for EU?
"Is the gap between the Anglo-Saxon economic model and the continental one really that big?" asks Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform think-tank in a recent article entitled 'Liberal versus social Europe.' "On closer inspection, there are as many similarities as there are differences." Barysch blames the popular stereotypes about liberal vs. social Europe on the fact that the two sides are 'out of sync.' "When Brits think about social Europe, they are haunted by pre-Thatcher memories of high taxes, state industries and social unrest. When the French or Germans talk about 'Anglo-Saxon liberalism' they envisage a future of cut-throat capitalism where safety nets have dissolves and all workers earn Chinese wages."

World Peace Herald, 9 August 2005
Analysis: Iran move questions EU tactics
"Iran presents a test case for European foreign policy," wrote Steven Everts, then a research fellow at the London-based Centre for European Reform and now an adviser to EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, in a report published last year. "After the Iraq débâcle, the European Union
badly needs a foreign policy success." Everts said the EU needed to demonstrate two things: that its approach toward Iran could stay united under pressure and that its strategy of "conditional engagement" with Tehran could deliver real results. "It is difficult to fault the EU," says Mark Leonard, foreign policy director at the Centre for European Reform. "It was engaged with the Iranian problem even before it was a crisis, it has been tough in its dealings with Tehran and it has been on the front foot throughout the negotiations. If it fails, it will be an honorable failure...No one has got a better solution than the European one...If you want to know whether this is a success or a failure, you only have to compare Iran with North Korea, where the west has absolutely no leverage."

Polish News Bulletin, 8 August 2005
Bad News for Poland: UK Delays Talks on New EU Budget
"After the bombings in London, the EU budget is no longer a priority for the British," said Aurore Wanlin of the Centre for European Reform (CER).

Scotland on Sunday, 6 August 2005
Teenagers to swear allegiance at Citizens Days
Mark Leonard, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, who has written a book on renewing British identity, said: "There have to be proper integration policies. At present, people of different ethnic mixes live in a series of walled, gated communities... It is not about being English, white or Christian... Everyone who lives here should have to learn the language." The call is put into context by figures showing that there are more than 300 languages spoken in London alone. "There also have to be citizenship classes so that people can be properly integrated," he adds.

International Herald Tribune, 5 August 2005
Uneasy passage for Turkish economy
"The Turks are quite angry," said Katinka Barysch, chief economist of the Centre for European Reform, a research group in London, who recently wrote a report about Turkey. "They think, 'we've done so much for the EU, now the EU needs to do something for us'."

Stars & Stripes, 5 August 2005
Baader-Meinhof Gang attacked U.S. troops, bases in 1970s-1980s
Daniel Keohane, a terrorism expert at the Centre for European Reform in London, said he saw significant differences between the Red Army Faction and today's radical Islamist militants, in ideology, tactics and weaponry. "The amount and the number of bombs are on a greater scale than any European group has ever used," he said.

Bloomberg, 2 August 2005
French Premier Says EU-Turkey Talks May Be Delayed
"The whole Turkey decision is a game of chicken,'' said Katinka Barysch, an analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform. "There are lots of countries that want to speak out on it, but no one wants to be seen as the one who vetoes the process.''

World Peace Herald, 29 July 2005
Analysis: Bashing the euro
"People are confused about the causes of their economic problems," says Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in London. "They increasingly see the EU as part of the problem, not part of the solution." Barysch also accuses European leaders of overselling the euro before its introduction and for failing to explain its effects when it landed in people's pockets. "They assumed people would love the euro as part of their European identity and they didn't." ... "It's a win-win situation for Berlusconi," says Barysch. "He gets to bash Brussels and the opposition at the same time."

European Voice, 28 July 2005
Barroso bent on a return to Europe's centre-stage
Mark Leonard from the Centre for European Reform in London said a seminar on the European model could help stimulate debate but would be unlikely to have a major impact on public opinion. "European leaders need to prove that there is more to Europe than politicians sitting around in rooms, talking about treaty changes and institutions," he added. "They need to be able to prove that Europe can be the answer to sluggish growth, the lack of jobs, terrorism, immigration and foreign policy. The challenge is to remind people that Europe is about the real problems people are worried about, rather than a political club that exists only for an elite."

Bloomberg, 28 July 2005
Supachai Seeks 'Reality Check' as WTO Misses Target
The Hong Kong summit presents the last opportunity to draft a final agreement to cut global trade tariffs before the Bush
administration's negotiating mandate from the U.S. Congress expires in July 2007. "The real crisis'' may come in October or November, said Aurore Wanlin, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London. "The key will be to have Brazil, India, the EU and US move together.''

Newsweek, 25 July 2005
L'Etat? C'est Moi ... Not Jacques Chirac's time has come—and gone. French ask: why doesn't he do a de Gaulle and step down?
Merkel likely to be Germany's next chancellor, that hoary partnership could unravel. Clearly, she sees no gain in cozying up to Chirac the way Gerhard Schroder has done. "She won't want to be part of the losing team," says Mark Leonard of the London-based Centre for European Reform. Indeed, Moisi sees a weak French presidency as pushing the weight in the European Union even farther away from the old Franco-German Centre of gravity: "It probably means that, for 21 months, there will be more Great Britain in Europe and less France." ..."The only way that Chirac seems to be trying to legitimize himself is with destructive, hostile attacks on the European level," says Leonard, adding that Chirac is increasingly seen as "a wild card who could come and screw things up."

The Economist, 23 July 2005
Counter-terrorism in Europe - The fight within
As the EU grows larger, so does queasiness in its biggest memners about sharing really hot intelligence with the entire block, says Daniel Keohane of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank. "There will be no Euro-CIA", he thinks.

New York Times, 20 July 2005
Court lets German linked to terror go
"The Darkazanli case is very important, first because it involves an alleged Al Qaeda connection, and second because it raises questions about whether the European arrest warrant can work at all," said Daniel Keohane of the Centre for European Reform in London.
"One argument was that in a modern world where terrorism crosses borders without restrictions, we needed modern methods that would overcome the traditional high national frontiers to law enforcement," said Hugo Brady, a terrorism expert also at the Centre for European Reform. "So if a country's authorities issue a European arrest warrant, the person has to be extradited immediately, with very little room for objection," he said.

The Daily Telegraph, 19 July 2005
The happy couple are ready for European honeymoon
An analyst, Mark Leonard, the director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform in London, said the Sarkozy-Merkel meeting gave people "the sense of a new broom sweeping through Europe".

Voice of America, 19 July 2005
France Hosts German Opposition Leader
Aurore Wanlin, a researcher at the Centre for European Reform in London, says Ms. Merkel's trip to Paris is a chance to buff up her international qualifications. A former East German, Ms. Merkel has focused largely on domestic politics. "She really does not know about France and she really does not know about the French-German relationship," she said. "She has a profile in Germany." ...And despite some critics who suggest that the Franco-German axis is no longer relevant in Europe, Ms. Wanlin believes its still important. "When France and Germany manage to agree on a project, and to solve their differences and when they manage to convince the others to go along with them, then the European Union is in good shape," she said. In some ways Ms. Wanlin says, President Chirac has more in common with Ms. Merkel, despite his close relationship with the German chancellor.

World Peace Herald, 19 July 2005
German opposition leader meets with Chirac
"Angela Merkel is only now waking up to the fact that the EU exists and that Franco-German relations are important for Germany," said Aurore Wanlin, an analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform, offering another take to the Merkel visit. "She wants to take advantage of this tradition," Wanlin added, "and she wants to get to know her French partner." ..."But she also has a more reformist rhetoric, in terms of economic reforms, than either Schroeder or Chirac," Wanlin added. ..."When France and Germany manage to agree on a project and to solve their differences, and when they manage to convince the others to go along with them, then the EU is in good shape," Wanlin said. "But," she added, "when the Franco-German relationship is more defensive and protective of national interests -- as is the case right now, then the EU is much more challenged to find a compromise at the EU level."

Reuters, 18 July 2005
Germany's Merkel seeks reshaped French alliance
"Merkel has indicated that she wants to improve relations with the U.S. and have a less exclusive partnership with France," said Mark Leonard, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform in London."It is interesting that Merkel is going to see Sarkozy as well. It gives people the sense of a new broom sweeping through Europe," Leonard said.

Financial Times, 18 July 2005
Britain's top EU lobby group changes its focus
"The landscape certainly has changed," said Alasdair Murray, deputy director the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank. He said that since 1997 when Mr Blair took office promising to put Britain at the heart of Europe, the debate "has been geared towards a a big ding-dong battle, first over the single currency, then over the constitution . . . that has now gone." Mr Murray foresees the debate in Britain returning to where it was in the late 1980s and early 1990s when the majority of opinion was broadly in favour of the EU and before it took on a divisive and sometimes aggressive character. But he cautioned that while change was underway, it was still "very early days".

The Reporter [Greece], 18 July 2005
Turkey: 'The country's EU accession will not harm the bloc's economy'
Fears that the accession of Turkey to the European Union will harm the bloc's economy are unfounded, according to UK-based think tank, Centre for European Reform (CER). In a CER essay entitled "The economics of Turkish accession", the author, Katinka Barysch claims that Turkey's economy is very small compared to that of the EU-25, and there is thus no reason to fear that the country's accession could harm the Union's economy. Indeed, Barysch says that "what little impact Turkey's EU entry will have is likely to be positive". Moreover, according to the CER essay, Turkey is in many ways better prepared than the Central and European countries were when they started their accession talks. This is in part due to the fact that Turkey already has a customs union with the EU. There are already about three million Turkish residents in the EU, and many Europeans fear that accession will bring in many more Turkish workers, thus increasing competition for jobs. However, Barysch argues that Turkish workers will not gain the right to apply for jobs in other member states until after 2020; by that time, many West European countries may be wooing Turkish workers to help them compensate for the ageing of their own workforces. Furthermore, by the time Turkey joins, the EU will most probably have more efficient institutions and decision-making procedures, and will have solved its labour market problems. It will thus be easier for the country to join the bloc. Eastward enlargement is already forcing the EU towards that direction. Nonetheless, the CER essay warns that Turkey's accession process will be more difficult to manage than that of East European countries, because Turkey's large pile of debt leaves it unusually vulnerable to swings in investor confidence. Also, Ankara will not be able to use EU accession as an anchor for economic reform in the way the East European did.

The Economist, 16 July 2005
Charlemagne: The end of enlargement?
Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform, a London based think-tank, argues that countries such as France tolerated past enlargement of the EU in return for a commitment to deeper political integration; but "now that deepening has stopped, the leadership of several EU countries is likely to veto further enlargement."

Reuters, 16 July 2005
EU to press on with diplomatic initiative on Iran nuclear programme
Mark Leonard, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said in a research paper the EU strategy was to "force Iran to choose between nuclear weapons and its relationship with the West". Ahmadinejad has so far argued that Iran, an oil-producing nation of 65 million which sees itself as a leader of the Muslim and developing world, has no need for closer ties with the West, especially the US. But EU officials say aside from public rhetoric they detect no change in Iran's foreign policy yet, partly because Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei remains in overall charge. Leonard sketched five possible scenarios, ranging from a grand bargain between Iran and the West to a pre-emptive US or Israeli air strike to try to prevent Tehran going nuclear.

World Peace Herald, 11 July 2005
Analysis: Luxembourg revives EU treaty
"I am afraid that Luxembourg really changes nothing. As long as people claim that the constitution is alive they discredit the European political classes," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform in London. "People can see that the emperor is wearing no clothes, so if you say the emperor is wearing clothes you look ridiculous. We have to get back to first principles and ask what the EU is for and what should its budget be spent on."

The Guardian, 11 July 2005
Luxembourg says yes to European constitution
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, said: "I am afraid that Luxembourg really changes nothing. As long as people claim that the constitution is alive they discredit the European political classes. "People can see that the emperor is wearing no clothes, so if you say the emperor is wearing clothes you look ridiculous. We have to get back to first principles and ask what the EU is for and what should its budget be spent on."

EU Observer, 11 July 2005
EU constitution - dead or alive?
"I am afraid that Luxembourg really changes nothing. As long as people claim that the constitution is alive they discredit the European political classes", said the director of the Centre for European Reform Charles Grant, according to the Guardian. "People can see that the emperor is wearing no clothes, so if you say the emperor is wearing clothes you look ridiculous", he added.

Voice of America, 8 July 2005
Europe Needs Unity to Battle Terrorism, Analysts Say
Until recently, fighting terrorism, says Daniel Keohane, an analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform, came second. "Terrorism wasn't exactly at the top of the agenda for the last few months. The focus was on the outcome of the French referendum [on the EU constitution] or on Iran, or on other issues," he said. ...Mr. Keohane explains why. "The problem is the EU It's not like a national government. It doesn't have its proper terrorism service to arrest people. It can only help governments help each other. And the EU is only as good as its weakest member when it comes to security," he said. ...Now, analysts like Daniel Keohane expect a much more proactive Europe when it comes to fighting terrorism. British Prime Minister Tony Blair is EU president for the next six months. "Given that the UK is currently chairing the EU, holding the presidency, and that the UK said it wanted the EU to agree on a clear counterterrorism strategy, I think that it will definitely shoot to the top of the agenda now. There's no question about it," said Mr. Keohane.

The San Fransisco Chronicle, 8 July 2005
TERROR IN LONDON - Europe is slow in terror fight
Less than 16 months after the Madrid train bombings, terrorism is stalking Europe anew, raising questions about what the region has - and has not - done to avoid another attack. Some analysts say the four blasts that rocked London Thursday morning are a warning for a European Union fractured by the collapse of the proposed EU constitution and bitter infighting over issues such as agricultural subsidies and Turkey's potential membership. "Psychologically, they will have a massive impact on EU counterterrorism, " predicted Daniel Keohane, a terrorism expert at the Centre for European Reform, a London think tank. "If there was any gray area, it'll be gone now." ..."The problem is that the EU is not like a national government," said Keohane. "It doesn't have its (own) terrorism service to arrest people. The EU is only as good as its weakest member when it comes to security." ...Co-operation Europe-wide is another matter, however. "Terrorism hasn't exactly been on top of the EU agenda for the last few months," Keohane said. "The focus has been on the outcome of the referendum (on the EU constitution), or on Iran, or on other issues." That is now likely to change. British Prime Minister Tony Blair had already pledged to make the fight against terrorism a top priority during his six months as EU president. "Britain said it wanted the EU to agree on a clear counterterrorism strategy," Keohane said. "Now, I think it will definitely shoot up to the top of the agenda."

World Peace Herald, 7 July 2005
Analysis: Remembering Srebrenica
"The European dream almost died in a town called Srebrenica," writes Mark Leonard, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform in London. A decade later, a generation of EU policy-makers is still haunted by the bloc's failure to prevent the blood-letting.

The New York Times, 7 July 2005
Victory puts Blair in winner's circle
People had started to forget that Tony Blair was once nicknamed Teflon Tony because nothing bad stuck to him. On Wednesday, they remembered why, when London was chosen over Paris, New York and other cities to be host of the 2012 Olympics and Blair seemed, in the words of one French journalist here, "king of the world." "He is shaking off the Iraq war," said Charles Grant, head of the Centre for European Reform in London. "He will never completely leave it behind, but he is succeeding - and the Olympics helps him - in being associated with something other than Iraq." Indeed, with Britain holding the rotating presidency of the European Union since July 1, and as chairman for this year of the G-8, "Blair has the opportunity to do what he does best, and paint the big picture." ..."Blair has reacted well to the European Union crisis by searching to find something positive to come out of it," Grant said. Indeed, in a speech to the European Parliament last month, he emerged as the - self-appointed - custodian of an alternative vision of the Continent's future. ..."I'm quite sure that the other leaders will be sensitive enough to understand that it's been a rough year for Chirac," said Grant at the Centre for European Reform."Schadenfreude is not an emotion that any world leader displays in private. It will make the British more concerned not to upset him," Grant said. "I don't expect the British to be the initiators of any further ding-dong at Gleneagles."

The Moscow Times, 6 July 2005
Doubts Pursue Putin to G8 Summit
"The US and Western Europe have been trying to position Russia as an alternative to OPEC for years," said Katinka Barysch, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London. "But the fact is oil output growth is stagnating, investment in energy has declined, oil exports are falling and [gas giant] Gazprom is getting ever more inefficient and intransparent." Barysch said Russia might also have exhausted its usefulness on the one other issue where it could help the West: acting as an intermediary with pariah states like North Korea, Iran and Syria. But the West's relations with Iran, which just elected a conservative Islamist president, and North Korea have reached a stalemate that even Russia cannot break. "How much leverage does Russia really have over North Korea? Even the Chinese admit they cannot do much," Barysch said.

European Voice, 30 June - 6 July 2005
US could take exception to biometrics exemption
Daniel Keohane from the Centre for European Reform in London said that biometrics could prove important in fighting terrorism, especially given how criminals have resorted to passport and credit card fraud. "Biometrics are not a panacea," he added. "But if you talk to governments and people who work in security, they feel that, technological problems aside, they are the best way forward. Certainly, border people think that they will make it easier to compile databases of suspected terrorists."

Le Matin [Morocco], 1 July 2005
La Grande-Bretagne entame sa présidence de l'Union européenne - Tony Blair hérite d'une Europe en pleine crise
"Je n'avais pas entendu un tel discours depuis longtemps. Nous avions oublié à quel point il était pro-Européen, probablement depuis 1999", commente ainsi Daniel Keohane, expert du Centre for european Reform à Londres. "Au début de son premier mandat (en 1997), il était très ouvert sur ses convictions pro-européennes, faisait beaucoup de bruit". Mais Tony Blair s'est calmé très vite, face à une presse britannique largement eurosceptique, voire, pour certains quotidiens populaires, europhobe. "Il a toujours été conscient que l'Europe pouvait lui coûter cher sur le plan intérieur", renchérit Daniel Keohane. ...Il veut réussir sa présidence de l'UE, pour montrer que "Tony Blair ce n'est pas seulement l'Irak", commente Daniel Keohane.

BBC News, 30 June 2005
A six-month charge for EU glory
Tony Blair made an impressive start with his speech in the European parliament on 23 June, but there are many pitfalls and obstacles to negotiate, including the risk of sounding preachy or unsympathetic to European social traditions. "He will have a tricky time doing this without appearing hubristic about the successes of the British economy," says Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform. "In continental Europe, you have to remember, the UK is seen as a bastion of American-style capitalism." ..."If Tony Blair wants to have a debate on economic reform, he cannot do it by pushing the Services Directive under the carpet," says Mr Brady.

The Budapest Sun, 30 June 2005
EU's Budapest Compromise
"It will be difficult to reach a compromise on the budget during the British presidency," Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank, told The Budapest Sun. "To broker a compromise you have to be seen as above the arguments, and the UK is widely seen as negotiating for its own national interest." Whilst it was welcome that the new member states were seeking to contribute to finding a way through, she thought that panic was premature. "The EU budget is rarely agreed upon before spring of the year before it comes into force, so we could easily wait until spring 2006," she said - long after the British presidency. Despite resentment at last week's turn of events, she thought that Britain was "still a friend of the new member states." The British Government is currently embarking on a diplomatic offensive to reassure the central European countries of its good faith.

Turkish Daily News, 27 June 2005
Britain faces battle to steer crisis-hit EU
"The French referendum makes it particularly hard for the EU to push ahead with economic reform and enlargement," said Charles Grant of the London-based Centre for European Reform "Many will interpret the 'non' as a vote against liberalization and further accessions," he added

The Messenger [Georgia], 27 June 2005
European Neighborhood Policy for Georgia
Speaking with The Messenger last week, Director of the Centre for European Reform Charles Grant suggested that EU expansion could end with Bulgaria and Romania, which have already entered negotiations on joining the EU. As for countries such as Georgia, Ukraine, Moldova and Turkey, Grant rules out joining the union, in the near future at least, as highly unlikely.

Tiscali.europe, 27 June 2005
Blair Challenges EU "Inertia" - 'Yes' to Social Europe, but one with solid economic foundations
...the Centre for European Reform, a hugely respected think-tank on EU affairs, recently wrote that it would be wrong to write off the Lisbon Agenda. In a table of heroes and villains compiled for its annual Lisbon review, the CER states that almost all EU members have "passed a raft of measures" many tackling labour market and pensions reform.

International Herald Tribune, 25 June 2005
For Europe, the costs of a weak Germany
...the debate between Anglo-Saxon and Continental models is a caricature that fails to take into account the complexities of Europe.
"I see a convergence toward a model that is less liberal than what Margaret Thatcher advocated but less restrictive than what Jacques Chirac is defending," said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform.

Bloomberg, 24 June 2005
EU may step up calls for stronger Yuan at ministerial meeting
"Chinese competition will turn up the heat on Europe to reform its economies,'' said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform. "China will sooner or later move into the kinds of goods we are trying to be competitive in. We need to have a strategic debate in Europe about how we deal with a rising China.''

The Financial Times, 23 June 2005
Anglo-French defence drive central to EU foreign policy
"The fact that Chirac and Blair were throwing jam rolls at each other at the most recent summit should not slow the process down," says Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank.

EU Business, 22 June 2005
Blair: the arch-europhile turned villain of Brussels
"You have two sides in Blair," said Alasdair Murray from London-based think tank the Centre for European Reform. "On one side he is very pragmatic... another side of him is much more messianic - he has a vision, he uses language that has almost a sort of religious imagery in it. "On the issue of Europe, the rhetoric is going into that direction, and there is a sense of expectation about his speech."

International Herald Tribune, 21 June 2005
Politicus: With eyes on him, will Blair take the EU lead?
But doesn't Blair, who says this is his last term in office, have the ambition and emotional force to want to become the man who set Europe right, pushing it past its no-risks-please instincts of dependency? "He has the ability," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a pro-Europe research institute here. "But this just may be too much for British politics. Most people here feel Europe is a failure, and therefore, why get involved?"

Reuters, 21 June 2005
"Lame duck" Schroeder limps towards early election
"The expectation in Germany is that Schroeder is on his way out and that view is reflected abroad as well," said Katinka Barysch of the London-based Centre for European Reform. "As far as the budget is concerned, there are not a lot of tears being shed in Britain, mainly because of Schroeder's closeness to (French President Jacques) Chirac."

Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2005
Amid crisis, EU leaders bicker - Constitution on hold; growth not mentioned
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London think-tank, said the EU must keep its promise to start negotiations with Turkey. "It is up to political leaders to explain why enlargement is good for Europe, and if they cannot do that, enlargement will not happen," Grant said.

AFP, 19 June 2005
Dismal summit steels Blair for key EU debate
...analysts believe that time and circumstances are on Blair's side as a new generation of EU leaders - many of them from the enlargement states in the formerly communist eastern Europe - comes to the fore. "I think he wins a grudging respect from his opponents, said Alasdair Murray of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank in London that specialises on EU issues. "He's in a much more powerful position than before, because he's at least won an election and he's still the master of his own destiny," Murray said by telephone. "The others are clearly going -- Schroeder quite soon and Chirac in the not too distant future."

The Guardian, 18 June 2005
Money drives wider rift in relations - Wrangling over rebate sours project
Alasdair Murray, of the Centre for European Reform, said: "We don't need technically to get the budget done. We didn't last time. If there hadn't been 'no' votes, we definitely would not have got it done at this point." Mr Murray believes that a failure to reach an agreement will actually help the EU because he argues that it is better to secure an enduring deal - with a serious look at how the EU finances itself - if voters are to warm to the European project. "Trying to achieve unanimity and harmony when it doesn't really exist is unnecessary," he said. "The debate is going to be difficult and fractious."

Reuters, 18 June 2005
Blair, blamed for crisis, picks up EU baton
If Blair can capitalise on the opportunity, he could redefine himself and even prolong his premiership, thwarting the plans of leader-in-waiting Chancellor Gordon Brown for an early handover. Or at least he could bow out on a high. "If he can have a successful presidency where he is clearly seen to be shaping the future of Europe and the EU economy, with serious deals on climate change ... it will certainly go a long way to rebuilding his image as an active reformer," said Daniel Keohane, an analyst at London's Centre for European Reform, also close to New Labour thinking. "Will he then be as keen to step down?" he asked.

Spiegel [Germany], 17 June 2005
BUDGET WRANGLING IN THE EU - Is Europe Really Facing a Crisis?
Do the, to put it mildly, rather lively budget negotiations at the EU summit in Brussels held on Thursday and Friday this week actually amount to a crisis? No, says Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the London-based think tank, the Centre for European Reform. "Do you think that in the past EU leaders didn't spend three days haggling behind closed doors over the common agricultural policy? Of course they did," she says. "Every time. It would be nice if that wasn't necessary, but we have just taken on ten new members, we have a new currency and less money to go round." The budget debate "is normal and it's certainly not a crisis," she adds. "We have moved a lot over the last few years: a single currency, new common policies and several enlargements," she says. "So it is understandable that people need time to get used to all the changes." Barysch also argues that the massive attention focused on this week's summit has a lot to do with the fact that the meeting comes hot on the heels of the Dutch and French rejection of the European constitution. ...While Katinka Barysch believes that a lot hangs on whether the economy picks up any time soon, she says that in the long run Europe will be more about groups of countries within the union working together. "Trying to get 28 states to move together in one big convoy is just not going to happen. There will be more flexibility. We are already doing this. Come countries have the euro, some are in (the group of European countries that have dropped border controls called) Schengen." And, although accession for new members will be slowed down, she believes that further expansion will continue. "Bulgaria and Romania will go ahead.... And as for Turkey, unless Chirac or the Turkish government do anything really stupid, the joining process will continue. It won't be fast, but it will proceed."

Townhall [Washington], 17 June 2005
European Summit Held Amidst Wide Disagreement
...analysts and diplomats have concluded that the constitution is effectively dead although this does not mean, despite the coincidence with the budget problems, that the European Union is falling apart. "Obviously there are problems. The treaty is effectively dead," said Daniel Keohane, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London. "And it's difficult and very unfortunate psychologically that the leaders are also arguing over money at the same time."

International Herald Tribune, 16 June 2005
Discussions on the EU's future
Charles Grant - Director of the Centre for European Reform in London
Europe has always been a compromise between those who think of it as a political union and those who take a more instrumentalist view. As a result we've never agreed what the European Union is for. We've had to fudge it every time a new treaty was signed. Fudging is O.K. if you're moving forward. But if the bicycle wobbles you may find yourself in an existential crisis. Today the instrumentalist view seems to be gaining momentum. The emotion is gone. What people today want is a Europe that delivers useful benefits: jobs, a clean environment, a foreign policy success on Iran. It's a utilitarian Europe, a bean-counting Europe, a down-to-earth-Europe - a more boring Europe.

International Herald Tribune, 16 June 2005
EU to hold together, but with new focus
"What people today want is a Europe that delivers useful benefits: jobs, a clean environment, a foreign policy success on Iran," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform in London. "It's a utilitarian Europe." ...If integration and enlargement have both proceeded in recent decades it was because the two camps were able to trade one off against the other, Grant said. But after the recent French and Dutch no votes, neither is likely to evolve much further, he said. "French and Dutch voters have basically killed treaty-driven integration - after this precedent it will be very hard to ratify far-reaching treaties without submitting them to a referendum," he said. "That also probably means the end of enlargement: core Europe only tolerated enlargement because there was deepening at the same time. That bargain is now off."

Financial Times, 16 June 2005
Europe's budget barons get ready to fight
Alasdair Murray, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, says the UK has been slow to argue that it will only negotiate over the rebate as part of wider reform of the EU budget and of the common agricultural policy. "Britain should have floated this argument three years ago when the Commission first proposed the programme for future funding," he says.

The Washington Post, 16 June 2005
European Leaders Gather to Restore a Union Divided
French President Jacques Chirac has singled out for criticism an annual rebate that returns to the British government about $6 billion of the funds it pays to the EU. British Prime Minister Tony Blair has responded to Chirac by saying he would be willing to revisit the issue if the French would review the Common Agricultural Policy that provides French farmers with about $13 billion in annual subsidies.Each side knows the other will not budge. "These are diversionary tactics on both sides," said Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform.

PolitInfo [Germany], 16 June 2005
EU Leaders Discuss Budget Deadlock, Constitutional Crisis
Analyst Alasdair Murray, at London's Centre for European Reform, says he does not hold out much hope for a successful summit. "The idea that, you know, the EU can show that it's business as usual by getting a deal on the budget is out. Similarly, it's going to be still a problematic discussion about what to do abut the constitutional treaty," he said. "I think we will get some form of words, but the words will rather reveal the disagreements rather than the agreements, and whilst most people will believe the treaty is effectively dead, there will be one or two countries that continue to mutter about carrying on with the process."

The Times, 16 June 2005
Mandelson demands China open its doors to Europe and more foreign imports
Peter Mandelson called on China yesterday to open up its markets to foreign imports and to play a more active role in international negotiations to liberalise global trade... "The mini-ministerial in China next month will be a key test. China has a tendency to sit pat on its newly acquired WTO status. That is not good enough," he told a seminar on EU-China relations organised by the Centre for European Reform.

The Christian Science Monitor, 16 June 2005
Budget battle threatens more disunity for Europe
"The rhetoric has been pretty strong and people have boxed themselves in," worries Alasdair Murray, an analyst with the Centre for European Reform in London. But there is no need for a budget agreement at this stage, he points out, since it will not come into force until 2007. "There is a difficult balance between the understandable urge to show that you can reach an agreement in some form, doing business as usual, and actually reaching a good deal that shows you are thinking about reform," he adds.

Bloomberg, 16 June 2005
Blair Seizes on EU Deadlock to Promote UK's Pro-Growth Agenda
"Chirac is in trouble with these new countries,'' Hugo Brady, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London, said in an interview. "He's been quite arrogant toward them, and also fixed the agriculture spending before enlargement.'' France benefits from a decision to deny the new countries their full share of farm aid until 2013, and Chirac told the eastern European leaders who backed the Iraq war in 2003 that they "missed a good opportunity to be quiet.''

The Sydney Morning Herald, 16 June 2005
Britain still getting one in the eye from France
The huge no votes have not only killed the constitution "but also, quite probably, the wave of European integration that began 20 years ago", writes Charles Grant of London's Centre for European Reform.

The Financial Times, 15 June 2005
Chirac and Blair at one in desire for distraction
Alasdair Murray from the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank, said Mr Blair might have been distracted by the recent British election and "caught a little bit on the hop" by the emergence of the rebate issue, which was a "sitting target for Chirac".

Turkish Daily News, 15 June 2005
Blair rejects EU proposal to freeze rebate
German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder called on both sides on Monday to set aside "national egotism" and strike an accord. Prospects of a compromise, however, appear remote "They are pretty entrenched," said Alasdair Murray, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank. "They have both put themselves into a corner. It seems neither side can give ground at this stage." London says that without the rebate, Britain would have paid 15 times more than France and 12 times more than Italy between 1995 and 2003.

The International Herald Tribune, 14 June 2005
EU cuts expansion from its to-do list
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform in London, said, "Sadly, enlargement will probably stop - that is the real revolution that French and Dutch voters have brought about."

The New York Times, 13 June 2005
UK's rebate on EU contributions a 'moral paradox,' say analysts
"We've seen (French President) Jacques Chirac rule out any discussion on farm subsidies. Similarly, although he hasn't quite ruled it out, Blair has made it quite explicit that he wouldn't negotiate unless there is any movement on farm subsidies," said Alasdair Murray at the Centre for European Reform in London. "You end up with a bit of impasse."

Newsweek, 13 June 2005
Europe's Dream Deferred
...strained European integration may be at the moment, it is much farther along than it was during its last big political crisis in the early 1990s. "There's actually quite a lot in the bag, now," says Mark Leonard of the London-based Centre for European Reform: the open borders, the widespread use of a single currency. The constitution rejected by France and the Netherlands would have given Europe a more clearly identifiable face, replacing the "rotating presidency" that changes from country to country each six months, with a president named for 2-1/2 years. There would also be a single foreign minister and a diplomatic corps. "The constitution would give us additional instruments," says an aide to Javier Solana, currently the leading foreign-policy representative in Brussels. "But we have lived without those instruments before."

The Financial Express [Bangladesh], 13 June 2005
EU crisis threatens role on world stage
"The 'no' votes are hugely damaging to the EU's aspirations to play a greater role on the world stage," said Alasdair Murray of the Centre for European Reform in London. "More infighting over the EU institutions is the last thing Europe needs at a time when it is trying to develop stronger policies towards countries such as Iran, China and Russia," he added.

Sunday Business Post [Ireland], 12 June 2005
No sign of a plan to put EU back on rails
Daniel Keohane of the Centre for European Reform said this would be a possibility - if fringe countries rejected the constitution. The member state leaders, on the other hand, could agree that there is nothing to be gained by debating the ultimate fate of the constitution at this stage.The Irish

Independent, 10 June 2005
Quotes of the week
"It is perfectly feasible there will be a country where a government comes to power promising to pull out of the euro." Alasdair Murray of the Centre for European Reform on the future of the single currency.

The Washington Times, 10 June 2005
EU budget battle heats up
Alasdair Murray, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform in London, said he believes the chances of EU leaders agreeing on the budget next week are slim, and they have not been aided by Luxembourg premier Jean Claude Juncker's comments that the club needs an agreement July 16-17 to show European citizens it can still work after the French and Dutch rejections of the constitution. "A deal was always going to be tough, but Juncker has not helped by raising the stakes more than he can deliver," Murray said. Pointing out that the budget only takes effect in 2007, Murray added: "The EU does not need to get an agreement now. Before the French and Dutch 'no' votes, there was no expectation there would be a deal."

Voice of America, 10 June 2005
The Fate of the Euro
...Alasdair Murray, Deputy Director of the Centre for European Reform in London, says the common currency will weather this crisis. Alasdair Murray says, "The rules of engagement are already set. They weren't going to be changed by the constitutional treaty, so this is really about mood going forward rather than anything specific the treaty would have provided that was necessary for the Euro to work more efficiently." ...According to Alasdair Murray, "You have to go into a period of reflection. This is going to cause a lot of hard thinking about why European leaders have become so disconnected from their electorate. While the French and the Dutch may have been the ones to turn it down, they are not the only ones who would have turned it down if everybody would have voted."

PR Week, 10 June 2005
Where did Britain in Europe go wrong?
As Alasdair Murray, an ex-Times journalist and deputy director of the Centre for European Reform (a pro-EU think-tank independent of BiE) puts it: 'Journalists on Eurosceptic papers want to find any details that reflect badly on the body of the EU. To counter that takes more than a few under-funded lobbying groups and think-tanks.'

The Times, 9 June 2005
Could Italy be first to ditch euro and bring back its old currency?
Alasdair Murray, of the Centre for European Reform, said: "There are in most countries some anti-euro forces, but Italy is the first country where a party in government is making a song and dance about it. It is perfectly feasible there will be a country where a government comes to power promising to pull out of the euro."

Financial Times, 8 June 2005
Presidency will present tough task for PM's agenda
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, believes this subtle calibration of Britain's position is designed to make Mr Blair's task during the presidency a little easier by defusing potential clashes. London does not want to be seen to be killing the treaty and needs to convince other European member states it is a good European partner. "Britain has a credibility problem because people think we just want a free trade area and nothing else," he told the FT. "We would be better able to sell economic reform if we can show people that we are taking a constructive attitude to the treaty by proposing to save a few non-contentious parts of it."

EU Observer, 7 June 2005
EU enlargement at a crossroads after French and Dutch No
Aurore Wanlin, from the London-based Centre for European Reform (CER), added that "we are more likely to see unilateral nationalism and a stagnation of EU integration in the upcoming years", as the EU is lacking the political leaders able to get the Union out of the current crisis. ...Ms Wanlin expressed worries that stopping the process may lead to slower democratic reforms in the region as well. Part of the solution, according to the CER's analyst, lies in a proper debate within the EU on "why enlargement is necessary".

The New York Times, 7 June 2005
Europe Is Still Europe
There are, as Mark Leonard, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform in London, points out, about 80,000 pages of common European law, policed by the European Court of Justice, a final legal recourse that transcends national boundaries. ...People aren't less patriotic," Mr. Leonard said. "National identities haven't waned at all. If anything, they've become stronger. But the E.U. has changed the nature of nationalism within Europe, so it's no longer about fighting wars with each other, but managing diversity peacefully.

The Times, 7 June 2005
Blair's taking us to war again - but on three fronts
"If Britain plays hardball on farms, the result may be deadlock," Alasdair Murray, of the Centre for European Reform.

The Age [Australia], 7 June 2005
Britian puts EU vote plans on ice
...the British move makes it increasingly likely the long-cherished charter has all but failed. "It's not yet dead, neither has the machine been switched off," said Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform in London. "But they are preparing for such an eventuality." Britain has "manoeuvred to the fullest extent possible without being seen to be the people who've actually killed the treaty," he added. For Britain, long the "semi-detached" eurosceptic country in the bloc, the stunning political blow to the traditional EU heavyweights could offer an opportunity to push its less federalist vision of the EU, some suggest. "I don't think the federalism vision in general will be able to progress in the current circumstances," said Brady.

La República [Peru], 7 June 2005
Suspenso por el referéndum en Francia
"Éstos, en particular en Reino Unido y Holanda, poco tienen que ver con la Constitución, que no cambia nada de lo que ya existe", afirma Daniel Keohane, experto en asuntos europeos del Centre for European Reform (CER).

Time, 5 June 2005
Brussels Burnout
"It's a fundamental revolution," says Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform. "Nothing has changed, but everything has changed, and no one knows what comes next." ..."Romania and Bulgaria will squeak through, but too bad for Ukraine," says Grant. "Turkey may start negotiations this fall, but they'll never finish." ...But it's hard to see how the political élites can pick and choose which bits of the constitution the voters did and didn't like. "To do anything now would be mad," says Grant, arguing that if leaders played such a game, it would be said that "they'd defied the will of the people."

TVNZ [New Zealand], 5 June 2005
Blair announces freeze on referendum
Already Denmark and Portugal have suggested they would suspend ratification, said Aurore Wanlin, a researcher at the London-based Centre for European Reform. Wanlin said meanwhile that "you also have commissioners in Brussels who have said in private that it would be too risky to continue with the ratification process because a series of no votes would endanger Europe".

AFP, 5 June 2005
EU constitution crisis threatens enlargement
Aurore Wanlin, at the Centre for European Reform in London, said that Europe has to draw up a mandate for negotiating with Turkey, due to be completed by the end of the month, as quickly as possible. "Because the closer we get to the German elections, the more chance the debate has of resurfacing in Germany and it could become as heated" as it was in France, she said.

Pravda [Russia], 4 June 2005
France after referendum
"It's the end of an era," says Alasdair Murray, deputy director for the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank that studies the European Union. "Though Blair is the one who still clings on and has a bit more life than the others."

The Age [Australia], 4 June 2005
Unity in short supply in European Union
Despite France's 10 per cent unemployment, French President Jacques Chirac promised this week to maintain "total respect for the French model" ahead of "the Anglo-Saxon type". But that will only exacerbate France's "crisis", says Aurore Wanlin, a French-born researcher at London's Centre for European Reform. She thinks the French "are struggling to accept that an enlarged and fast-changing EU resembles British ideas more closely than the old Gallic version".

Reuters, 3 June 2005
Blair's aim to put UK at Europe's heart in trouble
"There is a danger that picking up the pieces of the constitution will overshadow the presidency," said Alasdair Murray of the Centre for European Reform. The EU's "Lisbon agenda" envisages further internal market liberalisation, including opening the services sector to cross-border competition, raising employment levels and investing in education and research.

The Guardian, 3 June 2005
Enthusiasm for 40-year dream begins to wane
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, said Turkey will be lucky to see its dream realised. "I still think we'll probably start negotiations with Turkey. In the long run enlargement is very difficult and undoubtedly it is bad news for Turkey. Talks will start but they may move at the pace of the slowest member of the convoy."

Reuters, 3 June 2005
"No" votes threaten EU image as world player
"It's a question of credibility. It doesn't do us any favours in terms of how serious we look to the rest of the world if we can't agree on something like this," said Mark Leonard, analyst at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. ..."What kind of message would that send out to the Muslim world?" asked Leonard. "And Washington would be horrified," he added of staunch U.S. support for Ankara's accession goal.

The Telegraph, 3 June 2005
Schröder and Chirac ponder years of decline
It is still a struggle to buy a loaf of bread after 1pm on a Saturday in Germany, concurred Alasdair Murray, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, a London think tank. German reunification was "botched", with West Germany's high cost model imposed on the eastern half. Mr Schröder has credible reform plans, but cannot get them past his own party, Mr Murray said. Mr Berlusconi came to power vowing reforms, but has spent his time shoring up his billion pound business interests, and fighting legal battles. Between now and 2007, all three nations will have elections, offering some hope of fresh thinking, said Mr Murray. If that fails, there is always the hope that the Polish plumber's low-cost flexible model will frighten European workers into change. Competition from new Europe "may be causing distress to voters now, but in the end it will create dynamism," said Mr Murray.

The Christian Science Monitor, 3 June 2005
European Union's woes a storm in a teacup? - European leaders will meet June 16-17 to decide next steps on the EU Constitution
"I don't see any major strategic changes in direction" if the Constitution dies, says Mark Leonard, director of political studies at the Centre for European Reform, a think tank in London. "I think this is a storm in a teacup. People won't remember it in 10 years' time." At the same time, Mr. Leonard suggests, some elements of the Constitution might be extracted and implemented without the need for referendums. The EU could, for example, apply a proposal to allow European citizens to initiate legislation themselves if they collect enough signatures.

Le Monde, 2 June 2005
La construction européenne en panne après le non franco-néerlandais
"Avec deux pays fondateurs contre, le traité est mort. La meilleure chose à faire, c'est d'arrêter tout le processus de ratification", affirme au contraire Daniel Keohane, du Centre For European Reform, installé à Londres et proche des idées de Tony Blair. ..."A moins", avance Daniel Keohane, "qu'Angela Merkel [chef de file de l'opposition chrétienne-démocrate allemande] soit élue sur un tel programme, auquel cas Jacques Chirac serait profondément isolé".

The Guardian, 2 June 2005
Constitutional coma
The director of the Centre for European Reform, Charles Grant, who expects Mr Chirac to be "bloody minded" and demand that ratification continue, said that Britain cannot afford to speak out. "The British cannot say too much because we are on one extreme of the debate," Mr Grant said. "Much better if other people say it, like Silvio Berlusconi or Bertie Ahern. If the British say this means the treaty is dead that will be counter-productive because they carry a whole load of historical baggage when they say anything like that. They are seen as so anti-European. "So the British in public have to be polite and non-committal and say questions have been raised and it's too early to decide whether we'll have a referendum. We all know they won't hold one." But Mr Grant said it would take time for the penny to drop in some quarters. "It will take a long time for the real federalists, like Jean Claude-Juncker, to accept that the constitution is dead. A lot of the federalists think it is not fair that one or two countries can block the treaty. But I'm sorry the rules are the rules - everyone has to ratify."

Dagens Nyhether, 2 June 2005
EU kan resa sig stärkt efter knocken
Det är ett djupt psykologiskt slag, ett knockoutslag, konstaterar Daniel Keohane vid brittiska tankesmedjan Centre for European Reform i London....Risken för en negativ snöbollseffekt är uppenbar om konstitutionen fortsätter sin folkomröstningsmaraton, säger Daniel Keohane:

The Financial Times, 2 June 2005
Ask the expert
Mr Amato, who is also a constitutional lawyer, has also suggested that the corpse of the constitutional treaty might be used for "organ transplants" to modernise and strengthen the Treaty of Nice which h sets the rules for running the EU. Addressing a seminar in London organised by three think tanks - the Fabian Society, the Centre for European Reform (CER) and the Centre for European Legal Studies (CELS) - Mr Amato suggested the proposed EU foreign minister and the double majority system of voting in the Council of Ministers as possible transplant organs. Alan Dashwood of CELS, a leading UK constitutionalist, believes there is scope to extend co-decision, which gives the European parliament equality of power with the Council of Ministers when making EU laws, in the area of asylum and immigration. The constitutional treaty's provisions to involve national parliaments more in EU legislation and to open up legislation in the Council of Ministers to public scrutiny – two measures which would significantly improve the democratic accountability of the EU – could also be done within existing rules, according to Prof Dashwood.

USA Today, 2 June 2005
Hard road ahead for EU leaders
"It's the end of an era," says Alisdair Murray, deputy director for the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank that studies the European Union. "Though Blair is the one who still clings on and has a bit more life than the others."

The Guardian, 2 June 2005
A lesson from the voters that must be heeded
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, argued for example that plans to appoint an EU "foreign minister" need not be scrapped just because the treaty as a whole might fall. Mr Grant has a good point, even if it does not appear particularly democratic. American neo-conservatives will be immensely gratified if Europe retreats into more easily manipulated, opposing camps of nation states.

The Wall Street Journal, 2 June 2005
Dutch rejection of charter raises larger fears for EU
"The constitution is on life support, with EU leaders deciding when to take it off, and a Dutch 'no' will prompt them to pull the plug," said Alasdair Murray of the Centre for European Reform.

The Times, 2 June 2005
The constitution may be dead, but Europe will survive
...the economic front is where the achievements of the EU are easiest to demonstrate. It has had great success in reducing the payment of state aid — state subsidies to "national champions". "That has been particularly valuable as many of the ten new members (who joined last year) and some of Mediterranean Europe did not really have competition regimes until they joined," Alasdair Murray, of the Centre for European Reform, says.

The International Herald Tribune, 2 June 2005
A 'revolt against the establishment'
"Old Europe lacks confidence and is therefore defensive, trying to freeze things rather than look forward, feeling that any change is bad," Mark Leonard, an EU specialist at the Centre for European Reform in Europe, said in a telephone interview. "It's a toxic brew of failure to build support for reform, terrible economic circumstances and elites that are tarnished and shop-soiled," Leonard said.

Zaman [Turkey], 2 June 2005
What will Happen Now?
An expert at the Centre for European Reform (CER), Katinka Barysch, told Zaman that the constitution is politically dead. She did not know when its obituary will be published, Barysch claims that none of the members has the courage to say it; however, the first member to come forward will have tremendous support. The French "no" was sufficient to kill the document according the Barysch. She predicts that the Union will not face political chaos, but the Union will not initiate another serious attempt during the next five years. When asked about how the French and Dutch refusals will influence Turkey's negotiation process, "This totally depends on whether or not [Jacques] Chirac will act foolishly. Chirac has the capacity to do so. There will not be a logical reason to prevent the negotiations after Turkey fulfills the two conditions of December 17," she answered.

AP Worldstream, 2 June 2005
EU leaders call for calm but acknowledge setback after two 'no' votes
Analysts say the EU Commission, the EU's executive arm, could face difficulties in light of the French and Dutch "no" votes as it has lost some of its political mandate to push through its agenda. "The commission will find it hard to get on with its daily job because it will face real problems," said Alasdair Murray, senior analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London. "A more mature commission could perhaps act as a broker, but I'm not sure Barroso's commission, several months into its job, has the maturity," Murray said.

The Scotsman, 1 June 2005
EU Chief Says Summit Will Try to Solve Treaty Crisis
"The commission will find it hard to get on with its daily job because it will face real problems – a good example is the 'services directive', something Barroso and his team has called their top priority this year," said Alasdair Murray, senior analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London. "A more mature commission could perhaps act as a broker, but I'm not sure Barroso's commission, several months into its job, has the maturity," Murray said.

The International Herald Tribune, 1 June 2005
EU Commission chief may feel vote's fallout
"Barroso has tied himself to the mast of economic reforms, and that looks like being an early casualty of the French no," said Alasdair Murray of the Centre for European Reform, a pro-reform research organization, in London. "At first, France will interpret rejection of the treaty as rejection of liberalizing measures and do anything to fight them."

The Financial Times, 1 June 2005
Blair's gold at the referendum's end
"Merkel is more of an economic liberal than Schröder," says Charles Grant of the Centre for European reform. "The combination of Blair and Merkel would mean France might not have a blocking minority on some aspects of economic liberalisation."

The International Herald Tribune, 1 June 2005
Dutch begin voting on EU constitution
Aurore Wanlin, an analyst with the London-based Centre for European Reform, said the EU leaders meeting in Brussels in mid-June are unlikely to pronounce the treaty dead. But ''when two member founding states vote no, it looks like a big crisis,'' she said.

Bloomberg, 1 June 2005
Dutch Likely to Veto EU Treaty After France's 'No'
"All European leaders need to go away and think about what it is voters don't like about the European constitution and what they can do to reconnect with their people,'' said Alasdair Murray, deputy director of the London-based Centre for European Reform. "A lot of that is about leadership - explaining to people that the EU is a way of dealing with the challenges of globalization and not a threat.'' ...Chirac, blaming "uncertainty in the world today'' for the referendum's defeat, promised a "mobilization'' to boost hiring. He didn't provide details of a plan. "The referendum on the EU treaty opened for France and for Europe a period of difficulty and uncertainty,'' Chirac said in his address. "It's not a rejection of the European ideal. It's a demand to be heard, a demand for action, a demand for results.''

USA Today, 31 May 2005
After EU rejection, France gets new prime minister
A rejection by Dutch voters Wednesday could lead Britain and other EU members that have not approved the document to cancel their own referendums. "This has thrown the whole future of the European Union up in the air," says Alasdair Murray, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform in London. "The short-term consequences could be very grave indeed."

Reuters, 31 May 2005
After EU snub, France tests US ties with Villepin
"He personified French policy during that period (the build-up to the Iraq war) and was the man at the U.N. causing all sorts of trouble," said Alasdair Murray, deputy director at the Centre for European Reform in London. "But ... unless France wants to pick a fight, there seems to be an agreement to try to let bygones be bygones."

Pravda [Russia], 31 May 2005
Former EU commissioner says constitution dead after French "no" vote
The prime minister will likely wait until after the Dutch referendum to formally cancel the British plebiscite, said Alasdair Murray, an analyst with the Centre for European Reform, a privately funded think tank in London. "The current constitution is dead," Murray said. "It's going to fall on the United Kingdom to do quite a lot of organization and set up periods of reflection on what happens next." Britain will hold the rotating EU presidency from July 1. Murray said EU countries would have to reflect on what he called the "disconnect between voters and the European project." "The EU has catastrophically failed over the last 10 years to communicate its purpose effectively," he added.

The Scotsman, 31 May 2005
Dutch Will Vote "No" by Wider Margin Than French
"When two member founding states vote no, it looks like a big crisis," said Aurore Wanlin, an analyst with the London-based Centre for European Reform. ...Aurore Wanlin, of the London-based think tank, said French and Dutch opponents of the constitution have several concerns in common: discontent with Europe's swift enlargement, a fear of greater immigration, and unhappiness with the proposed membership of Turkey, which would become Europe's first Muslim country.She said it could have a domino effect when Luxembourg, Portugal and Denmark hold their referendums later this year. Poland and Ireland also are due to vote, but Britain is likely to back out of its plan to let the voters decide, she said.

Business Week, 31 May 2005
The "No" That's Shaking Europe
"In a nutshell, the treaty is dead," says Daniel Keohane, senior research fellow for the Centre for European Reform in London. "I think it will be very difficult to continue with ratification."

The New York Times, 31 May 2005
Suddenly, euro isn't looking so good
"There is a real fear of the world outside Europe, of globalization," said Aurore Wanlin, a fellow at the Centre for European Reform, a research institute in London. "And there is a strong rejection in France and Germany of the need for economic reform. People just don't get it."

Reuters, 31 May 2005
French "Non" knocks EU economic policy into limbo
"I wouldn't say political crisis equals an economic crisis. That would be going a bit too far," said Alasdair Murray, economics specialist at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank. ...However, as Murray put it, it is not clear whether advocates of reform should now bet on a renaissance if conservative rival Angela Merkel were to take his place after the next election.

The Guardian, 31 May 2005
Summit to decide treaty's fate
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, was in no doubt about its fate: "The treaty is dead. It cannot survive such a decisive no from a country that has been at the heart of European integration since the project began." .... "Ukraine can dream on and Croatia needs to arrest [the suspected war criminal] Ante Gotovina fast," Mr Grant said.

The Times, 31 May 2005
Battle for the heart of Europe
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, which is close to Mr Blair, said: "The British presidency will be a very difficult act to pull off well. France's ability to be bloody-minded is great.

Reuters, 31 May 2005
A major blow to Blair's European project
"Blair likes this treaty. He pushed Britain's position on it very hard and is very proud of that," said Daniel Keohane of the Centre for European Reform think-tank. "There's also the legacy issue. He's made it clear he is a true pro-European and he wants to be the one British prime minister to resolve the great European question. A referendum was one way of doing that." ..."There will be a good deal of relief within his Labour party that he almost certainly won't have to face a referendum and I'm sure his advisers will now be telling him he doesn't have to hand over power anytime soon," Keohane said.

The Globe and Mail, 31 May 2005
Gloomy political outlook spreads across EU
"I think it is possible that we could have some sort of Treaty-Lite," said Daniel Keohane, senior research fellow at the London-based Centre for European Reform. "There's no point continuing with a constitutional treaty, because it would turn into exactly the same document. The question they're asking is 'what's worth saving?' "The problem is that with any document with 25 nations negotiating, they would only be able to agree on a few basic decision-making procedures, but they wouldn't agree on new policy initiatives like they had in the constitution on foreign policy, defence and so on. I wouldn't bet on social policy ever being part of it again." ..."There isn't much hope for change in the short term because the political landscape is going to change a lot over the next year," Mr. Keohane said. "I don't know if Jacques Chirac will be able to agree to anything because he will be a lame-duck president. Gerhard Schroeder looks like he's going to lose power in Germany, and Silvio Berlusconi is facing an election next year in Italy as well. I think it's unrealistic to expect any kind of document until well after next year, certainly until after France has a new leader."

The Financial Times, 31 May 2005
German role in Europe up in air after French No
But as Daniel Keohane, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London, points out, such a choice would split the EU in two, clash with the structural reforms that have defined Mr Schröder's second term in office, and contradict his support for further enlargement. ...Another possibility would be for Germany to seek an alternative ally. This could be the UK, says Mr Keohane, particularly if Angela Merkel, leader of the opposition Christian Democratic Union, became chancellor in September as expected. "[Ms] Merkel, although a member of the centre-right like Chirac, is closer to [Mr] Blair when it comes to economic policy and improving relationships with the US," says Mr Keohane.

Agence France Press, 31 May 2005
French vote threatens EU role on world stage
Analyst Mark Leonard of the London-based Centre for European Reform said the uncertainty over those plans will weigh heavily on the bloc's political influence. "The EU is going to spend a lot of time and energy working out how to get out of this crisis, which will distract the leaders from the really big foreign policy questions, such as Iran, dealing with China and the US,"he said. ...Leonard likened the situation to the early 1990s, when the EU was accused of failing to engage decisively to stop a series of Balkan wars, in particular because it was battling over the Maastricht Treaty and EU monetary union. "There will be a similar thing where a lot of time and enegy gets eaten up with these sort of internal questions ... and that will frustrate I think particularly the Americans," he said. Solana said EU leaders will now have to consult on how to react. "The new situation arising as a result of the vote in France as well as the repercussions thereof will need to be analysed in a calm and lucid manner," he said.

The Christian Science Monitor, 31 May 2005
European integration at crossroad
With European voters clamoring to be heard, and Turkish accession unpopular, "one concrete thing the EU could do to respond to popular discontent is to kick Turkey as a scapegoat" by postponing accession talks, says Mark Leonard, a senior analyst at the Centre for European Reform, a think tank in London.

The Financial Times, 31 May 2005
Union in crisis looks for a leader to fill the vacuum
"Barroso does not yet have the authority or the prestige to take on the leadership role," says Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform. He believes that Tony Blair, Britain's prime minister, could offer leadership to the EU during his six-month presidency starting on July 1, with his focus on building support for deregulation and economic reform. Mr Grant says: "Blair's model of a free-trade, open-market Europe could emerge stronger from all of this, but that depends on Chirac not blocking everything."

The Wall Street Journal, 30 May 2005
French 'No' vote on EU constitution is a huge blow to stronger Europe
The French "no" will effecively turns Mr Chirac "into a lame-duck president," said Daniel Keohane, senior research fellow at the London based Centre for European Reform, a think-tank. ..."Turkey has been an important factor on the 'no' vote and the rejection of the treaty will damage Turkey's EU prospects, potentially even delaying the beginning of EU entry talks," said Mr Keohane.

The Boston Globe, 30 May 2005
French vote to reject EU constitution
Daniel Keohane, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, an independent think tank based in London, said of the referendum results: "It's a knockout blow for Chirac, but I would say it is only a black eye for the European Union. Life will go on." There are several possible paths forward, Keohane said, including another vote in the countries that reject the document or a new vote in all 25 countries on a scaled-down version of the 300-page constitution referred to as "treaty-lite." ...But the foreign policy issue that could be most immediately affected by Sunday's vote is the ongoing effort, led by Europe, to force Iran to bring its nuclear program into compliance with international agreements. "Iranians now know the EU is weak, and that's a problem," said Keohane.

N-TV [Germany], 30 May 2005
Nach Frankreichs "Nein" - Wie geht es weiter in der EU
"Es ist sehr unwahrscheinlich, dass Frankreich nochmals abstimmen könnte. Man kann den Menschen nicht sagen, dass sie zweimal über dieselbe Sache abstimmen sollen", sagt Daniel Keohane vom Londoner Centre for European Reform.

Inter Press Service, 30 May 2005
EU Future Uncertain After French 'Non'
Daniel Keohane, senior research fellow at the London-based Centre for European Reform (CER) says that while the constitution may be dead the EU can recover from the 'knock-out blow'. "The question is how the EU gets up from it. It's obviously very serious when a family member votes against the treaty, and this has never happened before," he told IPS Monday. "The irony is that most people criticise the EU for not being democratic, transparent or efficient enough; however the treaty would have actually made the EU all of these things," he added. But ultimately Keohane says the EU's problems run much deeper than that. "The problem is that the EU has been a leap-led project and there has been little engagement with its citizens. Europe's political leaders need to think again on how it explains the EU benefit to its citizens," he said.

Bloomberg, 30 May 2005
French Veto to Treaty Threatens EU Ambitions, Growth
"With 25 member states it's very easy to block things and very difficult to get things passed,'' Hugo Brady, a researcher at the Centre for European Reform in London, said in an interview. "The system could become even more sclerotic than it is now.''

The Guardian, 30 May 2005
Britain could be left on the fringes - France could form core group and end expansion
But the Centre for European Reform (CER) argues that cherry-picking the constitution is risky. "Eurosceptics in Britain, France and elsewhere would complain that once again political elites were arrogantly strengthening the EU behind the backs of the people." Meanwhile, political brains have been trying to work out whether Europe will unravel politically. "At one end of the spectrum is a group of countries, including the UK [and] Poland which favour a more diverse and economically liberal EU," the CER says. "At the other is an integrationist group led by France and Germany... that favours a high level of social protection."

Life Style Extra, 30 May 2005
Dutch voters set to inflict thumping defeat on EU constitution Yes campaign
Daniel Keohane, senior research fellow at independent think tank the Centre for European reform said: "Even if the French had voted Yes, there would still have been a No in the Netherlands. "The No camp are ahead in the polls and the Yes campaign has been very badly led by the Government. They are going to get a thumping. "It is partly to do with the sovereign identity debate you get in every country. But also there is a real leadership vacuum in the Netherlands with a lot of dissatisfaction withe the political parties and disenchantment with the EU. "This is the first ever Dutch referendum on Europe. The Dutch pay the most per capita into the EU budget and don't think they get much in return. "They are unhappy with the euro because of increasing prices at a time when their economy is stagnating. "Immigration is also a big issue. Some Dutch voters are opposed to Turkey joining the EU and think that if they vote against the constitution Turkey will not get in." Mr Keohane said the prospect of the French being asked to vote again on a repackaged constitution was "illusory".

Bloomberg, 29 May 2005
France Rejects EU Treaty in Setback to Chirac, Integration
"The campaign was about French unease about the economy, globalization, and rapidly losing influence,'' said Hugo Brady, a researcher at the London-based Centre for European Reform, in an interview May 27. "What is likely now is a government facelift.''

Libération, 29 May 2005
L'Europe confrontée aux conséquences du "non" français
"On peut être certain que l'adhésion turque sera retardée", a estimé Daniel Keohane, membre du Centre pour les réformes européennes, un "think tank" blairiste basé à Londres. ...Keohane ne croit pas non plus à la possibilité d'une relance par quelques pays avec un Chirac affaibli par le "non".

Reuters, 29 May 2005
French "No" casts Europe into uncertainty
Since all 25 member states need to ratify the constitution, designed to streamline EU leadership and make decision-making more efficient following the bloc's enlargement, the prospects for its entry into force look dim. "I think this means the treaty is dead, both legally and politically," said Daniel Keohane, an Irish analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform. ..."What other country will risk a referendum on a treaty that two founder members have already rejected? How would they get the "Yes" vote out," Keohane said.

The Observer, 29 May 2005
Non? The ferocity of the campaign to reject the European Constitution has sent a wave of panic from Britain all the way to Turkey. Alex Duval Smith in Paris and Gaby Hinsliff report on a week that shook the continent
'We have had 20 years of integration - of deepening and widening - ever since the Single European Act. The French no could actually end that,' says Charles Grant, director of the British Centre for European Reform. ...'The French are not reconciled to the Poles and others being in the EU: everybody's talking about Polish plumbers, and when unemployment is so high, that matters,' Grant said. 'It is in some ways a belated vote against the current enlargement, which is not popular. People understand quite correctly that the new Europe is a more British Europe: the accession countries do see the world through British prisms.'

The Observer, 29 May 2005
Attention!The Anglo-Saxons are coming!
Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, says: 'If you talk to Germans, the majority are afraid about losing their jobs. People have a sense of crisis.' ...Barysch believes that if France and Holland reject the constitution, it will not be as a consequence of too much economic reform, but too little. She blames governments for pinning difficult decisions on Brussels bureaucrats. 'The British are the masters at this game: they always go to Brussels, sign up to everything, and come back and say, "Brussels is doing something",' she says. "Gerhard Schröder was too timid for a long time, arguably the French were, and the Italians certainly were. They stoked fear among their populations, and by the time they got around to reform, people were too scared to accept it."

The Guardian, 28 May 2005
France braces for no vote fallout - Prospect of heavy defeat in vote on constitution signals gravest crisis in European project's history
"You cannot build a Europe that wise people want to build," Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform, says of the elite. "We live in an age of populism where lots of countries are having referendums. Someone once said to me that the EU exists in a bubble and has never touched down on planet earth." ...As a quid pro quo for agreeing to this, the likes of Britain have been granted their wish to see the EU expand. "If the French vote no ... you break the momentum to deepen; you also break the momentum to widening," Mr Grant said.

The Times [Malta], 28 May 2005
Lessons from Europe
When Daniel Keohane of the pro-EU Centre for European Reform came to analyse why the Dutch could vote "No" he mentioned three basic reasons. First, many voters were dissatisfied with Dutch domestic politics. Second, there is a growing disenchantment with the EU, particularly since the Dutch pay the most per capita into the EU budget. Third, many Dutch people think that the EU is not doing enough to help control immigration.

The Times, 27 May 2005
Even if they vote 'no', they will just have to vote again
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, said: "It could be an absolutely historic turning point. It could mark the end of 20 years of integration, of ever more widening and deepening." But although Europe's most europhile people will have shouted "enough", it looks more likely that the political elite will insist that it is business as normal.

MSNBC, 27 May 2005
Europe unnerved as French EU vote nears - After decades of support, France may reject constitution
The document was designed to lay out the union's values, streamline decision making, pave the way for more integration and a common defense policy, and to bolster foreign policy. "The argument for it is that it would help Europe become more of a world power," said Daniel Keohane, senior research fellow for security and defense policy at the Centre for European Reform. "It would do for foreign policy what the Maastricht treaty did for the euro (currency)," he said. ...In the past, second referendums have been held in Ireland and Denmark to get key treaties passed, but a French 'no' could throw Europe into turmoil, or at least a prolonged deadlock. ..."Other countries who called another referendum have done it because they changed one key issue," said Keohane. "You can't change the question (of the constitution) so easily, and if they can't have a second referendum, they can't ratify it, so the treaty is dead," he said. ..."Not only is France important as a founding member and a big country, but because it's involved in every policy area – it has been the driving force behind the policies of the passport free travel area and the euro," Keohane said. "It's a bit Orwellian – all member states are equal, but some member states are more equal than others," he said. ...Few think the "nuclear option" is viable, and instead see a process of negotiations and baby-step procedures that could harm Europe's strength on the foreign stage, but wouldn't kill off the EU altogether. "It won't be so much crisis as stasis," Keohane said. "It could make Europe more introspective, inactive, and the world won't wait. In February (U.S. President) Bush came and said he wanted a strong, active Europe, but if they're arguing over voting issues it won't happen," he said. However, with a fifth of French voters still undecided, perhaps the ominous 'non' will be a 'oui' after all. "I myself think the French will vote 'yes,'" Keohane said.

PolitInfo, 27 May 2005
Polls Say French and Dutch Voters Will Reject European Constitution
Daniel Keohane, senior analyst with the London-based Centre for European Reform, says those talks could be postponed. "Certainly there is a danger that President Chirac would use a 'no' vote to say: 'The French people are not happy with Europe. We need a pause. We cannot proceed with anything, especially enlargement and therefore we should stall the negotiations.' But whether or not the other governments would agree with that is another matter. Because, of course, anyway, even if Turkey did start its talks in October, it could possibly take 10 years before Turkey joined, or longer," he said.

European Voice, 26 May - 1 June 2005
UN fears battle groups will cut numbers of EU peacekeepers
Daniel Keohane from the Centre for European Reform noted that while the EU has been in charge of a peacekeeping mission in Africa – the 2003 Operation Artemis in Congo's Ituri province, battle groups will deal with more violent situations, "such as separating sides in a civil war, not just protecting an airport". "Making sure that you have a handover will be extremely important,"Keohane said. "If the EU is really serious about helping the UN, it needs more troops. At the moment, it can barely deploy 85,000 peacekeepers around the world, when there are two million armed forces in the EU. That is ridiculous."

Voice of America, 26 May 2005
French, Dutch to Vote on European Constitution
Daniel Keohane is senior analyst with the London-based Centre for European Reform. He says the EU countries are now in the process of ratifying the document. "Ten governments, altogether, out of 25, say they will have referendums, the other 15 are ratifying in their parliaments and obviously those using parliamentary ratification assume that there won't be any problem because the government has a majority," Mr. Keohane said. "Only one country has had a referendum so far and that's Spain, which passed by 77 percent." ...Mr. Keohane says potential Turkish membership in the EU is a key issue fueling the "no" campaign in the Netherlands. "There has been a leadership vacuum, really, in Holland over the last three years since the murder of the populist politician Pim Fortuyn [May 6, 2002, far-right, anti-immigration politician] and immigration is a big issue in Holland," he said. "There is a lot of ethnic tensions at the moment in Holland and some Dutch voters, for example, are against Turkey's membership in the European Union and they think that if they vote against the treaty, that this will halt Turkish membership in the European Union."

The Wall Street Journal, 26 May 2005
French No vote may mean major change for Europe
"Many French voters see the constitutional treaty referendum as a welcome opportunity to give President Chirac a bloody nose," says Aurore Wanlin, a research fellow at the London based Centre for European Reform.

Bloomberg, 25 May 2005
Chirac's Re-Election Hopes May Falter If EU Constitution Fails
"The debate about Europe in France is really about France itself,'' says Daniel Keohane, a senior researcher at London's Centre for European Reform. "Their system is coming under attack because it's failing. Europe is forcing a debate that Chirac and the rest of the political class would rather not face up to.''

The Telegraph, 24 May 2005
Football fans, like EU voters, want their voices to be heard
As the Today programme returned to the air yesterday, the first thing I heard as I switched on was Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform explaining how in Brussels they were already planning against the contingency of a No vote from the French next Sunday - or, if the French vote Yes, against a No from the British later this year or next year. The idea apparently would be to save from the rejected constitution the things the Eurocrats want most - such as the extension of qualified majority voting - and put them together in a new treaty that could be presented as nothing more than a tidying-up exercise and so could be approved by national parliaments without those pesky voters having a say. Not so much Plan B, then, as Plan A in disguise.

Reuters, 23 May 2005
Blair to cling to EU rebate against the odds
A freezing of the rebate or a change in the way it is calculated to keep it at constant levels is the most palatable way forward, allowing all sides to save face, analysts say. "The Treasury could claim victory in that the rebate has remained untouched and other member states could claim victory in the way that the mechanism has changed so that it has become fairer," said Katinka Barysch of the London-based Centre for European Reform think-tank.

The Sunday Times, 22 May 2005
A French yes vote lets Britain go to plan C – tearing this EU down
The best guide to what happens if Britain votes no is a new report by Charles Grant from the pro-constitution Centre for European Reform. It confirms that similarity between modern Brussels and the court of Philip II is stark. Grant writes like a royal envoy reporting on the Protestant heretics of Flanders. They may have reason on their side but they must recant or be burnt at the stake. The answer to European reformation is not humility but counter-reformation. Grant considers 10 possible outcomes to a British rejection of the constitution (assuming a French yes). To him they are a theological horror. To me they are exhilarating. By thinking the unthinkable he only makes it the more appealing. Anyone seeking a realistic future for European co-operation must accept that it demands a clean slate. ...Brussels might stumble on awhile on the basis of its current treaties, amended to embrace the new total of 25 members. Grant suggests plausibly that this would breed a series of "avant-garde" groupings of like-minded states, such as the present eurozone and the Schengen agreement on border controls. But with no treaty framework there would be more of the indiscipline shown by the French over agriculture. None of this would cure the present rot. ...Outside this inner core would be what Grant calls "a mess" and I call a creative and exciting opportunity. The rings of association would reflect the realpolitik of modern Europe. They might embrace states from the Baltic to the Balkans, from as far afield as Turkey (which France will never accept) and even Russia. Some might be loosely associated, as now are Norway and Switzerland. Some might have their own treaties, as might Britain.

The Times, 20 May 2005
There are no easy options for Blair, only varying shades of difficulty
There is no chance of a repeat of the renegotiations that led to successful second referendums after voters in Denmark and Ireland had rejected earlier treaties in 1992 and 2001. As the Centre for European Reform points out, French opposition, especially on the Left, is fuelled mainly by fears about the direction of the EU, rather than by the treaty itself. So it would be impossible to meet French objections by creating opt-outs or special provisions, as in the Danish or Irish cases.

The Washington Times, 18 May 2005
Strengthening EU-US ties
"None of the existing transatlantic institutions allows for high-level strategic discussions on important subjects such as democracy in the Middle East or the rise of China," say Charles Grant and Mark Leonard of the Centre for European Reform think-tank in London. "As a result, American and European leaders often fail to comprehend each others' positions, thereby increasing the likelihood of confrontation."

EU Observer, 18 May 2005
British No campaign on EU constitution kicks off
According to Alasdair Murray from the London-based Centre for European Reform, this is usually the case in British debates on EU issues, as there are different impulses for each position. "Both trade unions and business used to be more pro-EU in the past than nowadays. Unionists used to back Europe as a way to force the previous Conservative governments to adopt more social legislation, while business saw the benefits of economic integration," Mr Murray told the EUobserver. However, he suggests that both platforms are now "pretty much divided down the middle", as the trade unions do not see the European Commission necessarily as the social issues promoter, and business complains about EU red tape and inefficiency.

Deutsche Welle, 18 May 2005
Britain, Blair, Brown and Europe
Alasdair Murray, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, believes Gordon Brown would have a lot to learn in order to sit comfortably in the suit of an international leader. "Brown is more skeptical than Blair. His style is to work with advisors and to then get on and do things himself, which is not the way things work in Europe," Murray said. "While Blair evidently enjoys the statesman side of his job, that is something Brown would have to learn." ...Where Blair has flair, Brown has a brooding intellect which often leads to him being described as cautious. Alasdair Murray said that on the issue of Europe, one of Brown's watchwords is indeed "caution." ...Alasdair Murray said where Blair will likely fail, Brown could succeed. "Brown is the only way to a 'yes.' He's more credible because he's more of a skeptic. Blair is too pro, so Brown should lead the campaign," he said.

The Scotsman, 17 May 2005
French Polls Show 'No' has Regained Lead in EU Vote
In a television interview on Sunday, Prime Minister Laurent Fabius insisted the treaty could be re-negotiated if voters reject it – contrary to French President Jacques Chirac's insistence that France will not get a second chance to vote. "Fabius' arguments about the constitution being too liberal – and not social enough – are having a lot of impact," said Aurore Wanlin, a specialist in French politics and EU institutions with the Centre for European Reform in London.

The Washington Times, 17 May 2005
Why Nordic states lead the world
Some commentators have argued the Nordic model of cradle-to-grave welfare funded by high income taxes cannot be exported to poorer countries with larger populations and more diverse ethnic mixes. But Mark Leonard, foreign policy director at the Centre for European Reform, believes the "Stockholm Consensus" - in which a strong state underpins an open market economy - offers a model to the rest of the world. "The 'Stockholm Consensus' stands in opposition to much of the waste of the 'Washington Consensus,'" writes the author of "Why Europe will run the 21st Century." "Low levels of inequality allow Europeans to save on crime and prison, energy-efficient economies protect them from hikes in oil prices (and) the social contract gives people leisure and a helping back into work if they lose their jobs..."

Liberation [France], 16 May 2005
Constitution - La France frondeuse meneuse du non en Europe
Tous, en Europe, ont les yeux fixés sur le référendum français du 29 mai. «Si les Français votent non, la Constitution est morte. Ni un second référendum en France, ni une renégociation du traité ne sont plausibles», souligne ainsi le Britannique Charles Grant, directeur du Centre for European Reform, estimant que l'UE restera à l'actuel statu quo avec le très imparfait traité de Nice, qui sera, à terme, peu ou prou aménagé. L'enjeu est clair, même si juridiquement le non français n'arrêtera pas à lui seul le processus de ratification. Il y a en premier lieu le poids symbolique du rejet de la Constitution par un pays qui, depuis le début, est au coeur du projet européen.

Turkish Daily News, 15 May 2005
What would a Brown premiership be like in Britain?
"He [Brown] was sceptical about the euro but he is not a eurosceptic ... I don't think he will play a negative role," said Mark Leonard, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank. Brown is untested on many major foreign policy challenges - the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran and North Korea's nuclear challenges -- but some believe he may surprise "He hasn't engaged in foreign issues yet as they haven't passed his desk but if he engages on, say UN reform or dealing with China, he may have some creative ideas," Leonard said.

World Peace Herald, 13 May 2005
EU edgy ahead of polls
The Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank, says a French rejection would "throw the EU into a deep and potentially destabilizing crisis" and result in a "prolonged period of introspection and infighting."

The Washington Times, 11 May 2005
France adds to EU's immigration debate
"This is a move by the Interior Minister to gain more votes ahead of the referendum," said Aurore Wanlin, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, in London. But, she added, "it's not sensible in economic terms." ..."You can't have the migrants you want and not the others," said Wanlin of the European Centre, noting that low-skilled labor is also in demand in many European countries. "Our countries need high-skilled labor along with low-skilled labor. We need to let them both in - but this is something the governments don't have the courage to say." ..."A national policy against illegal immigration isn't really successful," said Wanlin, noting no-passport border controls in many EU countries effectively scuttle such efforts. "The only way to tackle this issue of migrants is to do it together, and to do it on the external borders of the EU."

The Moscow Times, 11 May 2005
Acrimony Clouds Treaty With EU
The accord is important from a symbolic point of view, said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a think tank in London. "Of course, this is a non-legally binding cooperation agreement that just puts existing issues under new headings. Yet for over a year, they could not agree on signing it, which gives an indication that the relations are not particularly good at the moment."

Reuters, 11 May 2005
What would a Brown premiership be like?
...Brown would not radically change UK policy in the EU bloc, analysts say. "He was sceptical about the euro but he is not a eurosceptic ... I don't think he will play a negative role," said Mark Leonard, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank. Brown is untested on many major foreign policy challenges -- the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iran and North Korea's nuclear challenges - but some believe he may surprise. "He hasn't engaged in foreign issues yet as they haven't passed his desk but if he engages on, say UN reform or dealing with China, he may have some creative ideas," Leonard said.

AP Worldstream, 10 May 2005
Constitution votes in France, Netherlands could test EU's ability to forge ahead
But although a French rejection might theoretically not mean the end for the constitution, few hold out hope it could survive rejection from EU heavyweight France _ the main architect with Germany of the European Union. "You cannot proceed without France," said Daniel Keohane, a senior research fellow at the London-based Centre for European Reform. ...Four years ago, Irish voters rejected the Nice treaty on closer integration before coming back in a second vote to approve it overwhelmingly a year later. "You could argue that the EU is very good at learning from failure," said Keohane. ...After France and the Netherlands, referenda are expected in at least 7 countries. But a rejection in a smaller nation or a Euro-skeptic one would not be considered as damaging. "If Britain voted no, you could argue it is more Britain's problem than Europe's," said Keohane.

BBC News, 9 May 2005
EU and Russia seek better links
"Many Russian leaders now view the EU as a hostile power that is expanding into Russia's traditional sphere of influence," says Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, in a recent paper. "The EU, meanwhile, has become increasingly concerned about Russia's eroding democratic standards and weak regard for human rights."

The Guardian, 9 May 2005
PM-in-waiting plans to revitalise Labour - If Blair stepped down quickly, how much would change with Brown in charge?
Charles Grant, of the Centre for European Reform, said he had two concerns about a Brown premiership. The first was that Mr Brown sometimes appeared quite hostile to the European commission, whereas a true single market requires a strong commission. The second was that he had not yet shown a great interest in the security - as opposed to the development - side of foreign policy, while as prime minister he would have to deal very quickly with issues such as Iran, the Middle East peace process and Russia.

World Peace Herald, 9 May 2005
EU-Russia ties hostage to history
...some analysts believe the EU is naive in assuming Putin will change his tune because of gentle prodding from Brussels. "The EU strategy towards Russia is too optimistic," says Katinkaa Barysch, chief economist at the London-based Centre for European Reform think-tank. "It has always assumed Russia would follow a fairly linear path towards democracy and a free-market economy. Now Moscow appears to be heading in the other direction, it doesn't know how to respond." Barysch believes the EU needs to change the way it handles Russia, a former superpower that still sees national sovereignty as absolute and yearns to play a more muscular role on the world stage. "The EU can be school-masterly, and Russians see that as condescending. They want Europeans to act with more tact and respect."

L'Express, 9 May 2005
Tony Blair - Pourquoi il réussit
A l'aile gauche médusée, il lance, insolent: «J'ai une bonne nouvelle pour vous, j'ai décidé de ne pas changer le nom du parti.» Ce qui n'est pas tout à fait vrai: le Labour devient le New Labour. «Tout ce qui pose encore un problème à la gauche française - la libéralisation de l'économie, la mondialisation, l'acceptation de l'Union européenne comme cheval de Troie du libéralisme - a été intégré par le parti au début des années 1990», analyse Aurore Wanlin, chercheuse au Centre for European Reform.

Financial Times, 6 May 2005
Blair to appoint senior minister to push for Yes vote on EU
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, predicts the prime minister would immediately resign following a British No vote. "The Tories would have their first electoral victory since 1992, giving them a renewed appetite for winning at the following general election. Gordon Brown would become prime minister with a weakened government and a resurgent Tory party," he says, adding: "Brown would have to cope with a complicated political negotiation with other Europeans - a task which he might not relish." More broadly, as Mr Grant argues in a
report published this week, a No vote would "throw the [European] Union into a political crisis, sparking off a chain reaction that could lead to the end of the EU as we know it".

Cox News, 6 May 2005
English, the language that binds Europe together
According to a study posted on the European Union web site, only 16 percent of EU residents learned English as their mother tongue. But 47 percent of EU residents speak it. German, spoken by 32 percent of EU citizens, and French, known by 28 percent, lag behind This is not the way it always was. "I remember as a kid growing up in Brussels, and at that point the main language was French," said Mark Leonard, 30, director of foreign policy at the London-based Centre for European Reform. But that changed — first as a result of the Nordic countries joining the union, followed later by the countries of Central and Eastern Europe. "Officially, everyone still has the right to get papers in their own language and to speak their own language in meetings," Leonard said. "But in practice, English has emerged as the lingua franca — and it is in English that people have their disagreements about policy."

Financial Times, 5 May 2005
Officials warn on Iran's nuclear plans
Charles Grant, of the Centre for European Reform, a think-thank says: "His [Mr Blair's] stature is much greater than people realise in the UK ...rather like Mrs Thatcher was hated in Britain and hugely respected abroad. Even people who didn't support him on the Iraq war regard him as one of the political heavy-weights."

International Herald Tribune, 4 May 2005
British grow less unflinching on warfare
Significantly, the war will have less effect on Britain's defense ties with Europe than with the United States, according to Charles Grant, the head of the Centre for European Reform, a private policy institute. Britain and France are seen as the leaders of European defense initiatives.

The European Voice, 4 May 2005
Is the single defence market a flight of fancy?
The European Union's common military effort is in a chaotic state and the defence industry operates in an imperfect internal market... Its three main functions have been described in a recent publication of the Centre for European Reform (CER), Europe's New Defence Agency, by Daniel Keohane, as "harmonising military requirements, co-ordinating defence research and development, and encouraging the convergence of national procurement procedures". ...It is a rarity for the supply of any goods for the military to be put out to open tender and even when competitive bidding is permitted it is seldom widely publicised on a cross-border basis. The CER report quotes Professor Keith Hartley, of York University in the UK, as estimating "that a more integrated defence market could save European governments up to €6bn a year, equivalent to 60% of current R&D spending".

EurActiv, 4 May 2005
EU debate takes backseat in UK elections
Daniel Keohane, from the think tank the Centre for European Reform, says that the government's pledge to hold a referendum on the European Constitution is largely responsible for the lack of debate on the EU. "During the last election campaign, William Hague's focus on the euro got him nowhere for the same reason - that a referendum on the euro had been promised to the British people," says Keohane. He points out that health, education, trust in the government's policy on Iraq and the economy (with Britain being outside the euro) have little to do with the European Union. However, immigration is a more relevant issue. Keohane observes that the UK Independence Party is disingenously making out that Brussels is forcing its immigration policy on the UK. He notes that the Conservatives have therefore chosen not to pick up on the EU angle of immigration, preferring to focus on British policy on immigration.

The Washington Times, 3 May 2005
Common lessons for UK, France?
"The situation (between the two countries) is completely different," said Aurore Wanlin, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, in London. "One of the reasons why the French voted for Le Pen in 2002 was that they were very dissatisfied with the political class, the political elite, the economic situation" while by and large, Britons are satisfied with much of Labor's agenda. "But," Wanlin added, "the lesson that U.K. could draw from this French experience is that polls can be very ambiguous ahead of the elections. By showing a given outcome is almost certain, they tend to discourage people from voting, and encourage a lower turnout."

International Herald Tribune, 3 May 2005
In 3 elections, voters will have a say on Europe
"In France and Germany, a new phenomenon has emerged where people who are intrinsically pro-European are uncomfortable about the direction the EU is heading," said Mark Leonard, director of foreign policy of the Centre for European Reform in London. "The EU has been politicized," he said. "The debate is no longer over 'Europe, right or wrong.' It is now 'Europe, right or left."'

Bloomberg, 3 May 2005
Slovakia, Hungary Push Private Pensions as Western Europe Lags
Hungary started its own program in 1997 and Poland, the largest of the new EU members, started its own program in 1999. Estonia and Lithuania, two other former Soviet states, followed suit. Slovakia began its own system on Jan. 1. "The East Europeans have been smart,'' says Katinka Barysch, the chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in London. "They did the reform that makes systems sustainable. They have gone further than the West.''

The Irish Times, 2 May 2005
Accession states defy pessimists
Even long-term EU aspirants like Serbia and Ukraine have gone over to the system, and Russia experienced an influx of previously unpaid taxes when it simplified its tax code and introduced a 13 per cent flat rate in 2001. "The flat tax, in countries I looked at, led to an increase in revenues, so it is good for the budget," said Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform in London. "You see a decrease in tax evasion, administrative costs go down and it will put pressure on the west European countries to make their systems easier."

The Washington Times, 2 May 2005
EU absent from UK election
Those who favour closer ties with Europe or grasp the importance of the EU, where over a half of national laws originate, view the British election campaign with despair. "It's depressing, but symptomatic of the low level of debate in Britain," says Alisdair Murray, deputy director of the London-based Centre for European Reform think-tank. "You can understand why the pro-European parties don't want to campaign on the EU, but it is a missed chance to put the case for Europe." ..."Europe is absent because there are very few votes in it," says Murray. With British voters against further EU integration and deeply suspicious of both the euro and the constitution, Blair knows that he will not get elected for a record third time by singing the praises of Brussels.

International Herald Tribune, 30 April 2005
European banks keep borrowers home
A more integrated European market, in which Spanish banks wooed Italian customers and German ones went after Finns, would bring greater competition and therefore lower costs for consumers, economists say. Although it sounds simple enough, this utopia is difficult to attain, says Alasdair Murray, an internal market specialist with the Centre for European Reform in London. "The political prize for the commission would be something that affects real people in Europe," Murray said. "The problem is the in- credible effort that it will take to do this." ...The thicket of conflicting interests means the commission probably won't be able to harmonize Europe's financial services market in one fell swoop, analysts say. "McCreevy will probably end up doing a series of small things," Murray said. "A grand strategy is bound to lead to defeat."

Cyprus mail, 30 April 2005
We're Europeans now!
Mark Leonard, Director of Foreign Policy at the Centre for European Reform defined the difference between the US 'super state', and the potential European 'super state' when he said Europe sees a world where everybody is a potential friend, while America lives in a world where everyone is a potential enemy.

Bloomberg, 29 April 2005
Lamy's Bid for Top WTO Job Buoyed as Rival Eliminated
With a budget of 157 million Swiss francs ($133 million) and 600 staff, the WTO director-general is responsible for overseeing the only global rules governing trade between nations. The organization's next chief will be charged with brokering a worldwide accord that cuts border tariffs and opens markets to goods and services. "Lamy has managed to tread a careful line between representing a major bloc and winning friends by taking on developing-country issues,'' said Alasdair Murray, a deputy director at the Centre for European Reform in London.

The Independent, 28 April 2005
Would the last person to leave Poland please turn out the lights?
With a significant number of talented young Poles like Darek taking their chance and starting their careers abroad, is there not a real danger that Poland could be suffering a brain drain? Katinka Barysch, from the Centre for European Reform, argues that the effect of joining the EU for many eastern European countries may be that they "lose their best and brightest". In particular, there has been a drain of Poland's IT professionals, as the rest of Europe has woken up to the fact that Poland has some of the most highly skilled computer specialists in the world. But not all are leaving. As Warsaw develops as a major "Western" business centre, young Poles seem to be as likely to find high-end professional employment in their own capital as abroad. ...What is emerging from talking to people from a wide range of backgrounds, is that almost all of the UK emigrazya are young. Home Office statistics seem to back this up - 83 per cent of new arrivals in the UK are aged 18 to 34. It seems that the older generation of Poles who grew up under Communism are far less likely to go abroad. "Of course, you're not going to travel", explains Katinka Barysch. "You're older, you have a family, you don't speak the language. It's hard."

Deutsche Welle, 28 April 2005
Expansion Euphoria Eclipsed by Doubts
But a "non" in France, a founding member of the European project in 1957 and long a driving force of the EU along with Germany, is another matter entirely. "There is a strong chance that France will vote "no", which would probably kill off the treaty for good," said Daniel Keohane of the Centre for European Reform.

EU Business, 26 April 2005
In the enlarged EU, winds of reform blow from the east
In 2004, Slovakia went even farther by introducing a 19 percent tax rate for income, corporate and value added tax.
"Now the opponents of flat tax have run out of arguments because they could only fight the theory of flat tax," said Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform in London. "The flat tax, in countries I looked at, led to an increase in revenues, so it is good for the budget," she said, adding: "You see a decrease in tax evasion, administrative costs go down and I am not convinced that tax rates are actually a key factor in location decisions of international investors." "It will put pressure on the west European countries to make their systems easier," she said.

The Times, 25 April 2005
EU fears for future as French and Dutch threaten 'no' vote
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said that, just as France was the driving force behind the creation of the EU, so it might also be the country that slams on the brakes to closer union and enlargement. "The French referendum could mean this is the year that the widening and the deepening of the EU stopped," he said.

Associated Press, 22 April 2005
France Constitution Rejection Worries EU
Mark Leonard, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform, said in March that "a likely outcome is that Europe's leaders will convene a ... conference to salvage the parts of the constitution that matter most." The charter provides for an EU president and foreign minister, and a fairer voting system. Few predict the EU's demise if France rejects the constitution. Yet the anticipation of a "no" vote already is taking its toll.

The Guardian, 20 April 2005
Eurosceptics may soon bless the French left
Aurore Wanlin of the Centre for European Reform said a constitutional collapse would undermine Europe's common foreign and security policy - a pleasing prospect for US conservatives and British Eurosceptics alike. "If they still want to have a European foreign minister or change the voting system, that will require a new treaty. They'll have to start all over again," she said.

Le Temps [Switzerland], 20 April 2005
Le Royaume Uni en campagne ignore l'Europe
Aurore Wanlin explique l'engagement très modéré de Tony Blair pour l'Europe: "Il a dû beaucoup se défendre par rapport à la guerre en Irak, il n'avait plus assez de capital politique pour ouvrir un nouveau front avec l'Europe", relève cette chercheuse du Centre for European Reform, un groupe de réflexion proeuropéen. Aurore Wanlin n'est pas étonnée de l'euroscepticisme croissant qui sévit en Grande-Bretagne. "Le pays a actuellement une économie florissante et un taux de chômage historiquement bas. Il a l'impression qu'il n'a pas besoin de l'Union européenne. Le projet de Constitution est même parfois perçu comme un complot de la France et de l'Allemagne dont les économies souffrent." ...Comme le souligne le Centre for European Reform, un non britannique pourrait avoir de fortes répercussions sur l'échiquier politique. La popularité du gouvernement pourrait chuter fortement, les travaillistes pourraient emboucher des trompettes beaucoup plus eurosceptiques et les conservateurs "pourraient connaître leur première véritable victoire depuis 1992".

The Washington Times, 19 April 2005
The global impact of a French no
"There would undoubtedly be a period of introspection and introversion," says Charles Grant, Director of the London-based Centre for European Reform think-tank. "This would mean the EU taking its eye off external challenges - such as what to do about Russia and China - and internal reforms like the Lisbon Agenda for jobs and growth." Adds Grant: "It's a question of where our leaders' energy goes. Is it spent debating institutional problems or dealing with problems in the real world?" ...The constitution will give the EU the tools to play an even more active role on the world stage by giving it a diplomatic service, a European armaments agency, a foreign minister and the ability to take quicker decisions. "The foreign policy bits of the constitution are really needed," says Grant. "We can still make foreign policy without the text, but it would be much more difficult."

AP Worldstream, 19 April 2005
Blair and the opposition, facing voters, dance around European issues
The way Blair's Labour and Michael Howard's Tories are skirting the topic of the proposed EU constitution shows just how explosive the issue is in largely Euro-skeptic Britain _ and how taking a strong stand either way could antagonize vast swathes of the electorate. "The main parties have got an interest in keeping Europe off the agenda," said Mark Leonard, an analyst with the Centre for European Reform. ..."Blair would rather be seen as the Europe prime minister than the Iraq war prime minister," said Leonard. "The citizens of France will be the key to deciding that."

Gateway to Russia, 19 April 2005
"Evident" crisis in EU-Russia relations
The foundation of the EU's policy is the faith that Russia is becoming like it, more democratic and capitalist," Katinka Barysch from the London-based Centre for European Reform tells Rzeczpospolita . Nevertheless, the EU is slowly beginning to realize that this is not happening.

Financial Times, 18 April 2005
Basques threaten prime minister's Nice Guy image
"The general view is that Zapatero's foreign policy has been naïve and quite ignorant of normal diplomatic practice," says Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform in London. "The way he withdrew Spanish troops from Iraq was unnecessarily provocative to the Americans. He could have fulfilled his election pledge with more consultation. In the White House, Zapatero's name is mud."

International Herald Tribune, 15 April 2005
The upshot if the French vote 'no'
It is equally unlikely that the text could be submitted for a revote a year later, analysts say. In the past, referendums on EU treaties have been held anew, but only because voters objected to a specific point and their governments then negotiated the right to opt out of that point, said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform in London. He cited Denmark, which voted in favor of the Maastricht Treaty in the early 1990s only after being allowed to stay outside the eurozone, and Ireland, which adopted the Nice Treaty after being guaranteed neutrality in military matters. ...One way of avoiding institutional gridlock after a defeat of the constitution in France would be for leaders to select key points of the document and adopt them without a referendum, Grant said. EU voting rules, for example, could be adapted to the union's larger size, and an EU diplomatic corps, headed by a foreign minister, could be established. "Politically it would be a hard sell to make changes like this on the sly after losing a referendum," Grant said. "But it would be one quick and temporary fix." Failing that, laborious procedures might prompt member states to stop experimenting with the vision of a large-scale political union, Grant said. Instead, smaller coalitions may emerge.

The Prague Post, 14 April 2005
Klaus: Say no to EU constitution - Upstaging the government, the president's mistrust of the European constitution is inexorably tied to Czech history
Katinka Barysch, an analyst for the Centre of European Reform in London, is appalled at the president's commanmdents. "From someone who is the president of an EU member state, they are quite shocking, as they are quite a willful misrepresentation of the constitution," she said. Barysch and proponents of the constitution, including the majority of the European Parliament, argue that the document does not transfer any significant powers to the EU and is largely a consolidation of previous treaties. The words largely and significant are the crux of the divide between supporters and bashers of the constitution. ...If the treaty is not adopted, parliamentarians will spend another few years looking at legal issues, says Barysch. "What a loss as the constitution would make the EU much more efficient," she added.

International Herald Tribune, 14 April 2005
'Strategic triangle' includes US input
The engine driving the EU's closer relationship with China has been its member states' rising trade and investment with China. "Ninety per cent of the EU-China relationship is economic," said Katinka Barysch, who studies China-EU relations at the Centre for European Reform in London.
..."We're not looking for differences; we actively looking for areas where we can agree," said Barysch, speaking of the EU's approach to China. "Basically, we're optimistic we can socialize China into the international system, but in the U.S. there's much more mistrust about China."

The New York Times, 11 April 2005
Britain's Elephant in the Room: Europe
This time, said Alasdair Murray, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform, a private policy institute, "the electorate as a whole finds Europe a turnoff." That, of course, could change as the campaign unfolds, but, right now, it suits the purposes of all three main players - Labor, Conservative and the smaller Liberal Democrats - to skirt the issue.

EU Observer, 11 April 2005
UK opposition promises 'No' to euro and EU Constitution
According to Alasdair Murray from the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank, the Conservatives are trying to "appeal to the business community. They have a moral standing to do so as they have rejected it (the Social chapter) previously, while the Labour government adopted it afterwards." However, what exactly would happen in reality if a Conservative government tried to re-negotiate the EU terms as suggested, remains unclear, said the analyst. As a whole, Mr Murray does not expect EU issues to resonate significantly throughout the UK election campaign, which he predicts will instead be dominated by debates on taxes, immigration and public services. "In some constituencies, where UKIP (the main anti-EU party) enjoys high support, the Conservatives might feel tempted to take its stronger line towards Europe. But they have different views on how far they can go - with some accepting even a UK withdrawal from the EU, but others strongly against it."

Businessweek, 11 April 2005
The EU: One Pricey Constitution
"What matters is winning, and [European leaders] are right to try and do what they can to win," says Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform. But the EU's backpedaling has only strengthened opposition to deregulation in France and Germany.

AP Worldstream, 10 April 2005
European Parliament's 'traveling circus' criticized by legislators, defended by France
"The European Parliament is the only parliament in the world which can't decide where it sits. It's a ludicrous situation," said Alasdair Murray of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank. "Problem is, MEPs are not united. Not everyone is in favor of moving the whole thing to Brussels."

Le Monde, 9 April 2005
Conséquences d'un non français Le Centre for European Reform, un think tank (institut d'études) où Tony Blair a naguère puisé nombre de ses idées, a publié voilà quelques semaines un essai sur le sujet... en cas de non britannique. Rien de tel n'existe encore pour la France, mais nos voisins commencent à s'interroger sérieusement sur l'état de l'Europe après un éventuel non français. Mieux vaut en effet mener une réflexion qui sera peut-être sans objet que risquer de se retrouver complètement démuni si l'éventualité non souhaitée se produit.

The Washington Times, 8 April 2005
Old, infertile Europe
"Ultimately, producing more babies is the only cure, but to some Europeans this brings back nightmarish visions of 1930s eugenics," says Alasdair Murray, Deputy Director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank in London. In the short term, however, most analysts agree immigrants will have to make up the shortfall. "Immigration from outside the EU could help to mitigate the effects of the falling population between now and 2025, although it is not enough on its own to solve all the problems associated with ageing, and it is no substitute for economic reforms," said the commission in its March discussion paper. Importing tens of millions of foreign workers into a bloc already rife with racial tensions is also fraught with political difficulties. "Immigration has a positive effect on the economy, which is partly why America is doing so well," says Murray. "But the kind of numbers Europe needs just to maintain its current population are impossibly large."

Market Wire, 7 April 2005
$3.38 Billion in Foreign Investments Into Swedish Private Equity Funds in 2004 - a 77% Increase
Lisbon Scorecard Shows Sweden First in EU Economic Reform - in the annual report by the London-based Centre for European Reform. Countries'
economic competitive was assessed using a range of indicators including labor productivity, educational attainment, R&D spending, comparative prices, business investment, and environmental standards.

International Herald Tribune, 6 April 2005
China lobbies EU over arms embargo
Katinka Barysch, a foreign policy expert at the Centre for European Reform in London, said the EU still had to define what kind of strategic partnership it wants with China. "If China wants a strategic partnership with the EU and the EU says it wants the same, then the EU should spell out what it wants from this partnership," Barysch said.

Polish News Bulletin, 6 April 2005
EU Economy Profiting from 2004 Enlargement
The enlargement of the European Union conducted in May of last year was an economic success, claims the Centre for European Reform (CER), a renowned British think tank. In its latest report, the CER recalls the common fears voiced a year ago by the older member states that enlargement would devastate the EU economy, only to prove how wrong those assumptions were. Katinka Barysch, CER's chief expert and the author of the report, says the new members added a much needed spark to the EU economy and boosted reforms in the euro zone. Contrary to many forecasts, EU enlargement had a terrific impact on the economies of Central and Eastern European countries. "Exports and imports between the new members and the euro zone reached a double-digit value in 2004, which was possible thanks to the lifting of many trade barriers," reads the report. Barysch noted that according to the World Bank, Slovakia's was the fastest developing country in the world in 2004.

Financial Times, 4 April 2005
Europe is not ready for a French No
Compared with a French Non, the consequences of a British No are almost trivial. In a much noted report, Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform in London set out in great detail how a British No would trigger the formation of a core Europe based around France and Germany.* This would leave the UK politically isolated. An EU without the UK is imaginable. An EU without France is not.

Los Angeles Times, 4 April 2005
There's Less Funny Business Here
It is worth bearing Brentism in mind when considering the recent upsurge in Euro-revisionism. A series of books -- notably "Why Europe Will Run the 21st Century" by Mark Leonard, "The United States of Europe" by T.R. Reid and "The European Dream" by Jeremy Rifkin -- all take issue with American triumphalism. Europe, point out the revisionists, is actually the world's biggest market and its biggest exporter, with a better savings rate, a smaller trade deficit and fewer structural imbalances than the United States. So what if the American economy has grown faster? That is only because its population has grown faster, people have been forced to work longer hours and it has spent less on looking after the poor. Europeans, by contrast, have chosen to have more holidays, smaller families and more government spending. Americans live to work, but Europeans work to live -- and have more "quality time."

Newsweek, 4 April 2005
Peter the Great
Europe's new trade commissioner finds himself in the hot seat as transatlantic tensions rise. The world is watching.
Mandelson is a grade-A networker. His closeness to Blair has given him entree to corridors of power around the world, and he has built upon that through a Centre-left think tank he founded in 2000, Policy Network. ''He's one of the few commissioners who even before he arrived in Brussels had an excellent contact book of senior political figures in America, Europe and Asia," says Centre for European Reform director Charles Grant.

East Anglian Daily Times, 2 April 2005
You quiz Michael Howard
Conservative Party leader Michael Howard answers questions posed hy readers of the East Anglian Daily Times.
Question: If the UK votes against adoption of the proposed EU Constitution, how will the Conservative Party, if it forms the next Government, resist pressure to hold further referendums until the UK eventually votes in favour because of "referendum exhaustion?" Would it not be better to start negotiating a new relationship with the other countries of the EU as soon as possible so that we can decide on our future ourselves instead of leaving it to the unelected in Brussels?
Mr. P. Fleming 60 Brook Lane Galleywood Chelmsford Answer: I do not believe there will be much pressure on Britain to vote again if we have a Conservative Government. Our European partners will understand that such a 'no' would be final. Even pro-Constitution experts like Charles Grant expect other European countries to accept the result. Besides, there are no good means to put pressure on us - we are the EU's second largest economy and one of the biggest net contributors to the EU budget.

The Christian Science Monitor, 1 April 2005
Unlikely threat to EU charter? The French
"The French do not have as much influence over the EU as they used to," says Daniel Keohane, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform, a think tank in London. "There is a sense that Britain, the Scandinavians, and the new members are setting the economic agenda" instead of respecting French traditions such as high job security, heavy social-welfare charges, and intervention to save threatened industries.

Express newsline [India] 1 April 2005
The EU-US values gap
Mark Leonard, a foreign policy analyst at the Centre for European Reform think-tank in London, believes there is a "growing values gap between the EU and the United States." The author of "Why Europe will Run the 21st Century," who recently spent six months in America with the German Marshall Fund of the United States, says there are differences over religion (Americans tend to be believers, Europeans agnostics,) unilateralism vs. multilateralism (Europeans like global rules, Americans are wary of them,) personal liberty (Europe empowers the state, America the individual) and gun control (the European response to school shootings is to ban guns, the U.S. reply is to arm teachers, notes Leonard.)

The Stanford Progressive, 31 March 2005
Condi's Corner: Rice in Asia
"There was really no calm strategic discussion over what the EU wanted to achieve from lifting the embargo,"said Katinka Barysch, a security expert at the Centre for European Reform in London. "It has been badly handled."So it appears that Rice—and Taiwan—can breathe a collective sigh of relief, for at least another year anyway.

Bloomberg, 31 March 2005
Balli's Alaghband Endures Jail, Fights to Take Back Kloeckner
"There is considerable concern, both in the general public and among politicians, about hostile foreign bids for German companies,'' says Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the London-based Centre for European Reform, which studies the European Union.

CNS news, 31 March 2005
Wolfowitz Elected Head of World Bank After Quick Trip to Ease EU Concerns
Mark Leonard, foreign policy director at the Centre for European Reform in London, said Europeans were unwilling to fight the Wolfowitz nomination because there were more important transatlantic battles coming up later in the year. These include differing approaches to Iran's nuclear program, the Middle East peace process, lifting of the arms embargo on China, and proposed reforms at the United Nations. "I would think the Europeans would rather have Wolfowitz in the World Bank than in the Pentagon," Leonard said.

L'express, 30 March 2005
Europe's big boys are stuck in the mire
Five years ago in Portugal, EU leaders signed up an ambitious programme to make Europe's economy flexible and competitive. At the halfway stage, as a recent high-level group headed by former Dutch PM Wim Kok pointed out, progress can be described at best as patchy. Denmark, Finland and Sweden have led a Scandinavian drive towards flexibility, and Ireland, Spain and Britain have also done well. They are the heroes of the Lisbon process, according to a Centre for European Reform (CER) assessment. But others, notably France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Greece, come out as villains. Of the 17 targets set out for reform, Greece has achieved precisely none. But Italy, the CER says, scores even worse than Greece for overall progress. Last week's dismantling comes with strings attached. Firms can buy an extra 220 hours a year of work from their employees (up from 180 allowed until now), with the option of additional overtime on top of that. The effect on actual hours worked, however, may not be that large.

Warsaw Business Journal, 29 March 2005
Poland's poor progress report
A new study shows Poland is lagging behind in implementing the Lisbon Strategy. The Centre for European Reform (CER) has released a study ranking the 25 EU member states on their progress towards achieving the program's targets. The report praised newer members, such as the Baltic States and Slovenia, for handing out the EU's lowest state subsidies. Estonia and Slovenia, along with the Czech Republic, also received higher marks than the EU-15 in making use of new technology. The report notes that in Estonia, 7.6 percent of households use broadband, surpassing the EU average of 6.5 per cent. Poland, however, comes in lower than other members (save Malta, who didn't supply enough information), ranking 24 out 27 on the CER's Lisbon League Table. The report says that Poland's performance is "of concern," scoring "poorly in terms of progress." The report notes that spending on research and development has declined since 1999, and sank to less than one percent of GDP in 2003 (the EU average is two percent). The report also chides Poland for paying out the highest level of state subsidies, and worries about its employment level - the EU's lowest - at 51.2 percent. On the bright side, Poland is praised for achieving the highest level of entrepreneurial activity in the EU. Against a European average of five percent of the population involved in entrepreneurial ventures, Poland reports 8.8 percent. And although the country hasn't made much headway since 1999, the report applauds Poland for "taking actions that have significantly lightened the burden on businesses," adding that Warsaw "has embraced reform and should soon see the benefits."

Guardian, 28 March 2005
Lunchers lurch behind lean, mean machine
The gap between Europe and the US has grown and is likely to grow wider still. When it looks for a prospective challenger, America looks across the Pacific rather than the Atlantic. The cartoon on the front of a report produced by the Centre for European Reform to chart progress on the Lisbon agenda sums it up nicely: Europe is a tortoise, the US and China are hares. The moral of that particular story, of course, is that the tortoise won in the end. So is there any hope that Europe can defy the doubters and return to the days when it grew more quickly than the US and closed the gap with the world's richest nation? Or is it the case - as many in the US believe - that Europe is too tired, too old, too lazy, too inward-looking to compete in the rough, tough world of globalisation? [...] In general, Protestant countries, Huang concludes, are far less concerned about uncertainty than Catholic countries, a point made 75 years ago by Max Weber, when he linked the rise of capitalism to the Protestant willingness to challenge the established way of thinking. [...] If this thesis is right, then we should be able to discern a difference in performance within the European Union, between the Protestant countries of the north and the Catholic countries of the south. Interestingly, this is precisely what the Centre for Economic Reform report does show. The Nordic members of the EU - Sweden, Denmark and Finland - are right up there with the US as worldclass economies.

Slovak Spectator, 28 March 2005
Lisbon: Slovakia gets mixed results
In meeting the goals of the European Union's Lisbon strategy, Slovakia is doing well in cutting red tape for business activity but much less well in liberalizing its research and development and telecoms sectors, the news agency TASR reported. A report published by the London-based Centre for European Reform released on March 17 gives Slovakia a grade "C". The top performer in meeting the Lisbon goals, launched in 2000 to make the EU the world's most competitive economy by 2010, is Sweden, while Italy is the worst. Among the goals set by the Lisbon strategy for the EU are 3-percent annual GDP growth and 20 million new jobs. Also expected is a 3-percent increase in spending on science and research and development.

The Sunday Times, 27 March 2005
Economic Outlook: David Smith: Sad to say, Europe's big boys are stuck in the mire
Denmark, Finland and Sweden have led a Scandinavian drive towards flexibility, and Ireland, Spain and Britain have also done well. They are the heroes of the Lisbon process, according to a Centre for European Reform (CER) assessment. But others, notably France, Germany, Italy, Belgium and Greece, come out as villains. Of the 17 targets set out for reform, Greece has achieved precisely none. But Italy, the CER says, scores even worse than Greece for overall progress.

Newsweek, 27 March 2005
A Pyrrhic Victory?
Old Europe Takes On New Europe, Round 5.
Just as Brits once worried that Brussels would meddle with their labour and environmental laws, so now do the French fear the EU's focus on economic growth—and the painful measures required to improve it. "Never has Brussels more overtly made reform the No. 1 issue," says Alasdair Murray at the Centre for European Reform in London.

International Herald Tribune, 25 March 2005
In Europe, public turns toward US on China
France and Germany argue that over the past 15 years China has changed and its human rights record has improved. Schröder and Chirac say Europe must move on. A report issued this month by the independent Human Rights Watch has challenged that view. It spelled out how China continued to violate human rights on religious expression, how it coerced defendants to make false confessions, how the media was censored and how the freedom of association and the right to strike was denied. [...] Despite these findings, Javier Solana, the EU foreign policy chief, said this week at the summit meeting in Brussels that it was "not fair" to continue the embargo. Europe needed a strategic partnership with China.
"If that is the case and if Europe does want a strategic partnership with China, then that means the EU should openly discuss China's strategic interests and that includes human rights, censorship, its relations with Taiwan and other issues," said Daniel Keohane, security analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London.

Le Figaro, 25 March 2005
Le seul vrai perdant d'un rejet du traité constitutionnel serait-il la France ?
Référendum : les conséquences d'un non français
Un report récent de Charles Grant, directeur du plus influent centre de réflexion britannique, proche de Tony Blair, démontre clairement à quel point la ratification du traité constitutionnel est hasardeuse en Grande-Bretagne (1). Un rejet du traité par les Britanniques n'est pas à exclure. Ainsi, ce serait la partie de la gauche française la plus farouchement hostile aux idées anglaises, jugées trop « libérales », qui dispenserait la Grande-Bretagne de clarifier sa position vis-à-vis de l'UE ?

Financial Times, 24 March 2005
21 the proper age for mature debate
Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, the London-based think-tank, said: "When the rebate was negotiated, Britain was a relatively poor country so there was a good case to be made that it shouldn't make such a big contribution. Now it is one of the richer member states."

International Herald Tribune, 23 March 2005
EU feels the heat on China embargo
The European Union's plans to lift its arms embargo against China by June appeared to be collapsing Tuesday after months of intense lobbying by the United States and a negative reaction to China's recent decision to respond militarily to any moves by Taiwan toward independence. The climbdown will be a serious embarrassment for the EU's efforts to forge a common policy over an issue that had already divided the 25 member states, according to diplomats and security analysts. "There was really no calm strategic discussion over what the EU wanted to achieve from lifting the embargo," said Katinka Barysch, a security expert at the Centre for European Reform in London. "It has been badly handled."

Euractiv, 23 March 2005
New member states faring well in Lisbon process
The spring European Council of 22-23 March marks the mid-term point for the Lisbon agenda. Among several analyses and evaluations published in recent days, the Centre for European Reform's "Lisbon Scorecard V" calls the above commitment "now embarrassing" and says that it "deserves criticism".

EU business, 23 March 2005
EU puts reforms on hold to avert French poll disaster
Aurore Wanlin of the Centre for European Reform policy institute in London said Chirac now can go back home and tell French voters that he has stuck up for their interests in Brussels. But she added: "That won't be enough (to swing French public opinion). The government (in Paris) will have to become more proactive in promoting the constitution."

Euractiv, 22 March 2005
What role for financial services in a revamped Lisbon agenda?
Commentators, such as Centre for European Reform, point out that in some cases, the EU's grand plan has foundered in the detail, with member states being unable to agree, for example on the investment services directive, and retreating into a protectionist mode which could hold back progress.

Times online, 22 March 2005
Protests over reform leave Blair on shaky ground
The Barroso Commission has made job creation and growth its top priority and relaunched the five-year-old Lisbon reform programme to liberalise markets. And, as Alasdair Murray and Aurore Wanlin argue in the new Centre for European Reform paper, there has been progress in opening up markets for energy, telecoms, financial services and, in part, transport, while some countries have begun to tackle labour markets and pension costs. But overall competitiveness is still very disappointing.

Newsweek, March 28 issue
No matter how much governments may resist, the market and its allies are forcing change on Europe
There is even a case to be made that some states are more reform-minded than they let on. Alasdair Murray of London's Centre for European Reform calls it the French paradox. Paris is among the capitals most vocally opposed to the Lisbon Agenda. Yet it is now loosening rules that cap the workweek at 35 hours, and Murray's annual scorecard of progress indicates improvement in categories like employment growth. France's big retailers and its professional elite would be among the first to benefit from a liberalized cross-border services market. "The gap between what the French government says and what it eventually does is quite big," says Murray.

Financial Times, 21 March 2005
Touchen up EU reform agenda and make it count
by Mario Monti
Last week the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, published its own Lisbon scoreboard. Italy was named the "Lisbon villain" for its unsatisfactory implementation of economic reforms. Two days later, Silvio Berlusconi, the Italian prime minister, speaking to a business audience in Italy, severely criticised Europe as the most important "brake on growth". One of the two must be wrong. If the Commission were to publish regular Lisbon scoreboards, citizens would be less confused, governments would feel greater pressure to implement the needed reforms, and national economies and the European economy as a whole would become more competitive.

The Washington Times, 21 March 2005
EU stability pact reform causes ripples
"Lisbon is about achieving the possible, not the impossible," said Barroso in a speech at the Centre for European Reform last Thursday. "But while the Lisbon reforms offer the right recipe, its ingredients are not for free. This is a shared responsibility. We need a common effort to overcome the risk that people believe we can simply carry on as things are."

The Washington Times, 21 March 2005
Analysis: EU economy not all doom and gloom
"Europe's added value comes from the quality of life it delivers rather than its growth rates, but even on the traditional merits of economic performance, Europe's record is far more respectable than its American critics imply," writes Mark Leonard, author of 'Why Europe will run the 21st century." Leonard says the U.S. economy has been driven by a growing population - U.S. growth averaged 1.2 percent a year in the 1990s, compared to 0.5 percent in Europe - and longer working hours - Americans worked an average of 866 hours a year in 2003, compared to 691 in the EU - rather than better economic performance. Take Germany, which has struggled with the costs of reunification, out of the economic equation and the British author says growth rates in Europe and America are almost identical.

The Washington Times, 21 March 2005
Analysis: EU economy not all doom and gloom
Although it gives EU states a sickly "C" grade for implementing the Lisbon strategy, the London-based Centre for European Reform says there are "three good reasons for cautious optimism about economic reform in the second half of the decade."
Firstly, despite the plethora of over-ambitious goals and missed targets, much progress has been made since 2000. Energy, telecoms and financial services markets have been liberalized, red tape has been cut in many countries and most EU members have passed labor market and social security reforms. "Slowly but steadily, the EU is moving forward in virtually all the areas covered by the Lisbon agenda," conclude Alasdair Murray and Aurore Wanlin, authors of the fifth edition of the Lisbon Scorecard. Secondly, the CER researchers believe that the political climate for economic reform is more favorable halfway through the Lisbon process than at its inception. Almost every EU state -- including such laggards as France and Germany - is pushing through painful welfare reforms and some countries have undergone such a dramatic conversion in the last decade that they have leapfrogged the United States. Finland is the world's most competitive country, according to the World Economic Forum, and Denmark, Sweden, Ireland and the United Kingdom do not lag far behind. The United Kingdom, Finland, Denmark, Sweden and the Netherlands also have higher employment rates than the United States, with over 70 percent of the population in work. Finally, the CER report points out that new European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso has made "growth and jobs" the key priority for his five-year term of office. This has been welcomed by the business community, but many labor and green groups fear the emphasis on economic growth will come at the expense of high environmental standards and the coveted European social model. Neither side need fear that economic growth and environmental and social protection is a zero-sum game. The CER's Lisbon "hero" is Sweden, a country that tops almost every global economic league table but also has some of the highest taxes, cushiest welfare programs and strictest environmental laws in the world.

BusinessWeek (AP), 21 March 2005
Budget deal will help start EU summit
A study by the London-based Centre for European Reform released last week showed progress had been too slow since the ambitious reform plans to create 20 million jobs by 2010 were launched five years ago. Those plans also called for economic growth of 3 percent to play competitive catch-up to the world's No. 1 economy, the United States. Last year, the EU economy grew only 2 percent. In contrast, the U.S. economy expanded by 4.4 percent and China's GDP grew 9.5 percent on-year in 2004. "As the EU reaches the halfway point of its Lisbon economic reform agenda, the headline goals are clearly out of reach," the study concluded.

EU observer, 21 March 2005
Dismay after second poll confirms "no" will win French EU referendum
The rise in support for the "no" campaign was being watched with anxiety in Brussels, where insiders warned that a rejection of the constitution by so important a country as France would be a disastrous setback for the European Union.
"If France votes no, the constitution is dead," said Daniel Keohane of the Centre for European Reform. "The momentum is on the no side. It's going to be difficult to regain and it's worrying."

Scotsman, 20 March 2005
Tax earthquake rocks Germany
With Germany and France having the two most regulated labour markets in the world, high unemployment is no coincidence. A Lisbon scorecard from the Centre for European Reform think tank shows a poor reform achievement in energy and telecoms liberalisation, competition in financial services and industrial subsidies. The countries which have been the slowest to open their markets to competition - France, Germany and Italy - have the lowest growth rates. Now France wants to protect its services sector in the same way it has for so long protected its farming. And the whole of Europe will end up paying.

BBC breakfast with Frost, 20 March 2005
Interview with José Manuel Barroso
"The London-based Centre for European Reform is pushing for reform. Yesterday they said the glass is half full rather than hall empty. But it's true, we could do much, much more. That's why I propose and these Commissioners proposed last month, and I hope to get that approved this week in Brussels, the head of state and government, the revised Lisbon strategy. It is to concentrate on goals and jobs, to push for economic reform, to complete the internal market and this will bring more dynamism in Europe, so we need to push for that reform and that's why we have now better focus strategy that I hope will help the Member States to make some reforms that they are needed in our continent."

Deutsche Welle, 19 March 2005
Analysts: France May Blow EU Constitution
They were commenting on the results of a poll published in France on Friday that indicated by 51 percent of French voters may reject the constitution in a referendum on May 29. Forty-nine percent said they backed the text. "If France votes no, the constitution is dead and this poll is not good," said Daniel Keohane of the Centre for European Reform in London. "The momentum is on the no side. It's going to be difficult to regain and it's worrying."

International Herald Tribune, 19 March 2005
Leaders add to pressure on Syrians to pull out
"The anti-Iraq alliance seems to have become the pro-Russia alliance," said Katinka Barysch, a Russia specialist at the Centre for European Reform in London. "But Old Europe meeting an Eastern despot just doesn't look good, especially in the EU's new member states."
[...] The EU and Russia in November failed to finalize an accord in four strategic areas during a tense summit meeting at the height of the Ukraine crisis. They pledged at the time to complete negotiations before their next meeting, scheduled for May 10. The Friday talks were pitched as a gathering aimed at ironing out some of the differences over visa policy, security policy and human rights. But some critics contended that the meeting could sabotage the EU's nascent foreign policy identity by not inviting the EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana.
"If this is about European foreign policy, Solana should have been there," Barysch said.

The Economist, 19 March 2005
From Lisbon to Brussels - France, Germany and Italy are the biggest obstacles to economic reform in Europe
As this week's Lisbon scorecard from the Centre for European Reform (CER), a think-tank, shows, a similar story emerges on energy and telecoms liberalisation, competition in financial services, industrial subsidies and the rest: countries that have been fastest to open their markets to competition have outperformed those that have been slowest - notably France, Germany and Italy. These three countries are still Europe's back-markers on economic reform. Their governments have pushed through some politically painful measures to shake up labour markets, cut pension burdens and increase working hours. But the CER report names Italy as the villain of the Lisbon piece. And Germany and France are leading the opposition to the EU's services directive, intended to liberalise cross-border trade in services. The effort to "protect" services from competition is spectacularly wrong-headed. Services now account for 70% of euro-area GDP, and for all of net job growth in the past five years.

Slovakia Daily, 19 March 2005
Mixed results in meeting Lisbon strategy
In meeting goals of the EU's Lisbon strategy Slovakia is among the Union's best in clearing administrative hurdles to business activity but among the worst in liberalising its R&D and telecoms sectors. A report published by the London-based Centre for European Reform on Thursday shows Slovakia evaluated with mark C (or 3).The top performer in meeting Lisbon Strategy, launched in 2000 to make EU the world's most competitive economy by 2010, is Sweden, while Italy is the worst. Among the goals set by the Lisbon strategy for the EU are 3-percent annual growth of GDP and 20 million new jobs and a 3-percent increase in spending on science and research and development.