Bloomberg, 29 December 2006
EU rolls out welcome mat for two countries, yanks it from rest
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan charges that the EU hasn't lived up to its pledge to open trade links with the Turkish-occupied northern part of Cyprus. Erdogan will spend the year campaigning for his own re-election in November, leaving him with little incentive to give in to the EU. "Erdogan wants to be seen as a strong leader in the run-up to elections,'' Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in London, said in an interview. "For him to be upbeat and compromising with the EU might not work.''

International Herald Tribune, 27 December 2006
Russia strong-arms energy-hungry West
"It pains a lot of people here to admit that Russia is not 'like us,'" Katinka Barysch, chief economist of the Centre for European Reform, a research group in London, wrote in an electronic message, saying that Europe's energy interests would trump other concerns about Russia. "But unless the country slides into full-scale dictatorship or chaos, we will put our interests first."

Reuters, 24 December 2006
Germany faces diplomatic mine field as EU president
Germany has vowed to keep the substance of the existing treaty, but a more likely outcome may be the ‘‘mini-treaty’’ advocated by French presidential contender Nicolas Sarkozy. ‘‘A mini-treaty would look like a defeat for the Germans, but as long as you don’t call it that it could work,’’ said Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform in London. The constitution is one of a series of sensitive issues Germany will be tackling in the first half of 2007. It has ambitions to kick-start the long-dormant Middle East peace process as part of the ‘‘quartet’’ of mediators – a grouping of the EU, Russia, United Nations and United States.

Christian Science Monitor, 19 December 2006
At stake in Libyan HIV trial: EU relations
"The Libyans want to get closer to the Europeans," says Hugo Brady, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London. "When very sensitive issues arise, even judges tend to be aware of factors outside their courts."

International Herald Tribune, 18 December 2006
Metalworking union in Germany pushes for big raise
"It would be thoroughly good news for the euro zone if German wages were to rise a bit," said Simon Tilford, an economist with the Centre for European Reform in London. "That would make the adjustment that Italy and other countries need to make that much easier. If it does not happen, it's hard to see how other countries close the gap."

The Observer , 17 December 2006
Euro still shining in the east
While the accession countries are scrambling to get their economies in order and qualify to join, some politicians in Italy are beginning to think the unthinkable, and advocate crashing out of the single currency to reverse the dramatic deterioration in the economy's competitiveness since 1999. Analysts at think-tank the Centre for European Reform warned recently that without radical market reforms, the eurozone could be torn apart. And a run-in between the French government and the European Central Bank last week underlined growing anger that the ECB is mimicking the hawkish Bundesbank, depressing growth by keeping interest rates too high.

Le Monde, 16 December 2006
La "maison" européenne
Un an et demi après le non des Français au projet de Constitution, l'Europe ne donne aucun signe de pouvoir se relever, tandis que les menaces de "désintégration" s'additionnent semaine après semaine : abandon de facto de l'agenda de Lisbonne, recul du budget, échec de la directive sur les services, désunion sur l'énergie face à Poutine, montée du "patriotisme économique"... Les plus militants de la cause européenne avouent leur pessimisme. "La zone euro va-t-elle craquer ?", se demande même Simon Tilford, du très sérieux Center for European Reform.

L'Express , 15 December 2006
Europe: l'élargissement de trop?
Dans une note récente, Charles Grant, directeur du Centre for European Reform, met en garde: «S'il apparaît que la Bulgarie et la Roumanie sont incapables d'administrer les politiques et les programmes européens et qu'émergent des cas de détournement de fonds européens par le crime organisé, c'est le processus d'élargissement dans son ensemble qui en pâtira.» Les conséquences pour le reste des Balkans, qui attend de voir son sort fixé, pourraient être catastrophiques. L'Europe n'y gagnerait rien.

Business Week, 14 December 2006
New EU members experience strong growth
And in considering eastern Europe, some economists call for more optimism, stressing they should be judged by how far they have come since the collapse of communism in 1989 and not how far they have to go in catching up to London and Paris. "I remember when they were facing these huge challenges - all their industries were state-owned, there were no private property laws," said Katinka Barysch, chief economist with the Centre for European Reform, an independent London think tank. "They didn't have consultants, bankers, modern telecommunication. They didn't have anything," she said. "Just look what they've accomplished within 15 years out of command economies."

The Scotsman , 14 December 2006
EU's Franco-German motor sputters
She [Merkel] is likely to put national interests before those of Europe, something her predecessors Gerhard Schroeder and Helmut Kohl did not always do. "In the past, agreement between France and Germany was enough to get the other member states to go along. Now the EU is simply too big and too diverse," said Aurore Wanlin of the Centre for European Reform in London. "One can't talk about France and Germany as a motor any more."

Reuters, 12 December 2006
Enlarged EU shows growing pains, not paralysis
"EU decision-making has become more difficult because there are now obviously more interests around the table that have to be accommodated," said Hugo Brady, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform (CER) in London. ... Newcomers must learn that "if you use your veto over an agreement that took a long time to reach, you will lose some political capital and when you next need it, you may not receive the support," said CER's Brady.

The Yorkshire Post, 9 December 2006
Campbell flies the flag for Europe: Closer integration 'can work in national interest'
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell will make an audacious attempt next week to put pro-Europeanism back at the heart of his party's electoral appeal. In his first major speech on the subject since his election as party leader in March, he will challenge populist Eurosceptism by arguing that European integration can work in the national interest. "I'm going to argue the necessity of Europe," he said, of his upcoming keynote speech to the Centre for European Reform. "I'm going to argue that there are issues like climate change, immigration and terrorism where only closer integration with Europe will enable us to deal effectively with them."

Bloomberg, 9 December 2006
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.

International Herald Tribune, 8 December 2006
Turkey and EU flirt with disaster in a train crash that is about to happen
Charles Grant of the London-based Centre for European Reform warns of an upheaval in Turkish politics and, as a consequence, a drop in investor confidence in the country. "Nationalists and hardline Islamists would crow that the West could not be trusted," he said. The EU's reputation in the Islamic world would also suffer, reviving complaints Europeans are not keen on Muslims in their Christian club, he said. Also, "a breakdown in EU-Turkey relations would almost certainly end any hopes of reuniting Cyprus," Grant said.

Bloomberg, 4 December 2006
If Royal is answer, France asked wrong question
"The Socialist Party needed to come back to the center ground of politics,'' Aurore Wanlin, research fellow at the London-based Centre for European Reform, said in a telephone interview. "Just by saying we need new ideas, she has completely revolutionised the debate within the party.''

BBC News, 29 November 2006
EU push to influence neighbours
European governments are also divided on how to deal with the other neighbouring countries, as Charles Grant from the London-based Centre for European Reform, explains. "A lot of the EU member states don't like it, they fear that the neighbourhood policy could be seen as a stepping-stone towards enlargement. "So the French, the Dutch, the Spanish and others have intervened to make sure the action plans for the three Caucasus countries are very mean - no mention of how they can sign up to EU foreign and security policy, nothing about visa facilitation. "Of course, the countries themselves, the neighbours, have a poor record of implementing the action plans, they don't have the administrative capacity to implement them. "But the basic problem with the European Neighbourhood Policy is the structural flaw. I mean the carrots the EU is offering are not big enough and juicy enough to really give the political leaders in the countries concerned the incentives to carry out painful reforms."

The Guardian, 29 November 2006
Cyprus conundrum stalls Ankara accession
Analysts say a breakdown - although we are not there yet - in accession talks would have an immediate impact on Turkish politics. "The goal of EU membership has helped to ensure that two camps which do not trust each other - the secular "Kemalists" in the army, judiciary and bureaucracy, and the Islamists in the ruling AKP government - work together on a reform agenda," said Katinka Barysch and Charles Grant in a recent paper for the Centre for European Reform, a London think-tank. "But the removal of that goal and the consequent recriminations could destabilise the political system."

The Guardian, 27 November 2006
Minister's remarks threaten to widen rift with Kremlin
A recent bulletin from the Centre for European Reform think-tank noted: "While energy experts are less concerned about Russia's willingness to sell energy to Europe, they worry greatly about its ability to do so. Oil output growth in Russia has dropped off sharply at a time of record oil prices. Similarly, Russia's gas output has been flat for years."

Bloomberg, 27 November 2006
Pope's visit to Turkey stokes tension over faith, EU membership
"I think the Pope stating a personal opinion is one thing, but at this particularly delicate time, he should not be expressing it,'' Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the London- based Centre for European Reform, said in a telephone interview. "The EU is a political club, an economic club, not a religious one.''

The Standard [China's business paper], 27 November 2006
NATO leaders get ready to tackle alliance's fate
For the French, turning NATO into a coalition of democracies with global ambitions would send a bad signal, particularly to Asia. "It would be very unwise to send such a message to the world, notably to China and India, that: `it is the West against the rest,"' said Daniel Keohane, defense expert at London's Centre for European Reform think-tank.

Time, 26 November 2006
Uncertain alliance - Once again, NATO finds itself on shaky ground. What is it supposed to do, and how?
Many European governments, France in particular, worry that "expanding nato into an alliance of democracies [could be] interpreted as 'the West against the rest,'" says Daniel Keohane, a security expert at the Centre for European Reform in London. The summit will endorse a mechanism for coordinating with out-of-area allies, but not the formal ties Washington has been hoping for.

Zaman [Turkey], 26 November 2006
Failed EU entrance could mean stronger ties to Russia
According to a British think-tank, the Centre for European Reform (CER), if EU membership negotiations were postponed, Turkey would look for a new alliance, perhaps in Russia. Known for its EU studies, the CER’s December-January bulletin reported that the European Union was capable of postponing membership negotiations with the Turkish government and that Turkey was capable of giving up on EU membership. “An angry and disappointed Turkey would spurn any partnership that fell short of full membership.” Rejected by the European Union, Turkey might turn its attention to alternative allies, the article said, commenting that trading and political ties between Russia and Turkey have burgeoned in recent years. Some senior figures in the Kremlin argue that both countries are outcasts from the European mainstream and should therefore stick together. The article explained that most of the European Union's gas imports came through pipelines running over Russian territory. The European Union wants to diversify for the sake of energy security. Almost all the alternative routes for Caspian or Middle Eastern gas entering Europe pass through Anatolia. CER Director Charles Grant and Chief Economist Katinka Barysch said that if Turkey turned away from the European Union toward Russia, the European Union could find it much harder to decrease its reliance on Russian energy and pipelines. The article also said the union’s ability to influence the Islamic world would diminish and it would be seen as a Christian club. “Turkey may continue to modernize and open its economy and consolidate its democracy. However, progress would be much slower and patchier than it would be if Turkey stayed on the path to EU accession”.

CNN, 24 November 2006
Dutch election shows up Europe's anxieties
"The Dutch have had to live with painful reform," Simon Tilford of the London-based Centre for European Reform. "In many European countries it can be an uphill struggle. They are asked to give up things they cherish and they see few benefits."

Le Monde, 23 November 2006
Le double défi de Moscou et d'Ankara
La Russie et la Turquie ont de nombreux points communs, comme le note Charles Grant, directeur du Centre for European Reform, un centre de recherches britannique, dans une étude récente. L'une et l'autre sont à cheval sur l'Europe et l'Asie, leurs capitales culturelles (Saint-Pétersbourg et Istanbul) penchant vers l'Ouest, leurs capitales politiques (Moscou et Ankara) plus tournées vers l'intérieur. L'une et l'autre sont issues de vastes empires multiethniques aujourd'hui démantelés. L'une et l'autre sont incertaines de leur identité européenne, défendue en leur sein par les cercles modernistes et rejetée par les milieux traditionalistes. Dans les deux pays, assure Charles Grant, un nationalisme exacerbé, sur la défensive, parfois paranoïaque, n'est jamais loin de la surface. Il s'accompagne d'une volonté de centralisation qui brime les droits des minorités ethniques, kurdes en Turquie, tchétchènes en Russie. Des "forces étrangères" y sont accusées d'encourager les séparatismes, durement réprimés. A Moscou comme à Ankara, des régimes autoritaires menacent les libertés publiques et font peu de cas des droits de l'homme, suscitant l'inquiétude des Européens. ... Depuis cinq ans, note Charles Grant, les liens entre ces deux pays, autrefois hostiles, se sont resserrés.

Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 23 November 2006
Energy, new co-operation pact to top EU-Russia summit agenda
Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the London-based Centre for European Reform, argued that the EU should go slow on seeking to clinch a comprehensive new deal until the two sides had developed more mutual trust. For the moment, the focus should be on making the existing EU- Russia agreement work better and focusing on energy and human rights, she said.

The Prague Post, 15 November 2006
Missile base is no sure bet - US elections delay decision on Central European facility
"The Pentagon would've been thinking about this [election] for the last few months. I imagine it's been more of a priority than making missile defense decisions," said Daniel Keohane, a senior research fellow at the London-based Centre for European Reform. ..."The Russians perceive this in an almost paranoid way: 'This is NATO out to get us,' " Keohane said. Local opposition to a Czech base also appears to be growing, with some politicians calling for a referendum to decide on the issue. Still, it's not a matter of if, but when, the U.S. military will extend its missile defense system to Europe, Keohane said. "Certainly, a missile base will be going somewhere. The US has plenty of options."

Christian Science Monitor, 11 November 2006
Heat's on nuclear power - Europe's summer sparks a wave of cuts - and questions
In England, where opposition to nuclear plants has been intense, climate change worries may trump antinuclear feeling. "The jury is still out," says Simon Tilford, an analyst with the Centre for European Reform in London, where the summer heat brought scattered blackouts. "But I think the government has had some success at turning public opinion around because they argued the environmental case."

Financial Times, 8 November 2006
Blair set to feel icy blast of Bush defeats
Any inquiries [into the Iraq invasion] will make the headlines well after Mr Blair has left office. "But the findings could be embarrassing", said Mark Leonard, director for foreign policy at the Centre for European reform. "Congress will almost certainly look at the reasons for going to war and the lack of preparation for governing post-Saddam Iraq. This will probably bring out in detail how Mr Blair lacked real influence over what the Bush administration did." ... "Transatlantic tensions have always been higher when the US is feeling self-confident"; says Mr Leonard, "and they have been good when the US is feeling weak and introverted."

New York Times, 8 November 2006
World sees vote as rejection of Iraq policy
"It's a little bit difficult to see what impact it will have on Blair himself, as he is on the way out anyway", said Daniel Keohane, a specialist in defence and security matters at the Centre for European Reform. By contrast, he said, Gordon Brown, Mr. Blair's likely successor, has close links to the democrats "This would certainly encourage the view that the Democrats would have a chance of the presidency in 2008", he said. "From Brown's point of view, that's a good thing."

International Herald Tribune, 7 November 2006
No matter who wins, problems for EU
"Many in Europe would like to see Bush get a bloody nose in these elections and view the Democrats as closer to the European way of thinking", said Mark Leonard, a foreign policy analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform."But there also are key differences between the Democrats and Europe that should not be underestimated", Leonard added... "Democrats believe that a strong Europe is good for the United States."

International Herald Tribune, 7 November 2006
Britain wins round over its longer workweek
For the British, there also are critical ideological and cultural principles at stake, said Simon Tilford of the Centre for European Reform in London."There is a strong sense in the U.K. that people should be free to work long hours if they so choose, and that curtailing this right will impair competitiveness and send the wrong signal to investors", said Tilford.

The Guardian, 6 November 2006
Catching the continental drift
Katinka Barysch, an analyst at the London thinktank the Centre for European Reform, believes the best-case scenario is that both the EU and Turkey will muddle through this difficult patch. "Nobody wants to upset the apple cart", she said. "But if the EU does something drastic like suspend the entry talks, then Turkey could walk away. Erdogan can court popularity by blaming the EU and say 'I've tried my best.'"

Newsweek International, 6 November 2006
Britain: The shadows of Suez
Mark Leonard of the CER, writing recently in the Spectator after interviewing key advisers, suggests that as prime minister Brown would "break with Blair's adventurism" and adopt a "more hard-headed brand of atlanticism ... reserving the right to be critical of American policy in public."

International Herald Tribune, 6 November 2006
Democrats could give allies an Iraq exit strategy
"If the Democrats sweep Congress, it will have a big impact on the debate in Iraq, putting pressure on all those European governments that have stood by Bush and strengthening the voices of those in favor of disengagement", said Daniel Keohane at the London-based Centre for European Reform.

US News and world report, 5 November 2006
In praise of long hours
To bring down unemployment, France in 2000 implemented a 35-hour workweek. It has not been a success. "It's coming under real pressure", says Simon Tilford, business analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London... Tilford expects that if Britain's opt-out is canceled, U.K. businesses too will find ways to carry on as before: "It won't make much difference. People will continue to work what they want, and it won't change things."

El Pais, 2 November 2006
La UE propone que las futuras ampliaciones requieran la aprobación de los ciudadanos
La ampliación de la UE a nuevos Estados (Balcanes Occidentales y Turquía) quedó seriamente afectada tras los noes de Francia y Holanda al Tratado Constitucional en 2005. "En Francia y en Holanda algunos de los que votaron no lo hicieron porque se oponían a la entrada de Turquía como miembro, aunque el Tratado no tenían nada que ver formalmente con Turquía", sostiene Charles Grant, del Centre for European Reform.

The Economist, 28 October 2006
Hard Currency, tight spot
Though it may seem far-fetched, some people believe that Italy might be pushed out of the eurozone. In a recent report ['Will the eurozone crack'] Simon Tilford, of the Centre for European Reform, a London think-tank, puts the probability as high as 40 per cent.

Deutsche Welle, 25 October 2006
G6 Ministers Debate Terrorism Behind Closed Doors
Hugo Brady, a research fellow with the British-based Centre for European Reform, said the G6 format was beneficial because it was otherwise difficult to generate EU consensus. He said he was "not outraged" by the secrecy of the meetings. "Governments have been cooperating in Europe on internal security since 1923 when Interpol was founded and it's always been secret", he said. Brady expected the ministers to discuss expanding the small group of EU members that signed the Treaty of Prum in 2005, which provided for sharing fingerprints, DNA and bolstering police co-operation. "I know that Great Britain has the intention of joining and is kicking itself it wasn't in the negotiations to start with", he said.

The Independent, 21 October 2006
EU heads of State unite against Russia
But the extent to which Europe is hamstrung in its dealings with the Russians is underllned in a report by Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform, which says that bi-lateral trade has grown by more than 70 per cent in the last five years. "The EU looked on helplessly as the Putin administration exiled its critics, took over the big TV stations, harassed NGO's, re-nationalised the country's biggest oil firm, abolished regional elections and propped up self-serving seperatists beyond its borders. Upbeat statements after summits can no longer hide the fact that the two sides do not agree on what their partnership should look like", it stated.

International Herald Tribune, 20 October 2006
EU sees new export in energy plan
Simon Tilford, the head of the business unit at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based group, said the measures represented "an ideal opportunity for Europe to take the lead and set technological standards, even global standards" in the area of appliances. But Tilford said the measures would do little to change the fact that EU governments are largely free to set consumption limits for energy-intensive industries like power generation. Germany, France and Italy, among others, have set loose targets and it is not yet "worthwhile for businesses to invest in carbon abatement technologies", Tilford said.

The Guardian, 20 October 2006
On big issues the EU keeps muddling through

International Herald Tribune, 19 October 2006
Katinka Barysch, a Russia expert at the London-based Centre for European Reform, argued that the only way for Russia and the EU to overcome their mutual disillusionment was for Europe to accept that an increasingly self-confident Russia is no longer eager to align itself with European standards and values - as it did when it was politically weak and economically unstable after the fall of communism. Moscow, meanwhile, must recognize that an inward, autocratic-sounding Russia is not in its economic or strategic interests. "The EU has looked on helplessly as Putin has exiled his critics, renationalised the countries biggest oil firm and abolished regional elections", she said. "No amount of upbeat statements after summits can hide the fact that two sides do not agree on what their partnership should look like."

The Guardian, 19 October 2006
Governments pitch for 'European MIT'
Richard Lambert, now CBI director-general, and Nick Butler, head of strategy at BP, argued in a Centre for European Reform report this summer the EU would be better to strengthen the best universities that already exist - such as Cambridge and Oxford which already enjoy world rankings... Its [European Institute of Technology] location is yet to be decided though Andrew Duff, a Liberal MEP, has suggested Cambridge - part of his constituency and home to Europe's largest hi-tech "cluster," including Microsoft's European lab. But Mr Lambert and Mr Butler said in their CER report: "Such an institution would be extremely expensive and take years to establish. The politics of choosing its location and its direction would be a nightmare. Years of creative energy, much political goodwill and large sums of money could be wasted in the exercise."

Voice of America, 17 October 2006
EU backs limited sanctions on Iran
Despite the impasse, Daniel Keohane, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London, says the discussions were not a complete failure. "It was good to keep the Iranians at the table, to keep them talking. The problem was perhaps expectations were a bit high." Keohane also says the Iranian leadership is divided over how hard a line to maintain in the nuclear negotiations. The threat of sanctions might prompt some to decide President Ahmadinejad has gone too far.

International Herald Tribune, 17 October 2006
UK fights to retain workweek exemption
Simon Tilford, head of the business unit at the Centre for European Reform based in London, said that most British employees already worked hours similar to those of their Continental counterparts. And the "work addicts" in the investment banking and financial sectors "will continue to work hundred-hour weeks, with or without EU legislation, and whether they are in London, Frankfurt or elsewhere", he said.

Irish Times, 17 October 2006
Finns hope they have an answer to Turks' accession crisis
"Already you have seen a drastic drop in support for EU membership in Turkey. It has fallen 20 per cent in just two years", says Katinka Barysch, analyst with the think-tank Centre for European Reform in London. "At the start of the accession process Turkish people were happy to be part of it; now there is a real risk of disillusionment."

Washington Post, 13 October 2006
Events in arts, politics highlight Turkey's tangled ties to Europe
"I think there's a political message", said Charles Grant, head of the Centre for European Reform in London. "Pamuk is not popular even with the educated, liberal intelligentsia in Turkey, where there is a view that he is out of touch with his Turkish roots. And this is not going to make him any more popular... I think the French Parliament is absolutely ridiculous to pass a law about Armenian massacres. So many massacres have been carried out by so many people throughout history that to pass a law about one and not the others . . . is infantile."

International Herald Tribune, 10 October 2006
Announcement of nuclear test unites world powers in criticism
Daniel Keohane, a security analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform, said universal condemnation of North Korea, including a joint statement of criticism by China and Japan and a rebuke by Russia, made it likely that Washington and the EU would find support if they decided to push for sanctions against Pyongyang. "It will be easier to find international consensus on North Korea than it has been on Iran because two of its closest neighbors, China and Japan, are united in their response", he said. "All six parties, China, Japan, Russia, South Korea and the United States, are united in favor of North Korea abandoning nuclear weapons."

Institute for war and peace reporting, 10 October 2006
Crossfire over enlargement confuses Balkans
"The EU does need to bring its own house in order, as the institutional structure now meant to deal with 27 members was originally designed for six", Katinka Barysch, of the London-based think-tank Centre for European Reform, told Balkan Insight... Barysch said people in the older member countries take an increasingly dim view of eastward enlargement, "worried about what it means for their jobs and security." Barysch citing a common perception in the "old EU" that bringing in more members in the East means cheaper labour costs and higher crime... The constitutional debate should not make much difference to the others [the other Balkan countries], either. "There is not much political capital to be gained from blocking the progress of Western Balkan countries." While the EU is becoming stricter on criteria when it comes to enlargement, "member states understand the need to keep the ball rolling where the Western Balkans are concerned", she added.

Helsingin Sanomat, 9 October 2006
Halfway through the term, Finnish EU Presidency wins cautious praise
"One of the greatest challenges is to keep going with the negotiations over Turkey's accession to the EU. While it is not known as yet whether or not it will succeed, Finland has a good opportunity to achieve this goal", considers Charles Grant of the London-based Centre for European Reform.

International Herald Tribune, 9 October 2006
Letters: NATO's future
The article is inaccurate in its representation of EU-NATO relations. Official dialogue has been hampered by a Turkish-Cypriot dispute, but cooperation on joint operations has developed and improved immeasurably over the last year. For instance, the article says that the European Commission has refused to help NATO in Afghanistan. In fact the commission has been funding civil parts of provincial reconstruction teams in Afghanistan (in concert with NATO) for a year. I also object to how my comments were presented in the article. They were used to suggest that the relationship between the EU and NATO is purely negative. These quotes do not reflect my views, which are that the EU and NATO have been working more closely of late and should develop their cooperation further. Daniel Keohane, London Senior research fellow Centre for European Reform

Turkish Daily News, 8 October 2006
Weakened Merkel faces new leadership tests
"If she runs a successful EU presidency it won't harm her domestic standing but it won't match the foreign policy boost she got from her initial appearances", said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform. "The expectations are very different now."

Financial Times, 6 October 2006
Divergence in competitiveness already exists in EU
Sir, Simon Tilford makes a persuasive case that diverging trends in competitiveness within the eurozone threaten its stability ("How to ensure the eurozone does not unravel", October 4). His case would have been all the more persuasive had he noted the large dimension of the divergence in European competitiveness that has already occurred. Since 2000, Italy and Spain have lost as much as 20 percentage points in wage competitiveness to Germany. As a result, both these countries are now running external current account deficits in excess of 8 percentage points of gross domestic product. The very size of this loss in competitiveness makes its correction more difficult than Mr Tilford intimates. This is particularly the case since his proposed structural reforms to improve labour market flexibility must be expected to have a short-run depressing effect on output that would not be opportune for either Italy or Spain. The dire state of Italy's public finances would be worsened by any further slowing in Italy's economic growth, while Spain's housing price bubble would almost certainly be punctured by any loss in Spain's growth momentum.Mr Tilford's suggestion that the circle be squared by having Germany promote higher real wage growththan it has to date is curious. One would have thought that the European Central Bank's less than 2 per cent inflation target would highly limit any contribution that higher German real wage growth could make to narrow Germany's competitiveness differential with Italy and Spain.

International Herald Tribune, 4 October 2006
EU and NATO bound in a perilous rivalry
"NATO and the EU could do so much more to help each other", said Daniel Keohane, a defence analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London. "At a time when both are being called upon by the United Nations to provide troops, whether to Lebanon or Afghanistan, they should be talking to each other. Frankly, the dialogue in Brussels is truly dreadful." ... NATO has repeatedly asked the EU for more civilian and humanitarian assistance in Afghanistan, particularly since both organisations say security cannot be attained without economic development and jobs. But the European Commission has refused.  "The Commission put its foot down largely because of opposition from some of the member states", Keohane said... "The outlook for EU defence will be different in about 10 years", with the bloc set to acquire the A400M military transport aircraft and Eurofighter jets, both manufactured by European Aeronautic Defence & Space, parent company of Airbus, and the Galileo satellite navigation system being developed in Europe... Turkey (a member of NATO) objects to Cyprus and Malta (members of the EU) sitting in on joint EU-NATO meetings. Turkish diplomats say this is because Cyprus and Malta, unlike other neutral EU members, are not members of NATO's Partnership for Peace Program, which allows for some intelligence sharing. But analysts say the dispute provides a cover for those countries, including France and Belgium, that want the EU's defence role to remain distinct from that of NATO. "This is a ludicrous situation, Cyprus insists it wants to be treated equally as an EU member and so should be allowed sit in on the meetings. When it does sit in on such meetings, then issues such as Afghanistan, weapons of mass destruction, and terrorism cannot be discussed because they involve NATO issues."  

"The indigestion from that biggest-ever enlargement is putting the whole enlargement process at risk", says Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform... Hugo Brady draws parallels with a "difficult period" which followed the accession of a "somewhat belligerent and nationalist" Greece in 1981, not long after it emerged from dictatorship. The period did not last long, he says. EU membership helped to seal the country's full transition to democracy, and it quickly became a valued member of the union.

International Herald Tribune, 22 September 2006
News analysis: Brown keeps low profile in U.S. visit
"I think Brown realises he has everything to gain from things being relatively calm", said Mark Leonard of the Centre for European Reform, an expert on British foreign policy. "If he looks like he is campaigning, it legitimises other people speaking out against him."
 
Voice of America, 22 September 2006
French, German, Russian leaders to discuss Iran nuclear issues
Katinka Barysch, an energy expert at the Centre for European Reform, in London, says there are other problems when it comes to Russian gas."What the Europeans are concerned about - and should be concerned about - is that Russia, in the future, might not produce enough gas to both supply the gas we need in Western Europe, and satisfy fast-growing Asian markets that Russia is now focusing on", she said.

Radio Free Europe, 21 September 2006
"From an outside European perspective, what is going on in Hungary is kind of puzzling for us, because in our minds, Hungary has always been a very stable and solid country", says European affairs analyst Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform. "It was the poster boy of transition for many years, it's not a country which in our minds is associated with instability," she adds. "It was very difficult to understand. Apparently there must have been a lot of frustration bubbling away under the surface which is now coming out." ... Barysch calls parallels between Hungary and Ukraine's Orange Revolution far-fetched. "I don't see that [same situation as in Ukraine] happening [in Hungary]. I do believe that Hungary is a much more stable, and a country where democracy is consolidated", she says. "The Ukrainians went through a decade of watching an utterly corrupt and cynical political establishment at the top, in Hungary that's not the case. There might be a certain amount of disillusionment with the political class after the prime minister admitted of having lied to the public. But I don't see any kind of political meltdown, still... It is obvious that this comes at a very sensitive point in time and the EU is having a debate about such issues as enlargement fatigue and should more countries be coming in, and, is Bulgaria ready, and should we be taking in the western Balkans [countries], with all their political problems, should we take in Turkey that in many ways is still a backward society, so it comes at a very sensitive time", she says.

Financial Times, 21 September 2006
Germany's EU fatigue ruffles feathers among Brussels elite
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said: "There has been a secular trend over the last 15 years for German political leaders to be less dewy-eyed about Europe, but there remains a deep-rooted view that greater European unity is in Germany's national interest."

Evenimentul Zilei [Italy], 21 September
Uniunea monetara europeana, in pericol - Centre for European Reform: sunt 40% sanse ca Italia sa renunte la euro
Uniunea monetara europeana risca sa deraieze si sa submineze piata unica comunitara, daca cele 12 state care au adoptat moneda euro nu trec la reformarea radicala a economiilor lor, sustine un raport al institutului Centre for European Reform (CER), citat de EU Observer. Documentul de analiza, realizat de specialistii unuia dintre cele mai respectate si influente grupuri de reflectie pe probleme europene, avertizeaza ca amanarea si chiar ignorarea reformelor economice nepopulare, mai cu seama in Italia, pot duce la esecul uniunii monetare, considerata alaturi de extindere una dintre cele mai importante realizari ale Uniunii Europene (UE). "Desi economia italiana se indreapta catre o perioada de probleme serioase, nimeni nu constientizeaza existenta unei crize nationale", avertizeaza expertii CER, care atrag atentia ca lipsa concurentei in sectorul serviciilor coroborata cu un nivel scazut al investitiilor fac din Italia cea mai putin competitiva dintre cele 12 economii europene care au aderat la uniunea monetara. CER estimeaza ca sunt 40% sanse ca Italia sa se vada nevoita sa renunte la moneda euro, pentru ca in prezent costurile unei eventuale iesiri a Romei din uniunea monetara sunt mai mici decat cele ale ramanerii in zona euro. Studiul CER sugereaza guvernului italian sa combata productivitatea scazuta a economiei si inflatia prin re-formarea sistemului de gestiune bugetara, liberalizarea sectorului serviciilor pentru intarirea competitivitatii si flexibilizarea pietei fortei de munca. Masurile au sanse in proportie de 20% sa redreseze economia italiana, insa timpul in care acestea trebuie aplicate este pe sfarsite. CER face si o analiza a scenariului iesirii Italiei din uniunea monetara, argumentand ca o astfel de decizie din partea Romei ar putea antrena si alte tari, precum Spania sau Portugalia, sa faca acelasi lucru. In fata concurentei unei economii italiene dezbarate de restrictiile si regulile zonei euro, Madridul si Lisabona ar putea decide la randul lor sa renunte la euro, in timp ce Berlinul si Parisul ar putea reactiona prin impunerea de restrictii la importurile italiene. Conform scenariului CER, in cazul in care Comisia nu va bloca asemenea restrictii, acesta ar putea fi inceputul sfarsitului pentru piata unica europeana.

Világgazdaság Online [Hungary], 20 September 2006
Széteshet az eurózóna - Ennél is erosebb reformok kellenek?
Kulcsfontosságú reformok végrehajtása nélkül - amire elsosorban Olaszországban lenne szükség - már a közeljövoben széteshet az eurózóna, veszélybe sodorva az egységes piac fennmaradását is - írja egy tanulmányban a londoni Centre for European Reform. A jelentés szerint a monetáris unió megszületése ahelyett, hogy a tagsághoz szükséges reformokra ösztenezte volna a kormányokat, éppenséggel hanyaggá tette oket. Olaszország számára az euró megtartása már-már költségesebb, mint a kilépés lenne az eurózónából, így utóbbi esélyét a jelentés 40 százalékra teszi.

Bloomberg, 20 September 2006
Romano Prodi Versus Telecom Italia - Italy Loses
"What happens in Italy is crucial to the euro area, because of its political and economic significance,'' Simon Tilford, head of the business unit at the Centre for European Reform in London, said in a telephone interview. " The cyclical pickup in the European economy has probably been the very worst thing that could happen to Italy because it has emboldened the people who are opposed to reform.''

Reuters, 20 September 2006
Germans sceptical as MPs set to OK Lebanon force
"One can't forget that sending troops abroad is quite a recent phenomenon for Germany," said Daniel Keohane, a security expert at the Centre for European Reform in London. "In the longer term, if the situation in Afghanistan, Congo or Lebanon becomes more dangerous, one has to wonder whether public opinion would hold."

The Glasgow Herald, 19 September 2006
Poll changes shape of 'Swedish model'
Simon Tilford of the Centre for European Reform (CER) think-tank in London said Persson's defeat by centre-right leader Fredrik Reinfeldt showed the Swedish model did not deliver on all the promises. "It has been held up as an example to be followed somewhat uncritically," he said.

Business Week, 18 September 2006
Sweden's Turn to the Right - The win by conservatives could boost business and reduce Sweden's heavy tax burden. But Fredrik Reinfeldt still respects the welfare state
But the impact could be limited by Sweden's small size and Reinfeldt's gradualist approach. "It's not likely they will be a Thatcherite government," says Simon Tilford, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London.

Financial Times, 15 September 2006
Say it loud, I'm European and I'm proud
The "European" veneer at Ryder Cups is thin. Daniel Keohane, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, a London think-tank, says: "It's interesting that in the last few holes, when a European makes a putt, they take out their national flag and go off to celebrate with their national supporters." And yet Europatriotism exists. A "Eurobarometer" survey for the European Commission last year showed that 63 per cent of Europeans feel "proud" to be Europeans. Britain scored lowest, with 44 per cent. However, proud Europeans are also almost all proud of their own countries. Europatriotism doesn't replace national pride. It supplements it. And though Europatriotism is a widespread sentiment, it's a weak one. Nobody has ever run drunken out of his house waving the EU flag. That's why Romano Prodi, then president of the European Commission, got nowhere with his suggestion that European teams in the Olympics fly the European flag beside their national ones. "It was kind of laughed out of the room," says Keohane. Brussels will have to accept that Europatriotism is a weaker emotion than real patriotism. Then it might consider adopting the Ryder Cup as a model. Keohane notes that the European team was created not out of love but out of pragmatism. It was accepted as the only way to compete with the outside world. That is probably how most Europeans regard the European Union.

European Voice, 15 September 2006
Immigrants hijack agenda
I can't see the passerelle working since the incoming presidency is so against it", says Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank. ..."There are real things in this [Finnish] dossier about important issues happening at the moment," says one EU official. "This is the return to real politics," says Brady.

International Herald Tribune, 15 September 2006
EU to hold talks with Palestinian Authority
Mark Leonard, a foreign policy expert at the Centre for European Reform in London, said the combination of American sticks and European carrots could create tensions, but he did not foresee a serious rift. "There is always chatter in Washington about the EU being too soft or appeasers, but there is something to be said for the 'good cop, bad cop' routine," he said.

The Economist, 14 September 2006
Stormier weather ahead
All this seems bizarrely at odds with the growing belief, particularly in London, that Italy may risk falling out of the euro. A study [Will the eurozone crack?] being published shortly by a London-based think-tank, the Centre for European Reform (CER), puts the odds of this happening at a daunting 40 per cent.

International Herald Tribune, 11 September 2006
5 years later, solidarity and skepticism
Daniel Keohane, foreign policy expert at the Centre for European Reform in London, said that common global concerns such as the war against terrorism, fears over Iran's nuclear program and the recent war in Lebanon were helping to bridge the differences between the United States and its European allies. But he said a wide gap remained between political leaders' grudging support for Washington and the wariness among the European public. Nowhere has this been more pronounced than in Britain, where Prime Minister Tony Blair's outspoken support has caused his popularity to plummet and inspired intensifying pressure for him to leave office. ..."While people remain empathetic about Sept. 11, that does not erase their unease with the way Bush conducts America's foreign policy or with European governments that support him," Keohane said. "Europeans remain wary of Bush and of his division of the world into 'us' and 'them', which they don't think is conducive to solving global conflicts."

Financial Times, 11 September 2006
Issues that come home to roost
Mark Leonard of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, argues that Mr Brown will try to develop a distinct philosophy of "Britishness". This would involve a tough line in Europe and an attempt to create a distinctive British way of tackling terrorism.

L'Express, 9 September 2006
Europe et Asie veulent sortir du tout-économique
"Intéresser les Européens, particulièrement les petits Etats membres, à penser de manière politique à l'Asie, et non pas simplement à un marché, est vraiment difficile parce que beaucoup de pays européens n'ont pas de tradition d'implication en Asie", souligne Charles Grant, le directeur du Centre pour les réformes européennes (CER), qui vient d'organiser plusieurs séminaire sur le thème des relations entre l'UE et l'Asie. ..."Les Chinois nous voient vraiment comme un partenaire stratégique", explique Charles Grant, qui pense que les Européens sont désormais prêts à franchir aussi le pas. The Guardian, 8 September 2006
How Brown would mark his entrance
In a Spectator article last month speculating about the impact of a Brown premiership on foreign policy, Mark Leonard, a foreign affairs specialist at the CER,with close links to the Foreign Office and the Labour government, wrote: "Instead of seeing Britain as a 'bridge between Europe and America', Brown will try to bridge the pursuit of the British national interest with a moral focus on the world's poor. Above all, his intimates suggest that Brown will break with Blair's adventurism."

New York Times, 1 September 2006
Europe Is not ready to impose sanctions on Iran
"Sanctions are not on the cards for the time being, so the E.U. is trying to use a mix of carrots and sticks", said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform. "The EU is also fed up with being strung along by Iran, but for now the only real option is to keep on talking."

Le Temps [Switzerland], 1 September 2006
Europe, Etats-Unis: la peur du déclin
En Europe, la peur du déclin se lit dans la crise de confiance envers ses institutions académiques. Selon une étude* réalisée par Richard Lambert et Nick Butler, publiée par le Centre for European Reform, un des think tanks les plus influents de l'Union européenne, la prospérité de l'Europe fout le camp. Que disent-ils? Que les universités européennes, à l'exception de certains établissements anglais, ne jouent plus en première ligue. Que ces mêmes universités manquent cruellement de moyens financiers, qu'elles sont trop nombreuses et ne poursuivent aucune stratégie de différenciation. Le tableau brossé par ces deux experts (Richard Lambert est le nouveau patron des patrons britanniques et Nick Butler le vice-président de BP) est accablant par la longue énumération des chiffres et comparaisons avec les universités américaines, qui continuent de former l'élite mondiale. Ainsi, quels que soient les classements établis sur la base des publications, l'Europe est systématiquement à la traîne. Sur les vingt meilleures universités du monde, dix-huit sont américaines. Dans ce panorama d'ensemble, seule la Suisse s'en sort plutôt bien, notamment grâce à ses deux écoles polytechniques qui parviennent à se hisser dans le classement des meilleures institutions académiques.

Financial Times, 31 August 2006
Cult hero who finally swam against the tide
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, who chronicled the Delors era in his book Inside the House Jacques Built, said: "He wasn't close to the French government, far from it. He was an ayatollah for a federalist state." Mr Grant says Lamoureux's acerbic and intellectual style often left colleagues traumatised, but: "He worked phenomenally hard yet always gave unlimited time to people he respected."

Christian Science Monitor, 29 August 2006
Polish leaders at odds with EU mainstream
Experts say they detect a nationalism in Warsaw's new foreign policy that could make things very difficult for a Union grappling to forge a common energy policy and new constitutional treaty. The brothers "are very parochial in their foreign policy", says Charles Grant, of the Centre for European Reform in London. ...The Kaczyinski brothers' deep skepticism of Russia - which provides the majority of Poland's gas supply - could make it difficult for the EU and Russia to agree on a common, mutually beneficial energy policy, says Mr. Grant. But the true test of EU readiness will come in the middle of next year, when the European Union decides what to do with the constitution that French and Dutch voters torpedoed in public votes last year. Grant foresees problems for Poland if they push national interests ahead of Europe. "If Poland decides to be [stubborn] in that negotiation", he says. "Then it will soon be very isolated."

Le Monde, 24 August 2006
Faiblesses diplomatiques, par Thomas Ferenczi
Tout le problème de la diplomatie européenne est résumé par cette dernière phrase : même lorsqu'ils parviennent à adopter une position commune, les Européens ont ensuite beaucoup de mal à la faire valoir sur la scène internationale. Pour tenter d'y voir plus clair, deux chercheurs britanniques du Centre pour la réforme européenne, Charles Grant, directeur de cet organisme d'études, et Mark Leonard, responsable pour la politique étrangère, se sont efforcés, sur la base d'un séminaire organisé à Stockholm au printemps dernier, de recenser les faiblesses de l'Union dans ce domaine. Ils ont dénombré cinq gros handicaps.

New York Times, 21 August 2006
Bush urges swift deployment of Lebanon force
Daniel Keohane, a defence specialist at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based research institute, offered another view of why the French may have stepped back. "The French don't want to be seen occupying a Muslim country, particularly because of their history in Algeria", he said. "Shooting at the Israeli Defence Forces also would not go down well with the French Jewish community"; He added that the Germans had similar anxieties about deploying ground troops. Mr Keohane said the Italians "have less baggage than the French"; because there are fewer Jews in Italy and because there was less history of Italian colonial occupation in Muslim countries.

The Guardian, 21 August
Europe balks at Lebanon troop commitment
"It's pretty self-evident that nobody wants to send troops if they think they are going to have to do peacemaking rather than peacekeeping, or if they think they are going to get caught in the crossfire,'' said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank. "And given how many French soldiers died in Lebanon in the '80s, I think that kind of reluctance is understandable.'' ...Grant, of the Centre for European Reform, said Europe's slow response was reasonable. "I don't think the fact that Europeans are unwilling to send forces unless certain conditions are met means they're wimpish or not in favor of a European defense policy or foreign policy. It just means they're being prudent and sensible,'' he said. "I think there's going to have to be a peace to be kept, or nobody - Europeans or anybody - is going to want to send troops.''

Newsweek, 21-28 August 2006
Universities Branch Out - From their student bodies to their research practices, universities are becoming more global
According to 'The Future of European Universities: Renaissance or Decay?' published by the Centre for European Reform a devastating recent critique by Confederation of British Industry Director General Richard Lambert and Nick Butler, Chief of Strategic Planning at British Petroleum, European governments have systematically weakened their top universities, once the pride of the world. They have invested too little in research, spread limited resources across too many institutions, expanded enrollments without increasing faculty and refused to allow universities sufficient autonomy, the report says. To flourish, they need to concentrate more resources in the hands of the strongest universities and allow them to generate revenue by charging tuition fees like their US counterparts — and awarding financial aid to those in greatest need.

Easy Bourse, 19 August 2006
Europe aversion to send troops to Lebanon fuels staid image
"It's pretty self-evident that nobody wants to send troops if they think they are going to have to do peacemaking rather than peacekeeping, or if they think they are going to get caught in the crossfire", said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank. "And given how many French soldiers died in Lebanon in the 80s, I think that kind of reluctance is understandable." ... Grant said Europe's slow response was reasonable. "I don't think the fact that Europeans are unwilling to send forces unless certain conditions are met means they're wimpish or not in favour of a European defence policy or foreign policy. It just means they're being prudent and sensible", he said. "I think there's going to have to be a peace to be kept, or nobody - Europeans or anybody - is going to want to send troops."

International Herald Tribune, 11 August 2006
Solana, EU's 'good cop,' takes stage
Analysts like Daniel Keohane, foreign policy expert at the Centre for European Reform, based in London, say it is unfair to pin the blame for the EU's foreign policy shortcomings on Solana, because his role is severely circumscribed. "Solana may have the hardest diplomatic job in the world because he can't do anything when the EU member states don't agree, which is often the case", Keohane said.
 
Christian Science Monitor, 10 August 2006
Nuclear power's green promise dulled by rising temps
"The jury is still out", says Simon Tilford, an analyst with the Centre for European Reform in London, where the summer heat brought scattered blackouts. "But I think the government has had some success at turning public opinion around because they argued the environmental case."

European Voice, 3 - 30 August 2006
Do G6 meetings help or hinder EU policy
Hugo Brady, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London says that in the absence of serious co-operation between EU states on justice issues those interested in moving forward should be allowed to do so. "It creates a dynamic in what is not a dynamic area", he says... Brady adds that G6 meetings and similar gatherings are good forums for justice ministries, which are generally highly conservative and protective of their powers. "These meetings take place on a loose basis where ministers are more comfortable to come to the table. They are often suspicious of the Commission's motives on justice and home affairs.. It would have been better to have had everyone in from the start but European intergration has never been a perfect science."

Bloomberg, 8 August 2006
Deport or welcome? Immigrant children pose French vote dilemma
"France has successfully assimilated large numbers of immigrants in the past, but they don't believe in their ability to do it again", said Simon Tilford, an economist at Centre for European Reform, a London-based research institute.

International Herald Tribune, 7 August 2006
Lebanon crisis puts France back in the diplomatic spotlight
"France wants to show that it is still a big player with a global vocation in foreign policy", said Daniel Keohane, international security expert at the London-based Centre for European Reform. "It also wants to show that isn't just the U.S. that decides things in the world or the Middle East."

The Guardian, 4 August 2006
New European movements
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, believes that Europe will have hard lessons to learn once the crisis passes. Germany will emerge unscathed but Britain will be criticised. "It is a kneejerk response that no German chancellor can criticise Israel. That has been the case for half a century and nobody is saying that should change. We should be indulgent of the Germans. The British position is less excusable because we are not in the same sensitive historical position as Germany. Britain is seen as scampering after the US. This is preventing a united European approach and is damaging British soft power in the EU, let alone in the Middle East."

Defense news, 4 August 2006
Doubts grow over Ukraine's NATO entry under new prime minsiter
It is very unlikely that there will be a membership action plan for Ukraine agreed at NATO's Riga summit (this November)", said Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform think-tank in London. "Some European governments will be relieved, because they were afraid that America was going to try to push Ukraine into NATO sooner than most Europeans would be comfortable with. Particularly France and Germany."

Expansión, 4 August 2006
Cómo hacer que la Complutense pueda llegar a ser igual que Harvard
Según el Centre For European Reform, Reino Unido es un ejemplo de lo que está en juego en la UE. Con el actual sistema, sus universidades no disponen de incentivos financieros para atraer estudiantes de, por ejemplo, Polonia, quienes, antes de su ingreso en la UE, accedían en las mismas condiciones económicas que los ciudadanos británicos.

International Herald Tribune, 1 August 2006
Letter From Europe: European leaders face knife's edge in Mideast
"Britain is completely overstretched in Iraq and Afghanistan", said Charles Grant director of the Centre for European Reform.

Irish Times, 1 August 2006
EU seeks united voice while Middle East death toll rises
"When two big states such as France and Britain don't agree on a policy, then the EU has little influence. You have the same situation as in the war against Iraq", says Daniel Keohane, an analyst with the Centre for European Reform (CER) in London... Institutional weakness is another factor which impedes Europe's foreign policy, and particularly its ability to speak with a single voice, according to CER's Daniel Keohane. "Solana is no foreign minister. He is a type of chairman with less power. His influence also depends on how well he gets on with the presidency", he says.

Financial Times, 26 July 2006
Polish purge of pro-Europe officials prompts fears
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, said the purge was highly damaging for Warsaw’s EU policy. “Swieboda has been a dominant figure in Poland’s relationship with the EU in recent years”, he said.

New York Times, 25 July 2006
After reaching outward, Poland looks back to its roots
In the West, ever since the rejection by France and the Netherlands of a proposed constitution that was supposed to put enlarged Europe into its next phase of integration, there seems to be no energy and no political will directed toward what used to be enthusiastically called the European project. Instead, the European Union is experiencing what the Centre for European Reform in London has called an unprecedented malaise, signaled by a retreat into a narrow defence of national interests.

The Daily Telegraph, 24 July 2006
Free market storms Europe's left-leaning citadels - for now
"As recently as the early 1990s, cross-border mergers simply didn't happen in Europe", said Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform. "The wave of protectionist rhetoric this year is a convulsive spasm, a sign that these takeovers are really biting. The French can huff and puff but there is not a lot they can do. For all their protectionist instincts, they have never actually flouted EU competition law."

Aujord'hui, 20 July 2006
Vers la fin de la politique européenne de voisinage
Charles Grant, directeur du Centre pour les réformes européennes, cité par le "Guardian" qualifie un tel scénario de "grave erreur". Pour cet expert, "les problèmes de l'Afrique du Nord sont tout aussi importants que ceux des pays d'Europe de l'Est."

International Herald Tribune, 19 July 2006
Envoy says EU is 'ready to help' end fighting
"The EU is based on consensus and has a hard time responding during crises", said Mark Leonard, foreign policy expert at the Centre for European Reform, in London. "And it is now floundering because all the previous givens and consensus on the Middle East have become obsolete."

Christian Science Monitor, 18 July 2006
US mission: missile defense base in Europe
"Because of Iran and North Korea, the United States was bound to start exploring its options in Poland, the Czech Republic, in Britain even", says Daniel Keohane, a defence expert at the Centre for European Reform in London. In Europe, regional missile defence has not been a major agenda topic since Sept. 11, 2001, when counterterrorism became a higher priority. That's going to change, say experts like Mr. Keohane: NATO is expected to release a new report on trans-Atlantic missile defence during its summit in Riga, Latvia in November. European governments, Keohane says, "will want convincing that [a missile defence base] can work, but they will want to be involved. They'll want to explore their options as much as possible. This is an exploratory time for this issue."

The Guardian, 17 July 2006
EU to downgrade relations with Middle Eastern partners
"The problems of North Africa are just as important to the EU as those of eastern Europe. It is wrong to tell North Africa that because they are Muslims and live in sandy places, they can't be integrated", said Charles Grant, the director for the Centre for European Reform.

Bloomberg, 17 July 2006
G-8 leaders set conditions for halt to Middle East violence
"It's a little bit of something for everyone, which is a good thing. It looked at one point as if there could have been a rift between the major powers because Bush seemed reluctant to criticize anything Israel was doing,'' Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in London, said in a telephone interview. She called the agreement "as much as we can expect'' given tensions in the region.

Christian Science Monitor, 13 July 2006
In Europe, universities struggle to compete and adapt
"Over time, they will have to change to compete", says Richard Lambert, director general of the Confederation of British Industry and author of a new report on the state of European higher education for the Centre for European Reform.

Voice of America, 7 July 2006
EU official: Nuclear talks with Iran constructive
Analyst Daniel Keohane, of the Centre for European Reform, in London said the new, upbeat mood may reflect a shift in Iran's position in the standoff. "My sense is that the Iranians have begun to realize that they may have overplayed their hand over the last few months - that they were not able to split the UN security council as easily as they had expected," he said. "That the EU and the United States have worked hard to keep Russia and China on board and to get the Iranians back to the table. And I think that's why the European Union in particular is more upbeat on the fact the Iranians have come back."

Associated Press, 5 July 2006
Muted reaction to Gaza offensive highlights shift in EU Mideast policy
The election of Hamas has obviously changed the dynamics of the problem and ended the almost automatic solidarity with the Palestinians," said Mark Leonard, a foreign policy analyst at London's Centre for European Reform.

Focus News [Bulgaria], 4 July 2006
Kosovo unstoppable on its way to conditional independence
According to Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform. London will encourage Serbia to focus its efforts on the progress of its EU integration. He assessed as wrong the verbal skirmish between Serbia and Brussels commenting on Vojislav Kostunica's statement that Brussels' policy is unproductive. The analyst pointed out that the gloomy atmosphere in the EU with regard to the enlargement has nothing to do with Serbia, Turkey or Macedonia but is due to inner conditions related to the discarding of the constitution and the bad state of the European economy. Europe has temporary difficulties also in dealing with the consequences from the last expansion in 2004 and from the forthcoming accession of the two new members – Bulgaria and Romania. And because of this feeling of overcrowding the EU is not in a hurry to accept new members, Grant points out.

The Birmingham Post, 3 July 2006
French politicians doing little to prevent foreign takeovers
With President Jacques Chirac and Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin slumping in the opinion polls ahead of next year's elections, the government may be accepting it is too weak to fight battles with the market. "I don't think there was anything really solid behind it," said Aurore Wanlin, a policy researcher at the London-based think-tank, Centre for European Reform. The government is going to play its anti-liberalisation card but that doesn't mean in practice that it will translate into concrete action," she said.

The Guardian, 1 July 2006
Whatever happened to ... Radovan Karadzic?
In May, the EU called off talks with Serbia over closer ties because of its failure to hand over the general. "He is almost certainly being protected by the Yugoslav People's Army," says Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform.

Le Monde, 30 June 2006
La diplomatie communautaire à l'épreuve
Le chercheur britannique Mark Leonard estime, dans une récente publication du Centre for European Reform intitulée Can EU diplomacy stop Iran's nuclear programme ? ('La diplomatie européenne peut-elle stopper le programme nucléaire de l'Iran ?', novembre 2005), que la politique de l'Union a déjà produit des effets positifs. Même si les conversations sont dans l'impasse, les Européens n'excluent pas un revirement des dirigeants iraniens.

International Herald Tribune, 28 June 2006
Barroso takes aim at policing
Some analysts, said Europe's experience with terrorism could help persuade many governments to make the changes. "People realize that improving such EU powers are justified to combat terrorism and are not an attempt to turn Brussels into an EU superstate," said Mark Leonard, an analyst of EU policy at the Centre for European Reform in London.

Newsweek International, 26 June 2006
New Europe: Eastern disillusion
"The new members have benefited hugely from integration with the larger and prosperous economies of Western Europe", says Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform.

New York Times, 22 June 2006
Bush, facing skeptics in Europe, defends his Iraq policy
"I don't think Europeans are ever going to learn to love George Bush", said Mark Leonard, of the Centre for European Reform. But, he said, "I think there has been a remarkable honeymoon between governments."

Bloomberg, 22 June 2006
De Villepin's influence wanes following outburst, setbacks
"UMP lawmakers are getting increasingly worried that de Villepin is becoming more of a liability", said Aurore Wanlin, of the Centre for European Reform. "They would rather he kept as silent as possible and avoid another CPE [Contrat Premiere Embauche]. I don't know whether that's in his character."

CNN, 20 June 2006
Europe, friend or foe?
"He and his chief advisers like Condoleezza Rice, the Secretary of State, have made a big effort to adopt a softer, calmer more moderate tone. That means not to lecture us, to hector us, but actually to talk to us about common issues and not simply to try to impose their views on us", says Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform.

The Daily Mail, 14 June 2006
Hoon mission to hail value of EU
A new mission to explain the value of the European Union to the British public is to be announced by Europe minister Geoff Hoon. Years after successive Tory and Labour leaders vowed to put the nation at the heart of Europe, Mr Hoon is effectively saying it is time to put Europe at the heart of Britain. He is using his first keynote speech since becoming Europe minister - for the second time - to set out a new agenda explaining how and why the EU is central to tackling many major concerns of the public, including climate change. In an address at a London seminar hosted by the Centre for European Reform, he will say it is now vital to revive interest in what the EU does, adding: "An inability to see how events in Brussels affect life and work in the UK is magnified by the effect the continuing debate on the future of Europe has on the British public. "My aim is to restart the debate in this country - and in particular to rekindle interest in the European Union. "We need to show the British people that the European Union can and does make a difference to their lives. And more importantly - show that the EU is not only setting out a new agenda which tackles the issues people really care about, but is central to solving many of the most pressing problems of the 21st century." The speech comes as the EU continues to struggle with the aftermath of French and Dutch referendum rejections a year ago of the proposed new constitution, designed to shake up the EU institutions and make decision-making easier in an expanded 25-nation bloc. A "period of reflection" following the setback has now been extended amid genuine puzzlement in Brussels over what to do next - apart from promise to listen more carefully to an increasingly disenchanted public across the Union.

New York Times, 13 June 2006
European Union takes first steps to include Turkey and Croatia
"The political price of stopping the process of enlargement now is very large", said Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform. Another important factor is that "the process of accession can virtually transform a country", Ms. Barysch said, using as examples the transformation of the economy in Poland and other East European countries.

Newsweek, 12 June 2006
Where the future is a dead end
From grade schools to universities, Europe's underfunded, antiquated education systems are failing a new generation
A scathing report comes out this week from London's Centre for European Reform. A "grim" educational "malaise" grips higher learning in Europe, the authors conclude. Most of its best universities are "clearly in the second division," they say, worsened by an "exodus of academic talent."

Bloomberg, 12 June 2006
Turkey, seeking to join EU, faces warning on rights, Cyprus
"Cyprus right now is the only issue over which the EU might halt the talks and I can't really see a way out", Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in London, said. "If that issue flares up, we might get more economic instability in Turkey."

Bloomberg, 12 June 2006
Europe's currency won't work as rich man's club
"This is not about Lithuania", said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform. "It is about Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic, and whether a precedent should be set for them to bend the rules as well."

Scotland on Sunday, 11 June 2006
Universities of strife
A report on the future of European universities released last week by the Centre for European reform, a UK think tank, found that 18 of the world's top 20 universities are in the United States.

Financial Times, 6 June 2006
Chancellor reveals planning overhaul
Speaking at a Centre for European Reform seminar in 11 Downing Street on European universities, Mr Brown said: "What is clear to me is that spending in the order of 1.1 per cent on higher education, given the dsignificance that we attach to universities and university research fot the future of the economy as a whole, is not a figure that can stay at that level."

Voice of America, 5 June 2006
Iran to get nuclear 'Incentives' Tuesday
Daniel Keohane, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London, says Mr. Solana's trip is as much about dialogue than about the incentive package itself. "The first point is to keep the pressure on the Iranians," said Keohane. "The U.S. has basically made it clear it wants dialogue. Up until then, the Iranians had been complaining that the Americans weren't interested in dialogue. So Solana is trying to keep the pressure on the Iranians to try and be constructive." Keohane says the US offer for talks has strengthened the Europeans hand as it pushes for negotiations to end the dispute. The offer also pressures two other parties in the talks, Russia and China, to be more flexible in dealing with Iran. Both countries have been reluctant about imposing United Nations sanctions, if Tehran does not give up its nuclear program.

MSNBC, 5 June 2006
French Muslim businessman bucks the trend
Aurore Wanlin, of the Centre for European Reform, said unemployment is so pervasive for all young French adults partly because they spend a long time in education, thus entering the job market later. But youths in the suburbs face a further set of challenges."These young people in the banlieus are stuck in a vicious cycle because they want to integrate, to get jobs, but they are unable to do so — with no car, no driving license and less opportunities to education", she said, adding that rigidity in the employment market was hampering job growth for everyone in France, not just for young minorities.

Newsweek, 4 June 2006
Where the future is a dead end
A scathing report comes out this week from London's Centre for European Reform. A "grim" educational "malaise" grips higher learning in Europe, the authors conclude. Most of its best universities are "clearly in the second division," they say, worsened by an "exodus of academic talent."

Reuters, 1 June 2006
US move on Iran is win for EU, but risks remain
"If Iran rejects this package, then the problems start, and we'll see if it's possible to hold the coalition together," said Mark Leonard, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform. "The chances still are it's not going to work," he said, noting that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had gained popularity at home by taking a hard line on the nuclear issue. Leonard, who has followed the EU-Iran negotiations closely, said even among European countries, there would be divisions over anything more than symbolic sanctions such as visa bans on officials involved in the nuclear programme. "What the Americans are really interested in is an investment freeze. That is difficult to sell within Europe and even more difficult with Russia and China," he said.

CNS news.com, 1 June 2006
Court ruling on US-EU passenger agreement not seen to affect ties
However, Americans would probably "smile a bit ruefully" at the complications involved in dealing with the E.U., said Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform in London. The European Court of Justice decision was based on a technicality: the Luxembourg-based tribunal said the two-year-old agreement was not "founded on an appropriate legal basis." ...The required details include names, addresses and credit card information, but also less obvious information. "For example, PNR data would let them know who checked in very late, did they check in baggage at the last minute, what kind of meal did they eat, and did they pay cash," Brady explained. "And all these things would trigger the kind of defenses put in place by customs and immigration officials and they'd be waiting for that individual when he or she lands." ...There's no doubt that the agreement does not operate on the basis of reciprocity," said Brady. The Europeans were "not getting the same information from the US." "The traffic is of people wanting to go to the United States under the visa waiver program and therefore the onus is on the European countries to provide the information."

CNBC European Business, June 2006
Bring on the Balkans
"There were more caveats than commitments, and for the first time the issue of [EU] absorption capacity was raised, but nothing positive emerged. If we can't offer the countries a perspective of eventual membership, it is difficult to demand things from them," says Katinka Barysch, enlargement specialist at the London-based think-tank, the Centre for European Reform. Next door, uncertainty over the future status of Kosovo has put Pristina's relationship with Brussels on hold. Bosnia-Herzegovina is stable but, as Barysch suggests, still resembles a protectorate rather than a country. To the south, reforms in Albania inch forward, although the country's negative image is holding back much needed FDI, something Brussels could also influence if it so desired. "Serbia is in a recovery phase and still needs substantial investment in its institutions, its infrastructure and the like. But at the end of the day this – like all the other countries – is small and EU assistance would go a long way," says Katinka Barysch.

Cinco Dias, 30 May 2006
La UE se despide del sueño constitucional
Mark Leonard, del instituto de estudios londinense Centre for Europea Reform, apunta también a la supresión de la presidencia semestral de la UE y a la unificación de la política exterior comunitaria (ahora en manos del secretario general, Javier Solana, y de la comisaria de Exteriores, Benita Ferrero-Waldner) como dos de las reformas que deberán acometerse en el nuevo Tratado...En todo caso, el abandono de la Constitución no disipará los problemas de ratificación. Mark Leonard, del Centre for European Reform, advierte que los últimos referéndum "han aumentado la presión política para que se celebren otros aunque los cambios que se introduzcan en el Tratado sean modestos."

AFX Europe, 30 May 2006
Poland scores worst in meeting EU's Lisbon objectives - World Bank
Citing a "Lisbon scorecard" compiled by the London-based Centre for European Reform, the World Bank said "Poland had the lowest ranking, followed by Slovakia ...While Slovakia struggles with liberalisation of the telecoms market, Poland is facing serious problems in the areas of employment, research and development, transport, financial services, state aid and the social protection system", it said."Poland's and Slovakia's R+D spending have declined since 2004. The European Commission estimates that it will take Poland and Slovakia approximately 50 years to reach EU25 innovation performance." New members' performance in meeting Lisbon's technology innovation goals also varied widely."Slovenia almost reached the EU 15 average of 53 percent of households having internet access whereas Lithuania is among the worst performers with only 16 percent", the report said.

Voice of America, 30 May 2006
EU court rules air passenger information deal illegal
Hugo Brady, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform, says security officials hoped to create profiles of passengers based on small details."That includes how you paid for your ticket, what kind of meal did you request, where did you ask to sit", he said.  "And U.S. border officials want to run these kinds of details through a list of indicators for suspicious behavior, like boarding an aircraft."

Le Figaro, 29 May 2006
Un an après le non, l'Europe avance, cahin-caha
"L'élargissement et les réformes économiques sont les deux grands perdants de l'après-29 mai", déplore Charles Grant, le directeur du Centre for European Reform (CER), un centre d'études de référence, établi à Londres. "Le vote français a été interprété comme un non à la mondialisation, au modèle anglosaxon, à la remise en cause des avantages acquis : du coup, tout est bloqué!"

The Economist, 27 May 2006
Stuck in the doldrums - One year after the French non and the Dutch nee, it is time to bury the EU constitution
Yet the EU's real failing is not a democratic or institutional deficit - it is what the Centre for European Reform, a London think-tank, has terment a "delivery deficit".

Financial Times, 26 May 2006
How Europe's new double act is setting an agenda for reform
"The fact that Barroso is close to Merkel means he can't be written off in Paris any more as a British secret agent", says Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform.

Washington Post, 26 May 2006
Blair and Bush are duo Even in descent
"One of the reasons Blair is unpopular, even in his own party, is because he has been so close to Bush", said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform in London. He said that in Bush's second term, the administration has worked hard to repair relations with European allies. But he said that while the European foreign policy elite was aware of the change, the general public was not -- and impressions of Bush had hardened."The thing public opinion focuses on is Iraq, which is still there", he said.

Mail & Guardian, 23 May 2006
Montenegro vote opens separatist Pandora's box
Tim Judah, a Balkans specialist, who wrote a report for the Centre for European Reform based in London said regional stability depended far more on Kosovo - "the final act in this 15-year drama" - than on Montenegro. "Compared to Kosovo, Montenegro is easy", he said, stressing that "Kosovo is a much, much bigger problem."

San Jose Mercury News, 19 May 2006
Support for European Union constitution gains new momentum
"The mistake was asking the people if they wanted the constitution", said Hugo Brady, an expert on EU issues for the London-based Centre for European Reform. "Individuals don't easily see the advantages of a multinational organisation. It's not a popular opinion, I suppose, but I don't see why a popular vote on a European constitution was a good idea."

International Herald Tribune, 18 May 2006
Questions for Merkel on Congo
Daniel Keohane, defence analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London, said Merkel wanted to strengthen the EU's ability to play a more active security role outside Europe.  "And once the UN asked the EU to help, it was very difficult to say no", Keohane said.
 
International Herald Tribune, 17 May 2006
EU gives a qualified yes to two in East Europe
"The lesson of this accession is that you don't give the carrot away before the conditions for membership have been fulfilled", said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the London-based Centre for European Reform, a think tank. "Now the EU is trying to introduce uncertainty, but the EU has lost a lot of its leverage to keep them on their toes."

Irish Times, 16 May 2006
Slovenia likely to become the first accession state to join eurozone
"The whole debate about Lithuania isn't about Lithuania", said Katinka Barysch, economist at the Centre for European Reform. "It's about Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary."

Voice of America, 16 May 2006
EU delays decision on Romania, Bulgaria Accession
Experts like Katinka Barysch, of the London-based Centre for European Reform, say the EU has long been prodding Romania and Bulgaria to speed up political and economic reforms."It is an attempt by the EU to introduce an element of uncertainty into the accession process of Bulgaria and Romania, simply because the EU had done something that it has never done before: It basically said to these countries, 'We are going to give you a date for entry no matter what.'" By injecting this new uncertainty, Barysch says, the EU is trying to increase pressure on both countries to crack down on political corruption and crime, among other problems. Neither country is likely to be upset about the delay."For them it is still good news because the EU did not say, 'No, you cannot come in; no, you have to wait until 2008'" she said."It said , 'Yes, you can come in, but you have to continue doing your homework.'"

Bloomberg, 15 May 2006
Romania, Bulgaria may get EU approval by advancing crime battle
"It has always been political and it always will be political", said Katinka Barysch chief economist at the London- based research group Centre for European Reform. "If I was an investor, I wouldn't focus too much on all the ups and downs.''

Le Monde, 13 May 2006
La mauvaise idée de l'Europe-plateau, par Eric Le Boucher
Charles Grant, directeur du CER (Centre for European Reform, www.cer.org.uk) de Londres, propose un "manifeste" réhabilitant les "avant-gardes" de pays autour de politiques à la carte. Pour redresser la croissance, noeud du problème européen, il souhaite une politique monétaire moins rigoureuse mais une application beaucoup plus déterminée de l'agenda de Lisbonne (recherche et développement et libéralisation des marchés publics).

Washington Post, 6 May 2006
With smear scandal, France near paralysis
"The problem in France is that the political and diplomatic and official elite are stuck in a time warp of believing in l'exception française", said Charles Grant director of the Centre for European Reform in London, referring to a belief that France is in a class of its own.

The Washington Times, 6 May 2006
US can't count on European support in Iran war
"Diplomacy has got a long way to run," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform in London. "But a few years down the line, we may have a serious trans-Atlantic rift over Iran." ..."I don't think Europe is likely to split on this," Mr. Grant said. "Europeans would not agree to support military action. Not even the British would or could join a U.S. military action against Iran because of Iraq."

CBS news, 6 May 2006
European elections show 50/50 Divide - Voters want reform, but not too much, recent results show
"Europeans want change but they are scared of it. They realize the status quo is unsustainable, but they are frightened that reforms will hurt them," says Mark Leonard, director of foreign policy at the Centre for European Reform. ...They are often not willing to ride roughshod over people's fears," says Mr. Leonard. "But at the same time, few major parties in Europe run on a platform of simply maintaining the status quo. So there is an underlying similarity of approaches between the left and the right: Different parties just play different mood music about how the reform should be done," he says.

Le Monde, 4 May 2006
Clarifier les objectifs de l'Union, par Thomas Ferenczi
Une étude du Centre pour la réforme européenne, un think tank britannique, confirme ce jugement. Son auteur, Katinka Barysch, estime que l'élargissement a été bénéfique à l'Europe dans son ensemble. Des milliers d'emplois ont été créés en Europe centrale et orientale grâce aux investissements venus de l'Ouest. Des délocalisations ont eu pour conséquence, il est vrai, de supprimer des emplois en Europe occidentale mais elles ont aussi permis, selon l'auteur, d'en préserver ou d'en créer d'autres, à plus haute valeur ajoutée, au prix d'une nouvelle division paneuropéenne du travail, qui aidera l'Europe à affronter la compétition mondiale.

Voice of America, 3 May 2006
EU suspends talks with Serbia over Mladic
Every Balkan country except Bosnia and Serbia has such a special EU agreement that provides closer political and economic ti