American Voice, 21 Dec 2007
British unease grows with foreign workers
Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform says migrant workers are behind Britain's economic boom. "Really, immigration in this sense as per the 2004 enlargement has been a win-win situation. I can't think of any situation in Europe in which it has not been beneficial," he said. ...Hugo Brady says there is another factor. "People will always fear the 'other' and they don't like the idea of strangers descending on them even if it is a good thing, even if they themselves have benefited from it," he added. "Somehow this prejudice remains."

Speigel, 19 December 2007
Passport-free travel from Estonia to Portugal
Some, though, feel that expanding Schengen actually increases security. Hugo Brady, a research fellow at the London-based Centre for European Reform, points out that co-operation with countries like Ukraine, Belarus and Russia will only increase now that Europe's border free zone buts up against them. "Borders are hard to manage. All you can do is boost cooperation with colleagues on the other side of them," Brady told Spiegel online. "Opportunities for criminals expand in parallel with those for legitimate business. That's just the way the world works. My feeling is that we do not have to worry about anything as far as security goes."

Le Monde, 18 December 2007
Angela Merkel rompt avec le pragmatisme diplomatique de Berlin
"Merkel fait front. Elle dit: 'oui, nous allons faire des affaires avec les Russes et les Chinois, mais je n'ai pas peur des divergences quand elles existent'", commente Katinka Barysch, directrice adjointe du Centre pour les réformes européennes.

International Herald Tribune, 18 December 2007
Landmark European court ruling backs company in use of foreign labour
Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a research institute in London, said, "It does not have an impact on countries like the United Kingdom where there is a minimum wage and no collective bargaining covering construction, though it could affect Sweden, Denmark or Germany." But he added that the effect was likely to be less dramatic than some Swedish critics suggest. "I don't think the Nordic model will fall apart because it's easier to have companies coming from abroad and tendering for contracts," Tilford said, "at the edges there may be some erosion but I don't think it poses a real threat."

Reuters, 17 December 2007
Merkel stand on rights marks German policy shift
"Merkel is standing up," said Katinka Barysch, deputy director at the Centre for European Reform. "She's saying: Yes, we're going to do business with the Russians and the Chinese but I'm not afraid to articulate differences where they exist."

Deutsche Presse-Agentur, 14 December 2007
EU reflection group - a pawn in the next big fight?
"It's a part of the never-ending game of the balance of power and the direction of the European project," Hugo Brady, research fellow at the London-based Centre for European Reform, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa. ...But observers say that EU states are already trying to find influence within the group, in the hope that it will strengthen their hands in arguments in years to come. "Won't everyone want someone they can influence on it?" Brady asked rhetorically.

The Independent, 14 December 2007
Brown derided for late arrival at EU treaty signing
Hugo Brady, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said: "There is no better manifestation of his lack of interest in Europe than his thinking that missing the signature would not be a big deal."

The Telegraph, 14 December 2007
Gordon Brown dithers over EU treaty
Even pro-Europeans said Mr Brown's failure to attend the full summit had weakened Britain's diplomatic standing. Hugo Brady, of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, criticised "very ham-fisted diplomacy" on the part of Mr Brown.

Agence France Presse, 13 December 2007
EU leaders sign landmark reform treaty with British PM absent
The absence of Brown from the signing ceremony was condemned by critics as a cowardly attempt to distance himself from the EU pact, widely unpopular in Britain. "There is no better manifestation of his lack of interest in Europe than his thinking that missing the signature would not be a big deal," said Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank.

Time, 12 December 2007
The EU treaty's flying circus
Part of the problem is the way the EU's six-month presidencies bring out national egos. "The current system of ridiculous six-month presidencies means that countries will want to use their time to earn prestige," said Hugo Brady of the London-based Centre for European Reform (CER). He suggested that the Lisbon Treaty could bring an end to such practices, as it will replace six-month presidencies with 18-month stretches jointly shared by three countries, as well as a permanent president to host the summits.

The Guardian, 12 December 2007
Brown will now go to Lisbon and sign EU treaty - but by himself
Hugo Brady, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said: "There could be no better symbol of Brown's semi-detached attitude to Europe. Ideally he would have attended the ceremony and not made a big deal of it."

Reuters, 12 December 2007
EU must live with "virtual unity" on Kosovo
However there is no way round the recognition issue and EU officials are resigned to some EU capitals taking months to recognise an independent Kosovo - if ever, in Cyprus' case. "It was always understood there would be outliers," said Tomas Valasek of the London-based Centre for European Reform think-tank, forecasting it would not be a problem unless major countries such as Spain refused to recognise it.

Voice of America, 6 December 2007
NATO ministers prepare to discuss Afghanistan, Kosovo
Defense expert Thomas Valasek says the key question for NATO is not whether it will maintain its 1,600-man peacekeeping force in Kosovo after December 10, but just what role it will play. "By now, the NATO allies should have run through all the possible scenarios of what could happen in Kosovo on the assumption there will be a unilateral declaration of independence. And NATO should be fully preparing along with the European Union and United Nations for all the possible scenarios," he said. Valasek, an analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform, says those scenarios include how to deal with violence and refugees following a likely independence declaration by Kosovo. But he says NATO is not getting clear instructions about what its role should be from member nations. Afghanistan is another stumbling block. The United States has asked NATO members to beef up their commitment in there - with little response, Valasek notes. "It is an incredibly frustrating process for the NATO secretary general. It is an incredibly corrosive process for the cohesion within the alliance," he said. "There are a number of allies - the Dutch, the Canadians, the Brits - who rightly feel they are not being given enough solidarity."

Financial Times, 6 December 2007
Europe's red tape and how to survive it
Most small British businesses break a slew of minor national and EU laws before they have even fed the office cat in the morning. But Simon Tilford of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, still rates the UK at the top of the class for implementing and enforcing EU laws.

AFP, 6 December 2007
EU seeks new post-colonial relationship with Africa
At present the European Union is Africa's biggest trading partner. China sits in the third place but its growing aid, investments and influence in the region were reflected in November 2006 when the inaugural China-Africa summit was held. "There is a real sense that China is running rampant on the African continent without the EU wielding any influence," argues Hugo Brady, research fellow at London's Centre for European Reform. ...EU countries such as France, Spain and Malta will be keen to discuss the immigration problem, with Centre of European Reform researcher Brady expecting discussion on various ideas including agreement for African nations to take back illegal immigrants from Europe in return for extra EU work visas.

Reuters, 4 December 2007
Europe urges Russia election probe
Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform said the EU had shown it had little ability to influence Russian internal developments, but Rachel Denber of Human Rights Watch said Brussels and Washington had to redouble their efforts. "Europe needs Russian gas, but Russia needs the European market," she said. "Europe and the Americans need to be talking to the Russians about what is everybody's common interest. A stable Russia is in everybody's common interest and that's not what the Kremlin is building."

In the news, 4 December 2007
Darling to fight finance changes
In a speech to the Centre for European Reform last month, economic secretary to the Treasury Kitty Ussher explained: "To legislate for a common method of supervision, and fully harmonised rules, would create a massive and dislocating economic distortion that would – certainly in the short and medium term – act against the very aim of increased prosperity that we are trying to achieve."

EU Business, 28 November 2007
EU seeks Mideast influence by building Palestinian state
Holding little or no sway over Israel, the EU has instead sent hundreds of millions of euros each year in humanitarian aid and will undoubtedly help fund the second of the "two states" outlined in the Middle East roadmap. "The EU is always the one, in some ways, to pick up the Palestinian tab," said Clara Marina O'Donnell, researcher at the London-based think-tank the Centre for European Reform. "If the EU wants to have more influence, it has to improve its image and its clout in Israel's eye. Israel still trusts particularly the US, and does not trust the EU, in some ways, to be a reliable actor or to deliver," she said.

Financial Times, 27 November 2007
Stumbling towards mutual understanding
"Even if the EU assumes that China will remain a success story, it is not clear what kind of power it will become," says Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank. "Europeans will hope that China takes its place in the multilateral sort of world that they would prefer. But China may not want a rules-based international system with strong multilateral institutions."

Bloomberg, 26 November 2007
Kosovo talks unlikely to resolve territory's future
"A breakthrough is highly unlikely", said Tomas Valasek, London-based director of foreign policy and defence at the Centre for European Reform, which conducts research and offers advice to governments. The mediators have "lost control over the political course and what happens now will be dictated by people on the ground", Valasek said today in an interview... " I hope that NATO and EU military planners are talking", said Valasek, who previously headed analysis for Slovakia's Defence Ministry. "It's not clear that there's a NATO-EU agreement'' to contain possible violence stemming from a unilateral declaration of independence by Kosovo.

Financial Times, 26 November 2007
Brown takes his eye off the EU ball
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, says "building relations with other European leaders is not Gordon's strong point".

Dow Jones, 26 November 2007
EU's Mandelson shifts tone on China as mood changes
Mandelson is expected to press Chinese officials to dismantle so-called "non-tariff barriers," such as regulations and state subsidies, to free up access to its domestic market, especially in banking, telecoms, insurance and construction. These industries are particularly dependent on Chinese growth for profits because their domestic markets are saturated "Mandelson argues that the (trade) deficit is being created because China protects its internal market; he will try to drive that message home," said Katinka Barysch at London's Centre for European Reform.

Radio Netherlands, 26 November 2007
Sarkozy's defence vision casts doubt over NATO's future
"There's certainly no shortage of conflicts, be it Kosovo, Bosnia or the Caucasus, where more European involvement is needed and would be welcomed", believes Tomas Valasek, defence expert at the Centre for European Reform. "But the majority of NATO states worry that greater French insistence for a bigger role for EU defence headquarters will ultimately undermine the North Atlantic Alliance."

International Herald Tribune, 22 November 2007
WTO gives EU more time on genetically modified foods
US officials said this week that Dimas's move was unprecedented because it brushed aside findings by EU scientists from 2005 that the corn posed no evident dangers. But Dimas said new evidence had come to light requiring further investigation. Simon Tilford, of the Centre for European Reform, a research institute in London, said the approach taken by Dimas could only worsen trade relations with the United States.

European Voice, 22 November 2007
Diplomats warn over poor EU-NATO communication
"Are we going to defend Kosovo's outside borders or the border between Albanians and Serbs [within Kosovo]?" asks Tomas Valasek, a defence analyst at the Centre for European Reform.

Voice of America, 19 November 2007
EU, mediterranean officials meet on illegal immigration
Many thousands of others perish trying to reach Europe's shores. And, as immigration analyst Hugo Brady points out, Europe and the countries from which immigrants originate or through which they transit see the question of immigration very differently. Those differences will likely be on display at the Albufeira meeting. "Both sides come to the table with connected sets of concerns," he said. "EU countries want only highly skilled migration ...that will help their economies grow. And, they also want the countries they [illegals] come from or transited through agree to take them back. Brady - a fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London - says Mediterranean countries want material help from Europe to fight the flow of immigrants - many of them from sub-Saharan Africa. And, they point to issues like European agricultural subsidies that make it very difficult for their own economies to grow - another factor driving people to immigrate. Brady notes the EU, itself, is divided over immigration. "There's a huge internal tension," he said. "So, the pursuit of a common European policy on migration would be the most ambitious goal the EU has yet attempted."

The Independent, 16 November 2007
Miliband: EU must be a model power, not a superstate
The Foreign Secretary was criticised for fighting a battle that the Government has already won in talks about the EU treaty, by continuing to insist that Britain would not countenance Europe becoming a superstate. "The British are still arguing about the threat of a superstate but the problem is that Britain is not sufficiently engaged in Europe," said Simon Tilford, of the Centre for European Reform.

Reuters, 15 November 2007
German reform changes risk turning off investors
"It's quite hard to argue for reforms against a backdrop of relatively robust growth," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in London. The German economy grew by 2.9 per cent last year, its fastest pace in six years. Trade unions have been emboldened by the upswing and have started winning bigger pay deals.

The Christian Science Monitor, 15 November 2007
French showdown over job benefits
"France is a classic insider-outsider story," says Simon Tilford, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London. "It's great if you're in a job. You work modest hours, you have a great pension and entitlements, you have all-encompassing employment rights." But the people outside, without lifetime sinecures in the public service or long-term contracts, bear the costs of maintaining those privileges, he adds. "The people defending the status quo claim to be doing so in the name of social justice," says Mr. Tilford, "and that's ridiculous."

The Guardian, 14 November 2007
In the delicate geometry of Iran lies the big test of Brown's political agility
Brown drew attention to the fact that Iranian nuclear activity had been "hidden from the world" for many years. It is this record of evasion, "of lying and cheating to the International Atomic Energy Agency", according to Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform, that has persuaded many otherwise doveish European governments that Tehran is up to something. Grant cites secret nuclear facilities in Iran whose existence was only admitted once dissident groups had revealed them.

Le Figaro, 14 November 2007
Gordon Brown garde ses distances avec le continent
Pour le reste, Gordon Brown se contente de prôner une «Europe globale», c’est-à-dire ouverte et capable de répondre à la mondialisation. «À cause de la polémique sur le minitraité, Brown se montre très prudent sur les questions européennes au risque de donner l’impression d’un désengagement, d’une perte d’influence», assure Simon Tilford, économiste au Centre for European Reform. Qu’importe, européen plus par nécessité que par conviction, le premier ministre pense global. Sa nouvelle devise : la nouvelle frontière est qu’il n’y a pas de frontière.

Morning Star, 14 November 2007
Mass strike halts French rail network
Analysts at the pro-EU think tank the Centre for European Reform argue that “these particular reforms are key.” Think-tank spokesman Philip Whyte warned that President Sarkozy’s “big bang” approach to “reform” could end up “undermining the reform process.” “There is a danger that Mr. Sarkozy is creating too many enemies at once,” Whyte observed.

The Irish Times, 13 November 2007
All-island bid to join Schengen could eliminate borders
It would also reaffirm to the Irish public that the Government, rather than Britain, is driving justice policy, according to Hugo Brady, an analyst at the London-based think tank Centre for European Reform. "Following on from Ireland's decision to follow London and opt out of key parts of the EU Reform Treaty, it increasingly looks like Ireland is a small country latched to Britain like a koala on justice issues... "By choosing Schengen, Ireland would gain independence and an equal place at the EU table," says Brady, who admits domestic politics in Britain make it highly unlikely London will join Schengen any time soon.

Associated Press, 13 November 2007
Unions test Sarkozy's resolve for reform
"These particular reforms are key," said Philip Whyte of the Centre for European Reform in London. "If he backs down, he will be another Jacques Chirac. His presidential authority will be destroyed." Whyte noted the risks in Sarkozy's "big bang" approach to reform. "There is a danger that by creating too many enemies at once he could end up undermining the reform process," he said.

The Guardian, 10 November 2007
A post-Bush America is not about to fall at Europe's feet
The prospect of a more pliable, Iraq-chastened and multilateralist US, willing to solve international problems on terms comfortable to Europeans, is an alluring one. But, as Kori Schake wisely points out in a report just issued by the Centre for European Reform, it is also mostly an illusion. Indeed, if Schake's thesis is correct, the mutual incomprehension between Europe and America in the Bush years may quickly take on a new but scarcely less intractable form under his successor. Partly this is because most of the candidates of all parties take a very different line to most Europeans on global and international issues - including China, the Middle East, the Balkans, missile defence and Iran. There are important exceptions - climate change, trade and, above all, Iraq. Yet this does not mean that the incoming administration is likely to throw a switch and adopt what we might tag a European approach, whatever that quite means, on any of these three issues.

CBS News, 9 November 2007
Polish natives adopt new attitudes in UK
"What distinguishes the Polish community is that they all came at the same time. Almost 600,000 arrived within a two-year period," says Katinka Barysch, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform in London. "I think it could be the political landscape in Poland. People have come here, worked hard, fought for themselves, been successful, so they can go back to Poland and will demand something better and different."

The Economist, 8 November 2007
Life in the old European dogs yet
As Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank, puts it, the Americans respect Ms Merkel as the main driver of the European Union's emerging foreign policy, and they are impressed by Mr Sarkozy's efforts to reorient France (in a pro-American direction) and upgrade its military ties with NATO. By comparison, Mr Brown has so far chosen to be a bystander.

Financial Times, 8 November 2007
Politics puts pragmatism in jeopardy
The situation has been exacerbated because the US and Russia are taking a tough stance on CFE to improve their bargaining position on other diplomatic issues. Tomas Valasek, a defence expert at the Centre for European Reform in London, says: "Russia . . . has calculated that, unless it keeps up the pressure on CFE, the US won't move on its plans to deploy a ballistic missile defence system."

International Herald Tribune, 6 November 2007
EU to dismantle more border posts
Hugo Brady, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London, argued that there would inevitably be gaps in the new frontier, though he said there was no cause for alarm. "At the best of times borders are porous and land borders are difficult to police with 100 percent certainty even by countries like Finland that attain the gold standard," he said. "Economic opportunities for criminals increase in parallel with those for legitimate businesses when countries are more open for trade," Brady added.

Agence France Press, 6 November 2007
Six months on, Sarkozy faces black November
"This is the test of his [Sarkozy] presidency," said Philip Whyte, a senior research fellow at the Center for European Reform in London. "Its' going to be a Teutonic battle." Whyte drew a parallel with Margaret Thatcher's showdown with the miners in the 1980s that defined her legacy for taking on the unions. "It has the same kind of political symbolism," he said.

Agence France Press, 5 November 2007
Irish voters threaten EU ‘wake-up call’ on treaty
Hugo Brady of the London-based Centre for European Reform said that while it was too early to forecast how Irish voters would cast their ballots in next year’s referendum, the Dublin government must sit up and take notice. "It is a wake-up call," he said. "It seems to me that there is a certain complacency (in Dublin) on the treaty and they haven’t quite got their heads around the idea’ of how to sell it to voters." In Brussels, the European Commission declined to comment in detail on the Irish poll but a spokesman said it was up to Dublin to sell the treaty. "It is a good treaty. It is worth defending and it will be the (EU) member states which will be concluding this agreement. It is up to them to explain the advantages of this to their citizens," he said.

Earth Times, 5 November 2007
EU encouraged by talks with Israelis and Palestinians
While Israel has traditionally treated the EU with an element of mistrust, analysts say relations have improved since ebbing to a low during the 1990s. "Israel generally doesn't take the EU too seriously, but relations have certainly improved since the 1990s, when Israelis felt that Europe never took their side," said Clara Marina O'Donnell of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank.

International Herald Tribune, 1 November 2007
Letter from Europe: Seeking rapprochement, if not a grand bargain
Back in NATO, negotiations are rekindling fears among some East European countries that the West is going to appease Putin at the expense of their security. "Even though they are in NATO, the East Europeans worry that Russia will use any compromise to carve out its own sphere of influence in the neighbourhood, for example, Georgia and Moldova," said Tomas Valasek, a defense expert at the Centre for European Reform in London.

International Herald Tribune, 1 November 2007
EU report on Turkey deals new blow to Ankara's membership bid
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform research institute in London, said the document had come at a difficult time for Turkey. "A number of governments that have been pro-Turkey are now backpedaling or - like Denmark - keeping their heads down and leaving it to Britain, Sweden and the Commission to argue for Turkey" said Grant. "The best prospect for Turkey at the moment is just to keep going and hope that the climate in Europe changes - which it might do," Grant added.

International Herald Tribune, 31 October 2007
Amid confusion, European markets changes trading rules
Philip Whyte, senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform research institute in London, said complaints about compliance costs "have never really died down" over the years. "But in some of the established financial centers like London, there is a view that this is a directive from which the big centers could conceivably benefit," he added. ..."Given time to bed down it could increase competition and could have an important impact on transaction costs, and that could be a good thing," Whyte said of the new rules.

Russia Profile, 31 October 2007
Another EU-Russia Summit without much progress
"I think the media overdramatized the difficulties in Russia-EU relations," Vladimir Chizhov said addressing the conference on EU-Russia energy relations organised by Russia Profile and the Centre for European Reform in Brussels on October 30. "The general amount of trade between Russia and the EU increased by 5 times since the year 2000."

Turkish Daily News, 30 October 2007
Recognising Turkey's potential to help EU
"Turkey is a country with 80 million population, a strong army in a strategically important region. Therefore, it can help in consolidating the EU's role in the field of international relations," said the deputy director of the Centre for European Reform (CER), Katinka Barysch. It seems that for many European researchers in international relations the bordering of Turkey on Middle Eastern countries and Caucasus, where some of the richest oilfields are located, is a privilege that the EU should use through accepting Turkey as a EU member-state.

International Herald Tribune, 29 October 2007
US pushes to get Russia on its side
"The Baltic states and the countries of Eastern Europe are desperately afraid of the US trying to do a grand bargain with Putin," said Tomas Valesek, director of foreign policy and defense issues at the Centre for European Reform in London. "These countries fear that once you go down this road, Putin's appetite will become even bigger," Valesek said. "He could use such deals to carve out his own spheres of influence, for instance in Georgia and Moldova. Any idea of a grand bargain is a terrible idea for them."

Irish Times, 23 October 2007
Sarkozy backing his friend Blair for new European post
"He [Blair] could be a bit too obvious, given that his name is out there already," says Hugo Brady, an analyst with the London-based think-tank Centre for European Reform.

International Herald Tribune, 22 October 2007
Ruling on Microsoft reflects EU's global reach
"In recent years the commission has been much more aggressive on antitrust than the authorities, in the United States," said Philip Whyte senior research fellow of the Centre for European Reform research institute in London, "increasingly the rulings adopted in the EU are setting a global standard of sorts." The fact that most of the companies that lodged complaints against Microsoft, including Sun Microsystems and IBM, were from the United States illustrates the fact that borders count for little. "It was interesting that American companies were going to the commission rather than their own antitrust authorities to enforce rulings," Whyte said.

The Times, 20 October 2007
Bad luck folks, Brown just isn’t bothered about Europe
Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform articulates the ugly blackmail threat, or rather bluff: "If Britain said no, the country would be given time to reconsider. If it did not change its mind, it would be offered a status similar to Switzerland or Norway."

International Herald Tribune, 19 October 2007
Sarkozy and Brown push Blair for EU presidency
"In many parts of the world, Blair is seen as the most impressive politician of his generation," said Charles Grant, a foreign policy expert at the London-based Centre for Reform. "The question hanging over him will be if he has the necessary modesty in order to gain the confidence of European leaders that he will speak on their behalf."

Reuters, 19 October 2007
Brown expected to ride out treaty storm
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London think-tank, believes Brown will hold firm in resisting calls for a referendum. "It will be difficult for Gordon, but I think he can face down the popular press and I think he will. If he caved in, he would look incredibly weak," Grant told Reuters. ...Grant said he expected Britain to ratify the treaty by next April or May, leaving a year for the controversy to fade before a general election which many analysts now expect Brown to call in May 2009. ...British voters could well reject the treaty, alienating other European leaders who feel they have bent over backwards to accommodate British concerns. That could lead to pressure for Eurosceptic Britain to leave the EU, Grant said. "I believe if Britain is not able to ratify that treaty we couldn't stay in the EU," he said.

EU Business, 19 October 2007
After reform treaty, EU's existential questions still unanswered
"The only way for the EU to get legitimacy is through delivery" rather than setting up yet another committee, said analyst Hugo Brady at London think-tank the Centre for European Reform.

Forbes, 19 October 2007
New EU treaty in the works
"The impact of this treaty on the European economy will be marginal," said Katinka Barysch of the London-based Centre for European Reform. "It doesn't change very much in the way EU economy policy making works."

Agence France Presse, 19 October 2007
PM faces eurosceptic wrath after EU deal
"Demands for a referendum will not go away," said Hugo Brady of the London-based think-tank the Centre for European Reform, with Tory chief David Cameron widely expected to renew his attack Friday.

International Herald Tribune, 18 October 2007
EU woos its reluctant partners: Britain and Poland
"Brown has already gotten more concessions for Britain in the treaty than Britain has ever had before, and I don't think there are enough political benefits in wrecking it," said Hugo Brady, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, based in London. As for Poland, "collapsing the treaty would isolate it in Europe."

International Herald Tribune, 18 October 2007
In mulling new EU treaty, European leaders pile on the legalese
The London-based Centre for European Reform speculates the Lisbon amendments are the end of the line. "Most European leaders agree the EU has more important things to do than fiddle with its institutions and decision-making procedures," the center says in a review of the latest round of treaty tinkering. In the future, it adds, EU governments "will want to avoid another round of treaty change for as long as possible."

The Guardian, 18 October 2007
Shadow of the 20th century
The pro-EU Centre for European Reform counters with equal aplomb. No new rights are created; the CBI is now happy. In Brussels they think Britain's opt-outs are far too watertight, it says.

Le Monde, 17 October 2007
Le sarkozysme a-t-il conquis Bruxelles?
La politique européenne de la France était largement paralysée. Nicolas Sarkozy, tous en conviennent, l'a remise en mouvement. "Il est dynamique, il a des idées, son ministre des affaires étrangères, Bernard Kouchner, aussi, le changement est perceptible", souligne Charles Grant, directeur du Centre for European Reform, un institut de recherches londonien. ...Charles Grant juge que, s'il continue à agir sans consulter ses partenaires, le président français s'expose à de graves déconvenues. Le retour de la France, si retour il y a, se fait "dans la maladresse et en partie contre l'Europe", affirme M. Moscovici, qui s'inquiète de l'état des relations franco-allemandes et de l'attitude "très condescendante" de la France.

The Telegraph, 17 October 2007
Gordon Brown will sell us out to Brussels again
Charles Grant, the engaging director of the Centre for European Reform, judges that, if Britain yet again refuses to go along with the constitution, the other states will regretfully offer us a semi-detached status, along the lines of what the Swiss and Norwegians have.

The Independent, 17 October 2007
SWFs: Enemies of the state?
"There are some long-time funds but they have been run by countries... like Singapore or Norway. But the new breed look very different," said Katinka Barysch, a deputy director of the Centre for European Reform. "Some of them are run by oil-producing countries that are not market economies and are not democratic and it is not clear how they are run or what their priorities are. It's legitimate to have a debate about this." There is also a pervading sense that their growing ambitions portend a reordering of the global economic order. Ms Barysch said: "As rich countries we have always thought of these places as developing nations, and the relationship has been one in which we give them money and aid. But is just no longer the case."

Jewish Times, 17 October 2007
Iranian leader gets lesson from Prague crowd
Clara Marina O'Donnell, a Middle East expert at the London-based Centre for European Reform, said that while the Iranian president is unwelcome in most European quarters, visits by parliamentary delegations are not unusual. "The argument goes that the European side will be better informed and that open criticism will be good for the [Iranians] to hear," she said.

Voice of America, 17 October 2007
EU leaders expected to approve reform at summit
An analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London, Hugo Brady, says agreement at Lisbon on the new treaty is by no means certain. "There are a number of issues hovering around the summit, but none of which on its own I would expect to crash the summit or collapse the negotiations," said Brady. "Because the reality is, the reason why these issues all seem so small and petty, is because the real flesh and blood of this negotiation has already been gotten over last June." ...Even if agreed on by member nations, this latest treaty must still be ratified by all 27 EU states. Analyst Hugo Brady says that is not a sure bet. "I think for any set of reforms in the future the question should not be: is there any chance of them not getting through? The question should be: after the votes in 2005, is there any chance of them getting ratified at all?" said Brady.

EU Business, 17 October 2007
Embattled Brown hopes to confound critics at EU talks
"The eurosceptic lobby is ratcheting up a well-funded, media-savvy campaign to pressure the government into holding a referendum on the treaty," said Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank. Most commentators assume that a referendum, in notoriously euroskeptic Britain, would reject the treaty, especially with the help of a popular press which has long campaigned against a "European superstate." Think-tank expert Brady said that would pose Britain with a fundamental choice. "If the British were to vote No, thereby blocking the Reform Treaty, they could find it hard to stay in the EU," he said, while underlining that "demands for a referendum will not go away." Some pro-Europeans would welcome such a crunch choice. "They assume that when faced with the stark choice between in and out, most Britons would opt for membership," he said. "A cathartic argument over Britain's place in Europe could be good for the country."

The Guardian, 16 October 2007
We can't let the Euro-crazies drag us out of the club
Charles Grant, of the Centre for European Reform, points out that now we have all our opt-outs from a treaty largely of our own flavour, what could the other 26 do but tell us to go? We would have become incapable of participation, even in basic practical reforms we support. We would join Switzerland and Norway on the outside, subject to EU laws on the single market but unable to influence them.

International Herald Tribune, 15 October 2007
Differences narrow on European Union treaty
Charles Grant, director of the Center for European Reform, a London-based research organization, said that if the revised treaty was approved, it would produce "some fairly useful but undramatic improvements to the EU institutions." Another crisis would, he argued, provoke more European introspection and put an end to further expansion of the bloc. Grant added that if Brown submitted the treaty to a referendum, a no vote could prompt Britain's exit from the EU. "Skeptics are using the arcane detail of the reform treaty as a tool for a situation in which Britain could leave the EU," Grant said.

Voice of America, 15 October 2007
German, Russian leaders meet to discuss ties
Katinka Barysh, of the Centre for European Reform in London, say the relationship between the two countries, and the two leaders, has changed since the days of Merkel's predecessor, former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder. "During the days of Schroeder, there were still many, and I believe Schroeder was one of them, who believed Russia wanted to be like us," said Barysh. "That we could build a strategic partnership with a country that probably just got thrown off course a bit, but was ultimately to be a liberal democracy. Now, we know this is no longer the case. So, you cannot base the relationship on the kinds of beliefs that we could during the Schroeder years." ..Barysch says, today, Europe's relationship with Russia is much more of an arms-length one. And, the two do not see eye to eye on issues like the status of Kosovo, which Merkel and Russian President Vladimir Putin are expected to discuss. ...But Barysh says Iran is one area where the two sides can work together. "On Iran, for example, they have been more constructive because it's not in Russia's interest at all to have Iran, which is close to its borders, build a nuclear weapon," she added. "So, here, Russia has shown itself to be a constructive member of the international community."

The Wall Street Journal, 12 October 2007
Europe's Nobel week
Most European governments after the war began treating higher education as a tool for regional development. Every mid-size city needs 30 post offices, a dozen factories, 50 bank branches and one small university. So the research grants have been sprinkled far and wide, like economic fairy dust. Of course, a notable exception is Britain. But generally, according to a report by the UK-based Centre for European Reform, "there is a kind of drab uniformity across the sector: many institutions are struggling to cope with growing numbers of students and inadequate resources, delivering uninspiring teaching in dilapidated buildings."

RTT News, 9 October 2007
German trade surplus narrows more-than-expected in August, industrial output growth beats expectations
Simon Tilford, chief economist of the Centre for European Reform, a London based think-tank, does not rule the euro's rise to 1.50/1.60 to the US dollar. The long-awaited eurozone recovery would not happen if the euro rose to such levels, he pointed out. As the euro rises, it helps to contain inflation, particularly of the prices of imported oil, which is priced in dollars. Yet, the euro area's exports are hurt as European goods become dearer on global markets. The finance ministers also said that efforts to balance the euro-dollar rate should be undertaken by all parties. This was a taken as a call for the U.S. to do more. However, the euro -dollar story is only one side of the coin. The other side is the value of the Chinese yuan and the Japanese yen and the massive trade surpluses run up by China. If the Chinese and other East Asian central banks allowed their currencies to rise in response to a fall in the dollar, then the European economy would not have to bear the full cost of the adjustment of the decline in the value of the dollar, said Tilford. French President Sarkozy's concerns of a high euro cannot be dismissed easily, according to Tilford.

International Herald Tribune, 8 October 2007
No common ground in EU on currency
Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a research group based in London, said the depreciation of the dollar was a legitimate cause for concern among for Europe's finance ministries."The Chinese are happy for the Europeans to pay much of the cost of the weakening of the dollar when it is not the US/euro exchange rate that needs alignment," Tilford said, "so I can understand the frustration and Sarkozy should not be dismissed out of hand.""But even if the Germans and Italians are worried about the exchange rate there is a very strong resistance to doing anything that could call into question the independence and credibility of the European Central Bank"He added that ministers' options were limited and that strong-sounding statements could be "an empty threat unless the markets think there is something concrete they could do - and I am not sure there is."

Bloomberg, 8 October 2007
NATO staggers in Afghanistan as some can't fight on, some won't
"This [Afghanistan] was sold as an easier mission than it turned out to be, and once things got difficult, the governments have done a miserable job of explaining why we've got to be there,'' says Tomas Valasek, a former Slovak Defense Ministry official now at the London-based Centre for European Reform.

Financial times, 8 October 2007
EU disunity powers Russian protectionism
Russians criticise the European Union for being deeply divided and difficult to deal with. But, as an enlightening Centre for European Reform report notes, they also dread the day when EU member-states will start to speak with a single voice. For the time being, they can relax. The EU is beset by all sorts of internal problems and rivalries, and this, according to senior European Commission officials, can only play into Russia’s hands.

The Economist, 4 October 2007
The China trade syndrome
Europeans have taken longer to wake up to China's rise. That is partly because fears of globalisation at first meant worrying mainly about people moving from central Europe westwards and factories moving in the other direction, suggests Katinka Barysch, at the London-based Centre for European Reform. While Americans were talking about "the China price", she says, "we were still talking about the Polish plumber."

Time, 4 October 2007
Kosovo: Separation anxiety
Serbia, backed by Russia, remains loudly opposed to Kosovo's independence under any circumstances.
"We're looking at a slow-motion train wreck," says Tomas Valasek, a Balkan specialist at the London-based Centre for European Reform. While a new war is unlikely, and there is a slim chance that a deal could be salvaged, the Balkans appear poised once again to reveal the stark limits of international diplomacy.

Reuters, 27 September 2007
Germany wants Iran sanctions with UN backing
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and his foreign minister, Bernard Kouchner, have recently echoed US views on Iran, hinting that the Islamic Republic could face war if it does not freeze its enrichment programme as the Security Council demands. “Across the political spectrum Germany has one worry and it’s not entirely unfounded - that the war rhetoric might acquire its own momentum and become a self-fulfilling prophecy,” said Tomas Valasek, director of foreign policy and defence at the Centre for European Reform in London. He said Germany may be trying to apply one of the lessons of the Iraq war - intervene early to stop the escalating rhetoric.

Associated Press, 26 September 2007
France mulls return to NATO's military wing
In purely military terms, analysts say rejoining the command structure would have little impact. ''For all intents and purposes the French are in the military structures of NATO,'' says Tomas Valasek, director of foreign policy and defense at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank. ''In reality all this will really mean is a new command post for the French military and that France would rejoin a number of committees within NATO.''

The Irish Times, 25 September 2007
Village power comes into play on EU reform treaty
Most political analysts believe the government simply fears losing a referendum that could plunge the entire EU, and particularly Britain's relationship with Europe, into a profound and deep crisis. "It would be a low turnout and probably a no vote," says Hugo Brady, analyst with the London-based think tank Centre for European Reform. "And if Brown held a referendum on the treaty and loses, it would be a serious blow to his credibility and sour a potentially very productive relationship with Sarkozy and Merkel."

Associated Press, 24 September 2007
Debt-ridden France faces spending cuts
For the past three decades, successive presidents from all political persuasions have let spending balloon. Insee said the debt level last year reached 64.2 per cent of gross domestic product compared with 20 percent in 1980. "France has a credibility problem," said Philip Whyte, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London. "It is constantly postponing the day of fiscal consolidation."

Voice of America, 24 September 2007
France considers rejoining NATO's military wing
Tomas Valasek, says under Chirac, transatlantic ties were at a low point during the US-led war on Iraq, which was sharply criticized by the French. "Chirac pretty systematically sought to distance France from NATO and France from the United States," Valasek said. "He viewed himself as an inheritor of the de Gaulle tradition - and it was General de Gaulle who took France out of NATO's military structures. Chirac also - particularly after the Iraq war - has clearly sought to position France as an alternative source of power to the United States. And because NATO was viewed as being dominated by the United States, [French] foreign and defense ministers consistently tried to weaken NATO and undermine any new idea, any new initiative within the alliance. There was no hope of French-NATO rapprochement under Chirac."

Le Monde, 20 September 2007
Turcs, encore un effort!
Les adversaires de l'adhésion demeurent nombreux au sein de l'Union et leurs raisons méritent d'être prises en considération. Katinka Barysch dans une note du Centre for European Reform, un laboratoire d'idées britannique, l'image de la Turquie n'est pas bonne en Europe. On ne convaincra les opinions publiques des avantages de l'adhésion qu'en changeant leur perception. L'assouplissement de la position française permet au moins de dépassionner le débat.

International Herald Tribune, 20 September 2007
Shortages force NATO to rethink combat strike force
"NATO has a problem that affects the EU as well. There are simply not enough troops," said Tomas Valasek, defense expert at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank in London. "NATO is asking member states to sign up to the Response Force at a time when more troops are needed for Afghanistan. NATO has hit a ceiling. The Response Force is a luxury member states cannot afford." ..."NATO should reform the way operations are financed. There should be much more common funding," Valasek said. He warned that the EU's Battlegroups program could face the same problem because its financing arrangements were similar. ...But Valasek said there were few signs that the finance ministries of either NATO or EU countries were willing to increase spending. "We are going through troops like crazy. But it is not reflected in the budgets of the national governments. Governments are stuck in the sand," he said.

Voice of America, 20 September 2007
France tightens immigration requirements
France is not alone in adopting a choosier approach to immigration. "We're beginning to have a more sophisticated debate about: okay we accept immigration as a reality and will be a reality going forward," says Hugo Brady, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, in London. "Now, member states and the European commission are discussing - basically the big issue is how do you get the right kind of immigrant? That is the big issue."

Bloomberg, 20 September 2007
US trade concessions unlikely to bring WTO accord this year
US willingness to accept proposals limiting farm subsidies and opening markets to both agricultural and industrial goods probably won't be sufficient to lead to a global trade agreement this year. "The US position doesn't change the underlying politics,'' he said by telephone. "Bubbling under the surface, there is a sense among key negotiators that progress is being made; but despite that progress, the politics is still going to get in the way of a deal before 2009,'' said Philip Whyte, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.

Business Week, 19 September 2007
EU tries - again - to split utilities
"There's undiminished political opposition for energy unbundling [separating generation and distribution assets]," says Katinka Barysch, deputy director of London-based Centre for European Reform (CER). "Companies in France and Germany would have to sell parts of their businesses, and they are unwilling to do that."

The Washington Times, 18 September 2007
French remarks outrage Iranians
Mr Kouchner's remarks echo hard-line comments made by Mr Sarkozy himself. During an August foreign-policy speech, the president warned Tehran could be attacked militarily if it did not heed international demands over its nuclear program. "It might be a certain strategy of having Kouchner put a very radical position out there, which allows Sarkozy not to go so far himself," said Clara Marina O'Donnell, a foreign policy and defense analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform, in London. "But the message is now out there in the open," she added. ..."This is another sign we're seeing from France of having views quite similar to the US views," Ms O'Donnell said. "And this could be very useful for co-operation between Europe and the US as a whole."

Deutsche Presse, 17 September 2007
Three seconds that shook the world for Microsoft
A negative ruling would 'play into the hands of those like France's President Nicolas Sarkozy who want to water down the EU's competition policy,' wrote economist Simon Tilford, of London-based think tank the Centre for European Reform, ahead of Monday's verdict. Experts warn that the ruling's impact on overall EC competition policy should not be exaggerated, because no other company has a market position as dominant as Microsoft.

Russia Profile, 15 September 2007
Discussing identity as the cabinet changes
"If Russia wants to be undemocratic, we can't do anything about it," commented Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform. "The only thing we can do is to prevent Russia from pressuring its neighbors. Here a fine line has to be drawn between Russia's legitimate economic interests and political use of, say, energy resources. If oil prices are raised, they should be raised for everyone and not just the states Russia has problems with."

Reuters, 15 September 2007
France and Germany paper over economic policy cracks
"What we hear out of Berlin is that there is a certain discomfort with some of his (Sarkozy's) economic views, and that is significant for the Franco-German relationship," said Katinka Barysch, deputy director at the Centre for European Reform. However, Barysch added that as the EU now has 27 members, harmony between France and Germany is not as critical as it once was to driving economic policy progress. "The Franco-German motor isn't exactly what pulls the EU any more," she said.

Russia Today, 15 September 2007
Valdai Discussion Club: main focus on domestic issues
While journalists and political scientists were clearly interested in Russia’s place in the world, it was by no means their sole topic of interest. "The focus is much more on domestic politics than last year when we talked about strategic global issues. A lot of journalists and academics were really keen to ask Mr Putin about his future plans," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform.

Russia Today, 14 September 2007
Kremlin reshuffle dominates Valdai club talks in Sochi
Director of the Centre for European Reform, Charles Grant, said Putin obviously had no intention of withdrawing from politics after the election. Grant said Putin told them he "will play a major role in Russian politics after the presidential election", and that "the future president of Russia will have to take account of the fact that Putin will have influence”.

International Herald Tribune, 13 September 2007
Cracks appear in allied coalition in Afghanistan
"There was always a shortage of NATO troops and military equipment," said Clara O'Donnell, a defense expert at the Centre for European Reform in London. "Now, with the debate over the future of the Dutch and Canadian participation and with all the restrictions imposed on troops from other countries, the likelihood is that there will be less troops."

EurActiv.com, 30 August 2007
Parliament: EU Treaty talks will raise political issues
"The spectre of Poland holding an election exactly when the IGC is supposed to wrap up the Treaty talks will haunt many in foreign ministries across the EU," said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform (CER). According to Barysch, Poland's "last minute political posturing for a home audience could delay the text being signed off".

Agence France Presse, 29 August 2007
New president, soft French line offer new EU hope for Turkey
Katinka Barysch, analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London, said that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has every interest in focusing his new government’s attentions on deepening EU-oriented reforms. Turkish intellectuals "remain suspicious of Gul and Erdogan and all of them but they do give them credit for the modernisation that has already taken place," she said. "I think Erdogan and Gul ... understand that they need to continue on this."

Newsweek, 25 August2007
Shaking up the continent
"With the Libyan deal, he [Sarkozy] has shown himself to be an arch-opportunist," says Hugo Brady, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.

International Herald Tribune, 17 August 2007
Spain pulls in its horns - and forfeits its influence
Charles Grant, head of the Centre for European Reform, a think tank based in London, says the decline in Spain's influence on Zapatero's watch has been "astonishing." ..."The way the EU works, the prime minister is very important," Grant says. ...Zapatero will have to get stuck into some of the strategic debates that keep other European leaders awake at night, like Iran's nuclear ambitions or how to handle Russia, says Grant of the Centre for European Reform.

The Economist, 16 August 2007
Paper, paper everywhere: Everyone wants to cut red tape. Could the Tories actually do it?
The Centre for European Reform, a think-tank that assesses European Union competitiveness, continues to rate Britain as one of its least-regulated members, with Finland and the Netherlands. The latest Global Competitiveness Report, produced by the World Economic Forum, ranks Britain third for "market efficiency", the closest it has to a measure of regulation.

Voice of America, 15 August 2007
As Europe unites, migrant workers spread
Hugo Brady of the Centre for European Reform says migrant workers are behind Britain's economic boom. "Really, immigration in this sense as per the 2004 enlargement has been a win-win situation. I can't think of any situation in Europe in which it has not been beneficial." Most migrants work in unskilled jobs - they sweep streets, tend gardens, build roads. Hugo Brady says there is another factor. "People will always fear the 'other' and they don't like the idea of strangers descending on them even if it is a good thing, even if they themselves have benefited from it. Somehow this prejudice remains."

International News [Bulgaria], 14 August 2007
Transition online: Europe’s escape routes
"Of course, the whole purpose of Nabucco is that this would be the one pipeline that comes out of Central Asia that isn't controlled by Russia," said Katinka Barysch, an energy expert and head economist at the Centre for European Reform in London. "The Russians are very aware that if the Europeans get their act together this would undermine their strong position, so they're trying to act on it early."

Newsweek, 30 July 2007
The Terrible Twins - Poland's government has made the country a laughing stock but who else can take the reins?
At the fractious EU-Russia summit in Samara earlier this summer, the EU rallied behind Poland in its fight against a meat-export embargo imposed by Moscow. But the subsequent spat over voting rights in Brussels suggests Poland has learned little about gratitude. "The Poles seem to have drawn the wrong lesson [from Samara]: that the harder they play the game, the more they will gain," says Tomas Valasek of the Centre for European Reform in London. "It's hard to see now how other member states would not be worried about going into battle alongside them."

Reuters, 29 July 2007
The french whirlwind - Nicolas Sarkozy has burst upon the scene in a gust of napoleonic energy, according to one eurocrat
Britain and the European Commission seem more inclined to keep their heads down, hoping Sarkozy will shake up his own country's rigid economy and labour market and learn over time that he needs consensus to achieve his aims in Europe. "The serious risk is a weakening of the Franco-German bond rather than Europe becoming more protectionist," said Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform.

IPS, 25 July 2007
Mideast: Dubious EU support to US challenged
"The EU should recognise that the policy of boycotting Hamas by showering favours on Fatah in the West Bank has contributed to radicalising Hamas and thus provoking Fatah's overthrow in Gaza", said Charles Grant of the CER. "The economic isolation of Gaza is worsening an already dire humanitarian situation, accentuated by Israel shutting most of the border crossings most of the time. And so long as the EU is seen to reject the outcome of legitimately-conducted elections, it exposes itself to accusations of double standards and reduces its credibility in the eyes of many Arabs." He suggests that the Union should learn from an example set within its own borders - the dialogue that has put a halt to most forms of political violence in Northern Ireland."The very process of dealing with Hamas could have a transformational effect on the organisation, as was the case with the talks between the British government and the Irish Republican Army, though that process did not deliver results for more than 10 years. Evidently, EU-Hamas talks may not produce a positive outcome. But neither the U.S. nor Israel can claim that the status quo is doing much to enhance the security of Israelis."

The Guardian, 23 July 2007
Gamble pays off for Erdogan
Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, argues that opposition to Mr Gul lay not so much in Mr Gul's personality and faith as in the lack of trust in Turkish politics which makes checks and balances all the more important. "Erdogan's single-party government - so much stronger and more effective than most of its predecessors - did not look like a threat as long as the president and the army retained their independence", Ms Barysch wrote before the election. "The nomination of Gul as presidential candidate raised the spectre of an unusually strong prime minister and a popular president both coming from the same political camp."

The Guardian, 23 July 2007
Investors hail Turkey poll result
"It's a good result," said Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a London think-tank. "Half of the electorate voted for the AKP, which has done a great job in stabilising the economy, but it has a smaller majority" so Mr Erdogan will continue to pursue moderate policies.

Kuwait Times, 21 July 2007
Coping with Sarko: Heads down or push back?
"The serious risk is a weakening of the Franco-German bond rather than Europe becoming more protectionist", said Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform.

Jewish Times, 19 July 2007
Attitude shift toward Israel?
Clara Marina O'Donnell , a research fellow at London’s Centre for European Reform, said the letter to Blair demonstrates a widely held view among European leaders that the Quartet’s policy of isolating Hamas has been responsible, at least in part, for the current suffering among the Palestinians, and even Hamas’ military takeover of the Gaza Strip. "One could say there is a lot of guilt in this letter, and that there is a belief that look, we failed to prevent a crisis, we need to try something else," she said. By all accounts, Gaza is teetering on the brink of a humanitarian disaster. Some human rights groups lay the blame on Israel, saying the Jewish state put Gaza in an economic stranglehold by closing its border crossings. In their letter to Blair, the foreign ministers urged the former British leader “to pressure Israel to arrange for the transfer of all taxes due, the release of the thousands of prisoners who do not have blood on their hands," as well as "a freeze in new settlements and the evacuation of unauthorized settlements." "There are Europeans, like the French, who worry that the isolation of Hamas has led to its further radicalization, encouraging Hamas to turn to Iran for help," O'Donnell said.

Global Politician, 19 July 2007
Turkish membership to the European Union; an advantageous turning point for the EU or an adverse drawback
A more brighter and favorable view is of Katinka Barysch of the Centre for European Reform stated "Turkish integration has more economic benefits for the EU, than costs. Turkey is one of the fastest growing economies… If the EU fails to solve its problems, the Union in 2010 will be gridlocked, slow-growing, an inward looking and unwelcoming there is no reason why Turkey should want to join such a club."

The Guardian, 18 July 2007
Europeans lukewarm as Britain tries to rally support in row with Russia
Katinka Barysch, deputy director of the London-based Centre for European reform, said: "At some point the EU needs to stand up and say: 'Russia can do whatever it wants in Russia but on our territory you have to play by our rules'."

Time, 18 July 2007
Britain's new tough line with Russia
"Russo-phobia" is a myth, says Katinka Barysch, the Deputy Director of London-based think tank the Centre for European Reform. Instead, she detects in Britain a kind of "Putin-phobia, a certain queasiness. It's more directed to the Russian state, not the Russian people, in the same way perhaps that Britons are very capable of making a distinction of disliking President Bush but not the American people."

Deutsche Welle, 16 July 2007
Brown meets Merkel on first trip abroad as British Premier
Experts say Brown, who has met Merkel before at a summit in Berlin when he was chancellor of the exchequer, may find Merkel to be a leader he can work with. "She is a conciliator and somebody who manages power in a non-triumphalist way," said Hugo Brady, of the Centre for European Reform. "The problem will be if Brown, under pressure at home, demands more," Brady said... Experts believe it marks the establishment of a new axis between the leaders of Europe's three most powerful countries. "It really has become obvious that Blair had a terrible set of partners [in Chirac and Schröder]," said Brady. "Brown is much luckier; he inherits a dynamic French leader and a chancellor who shares a lot of his basic instincts." While traditionally, France and Germany have been considered closer to each other than to Britain, Merkel is capable of being as close to Brown as any French leader, argued Brady. "If the pair forms a strong working relationship, they may even serve as a useful foil for Sarkozy," he said.

Turkish Daily News, 16 July 2007
The EU, geography and global ethics
In an article published in the June/July issue of the Centre for European Reform entitled 'Sarkozy, Secularism and Turkey's European Future', Katinka Barysch writes, "If Turkey gets through the current (political) crisis with its democratic credentials intact, it will have taken another important step towards convincing its critics that it is becoming a mainstream European country." ...As noted by Katerina Barysch in her article, "Merkel, Barroso, and politicians from other EU countries (as well as the U.S.) will probably remind Sarkozy that the accession process would help Turkey to become more stable and prosperous, which would be good for Europe as a whole.”

Agence France Press, 13 July 2007
Sarkozy endorsing ‘pragmatic capitalism’
“In practice there is no difference at all between economic patriotism and pragmatic capitalism - both are talking about protecting companies that the government considers strategic,” said Simon Tilford, head of the business unit at the Centre for European Reform in London. ...Economists say that, at a time when France’s competitiveness is lagging Germany’s and its exporters are feeling the pinch from the stronger euro, giving firms freer hand to do business may be no bad thing. But at the same time, a persisting cloud of protectionism may also have a silver lining, said Tilford. “French companies are very international and the stock of foreign direct investment in France is high and this is hard to reconcile with the protectionist rhetoric,” he said. “But Sarkozy may feel he has to reassure people that he hasn’t sold out to the dastardly Anglo-Saxon free marketers so if it helps to push through his labour market reforms, it might be the only good thing about it.”

STA news agency [Ljubljana], 12 July 2007
Slovene FM to discuss EU Presidency with UK foreign secretary
Foreign Minister Dimitrij Rupel is to discuss Slovenia's plans for the EU presidency in the first half of 2008 during a visit to London on Thursday. Rupel is to meet new British Foreign Secretary David Miliband. Considering the conclusions of June's EU summit, Rupel and Miliband are to focus their talks on the EU reform treaty, which is to replace the constitutional treaty. According to the Foreign Ministry, the visit is also aimed at strengthening and reviewing of bilateral relations. As part of his visit, the first by a Slovenian official since the new British cabinet took over at the end of June, Rupel is also to attend a conference of the Centre for European Reform in London, entitled "Is Europe Ready for Global Changes?". This is Rupel's second visit to the UK this year, after meeting the then British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett in April.

The Wall Street Journal, 11 July 2007
Sarkozy gets grip on IMF
Although Mr Sarkozy succeeded in rallying Europeans behind the name of Mr Strauss-Kahn, the French president ruffled some feathers along the way for having rushed through his candidate without considering opening up the nomination process to make it more transparent. "It's ridiculous," said Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform. "Mr Sarkozy needs to realise that the world is no longer ruled by the US and Europe."

The Guardian, 9 July 2007
Russia dismisses Kosovo statehood without Serb agreement
"If Belgrade continues to fan nationalist emotions in Serbia and among the Kosovo Serbs, without offering any credible alternative, Serbia's perspective could be set back a long way," David Gowan, a former British diplomat, argued in a recent policy brief for the Centre for European Reform in London. "Serbia must behave with political maturity and in a European manner if it wishes to be taken seriously by the EU."

The Times, 4 July 2007
Poles mention war and bring belated honesty to EU debate
Poland is paid a lot by the EU; its net benefit in 2005 was €1.9 billion (£1.29 billion), according to the broad-brush calculations in the European Commission budget. But as Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, points out, this is less than the figure for Spain (€6 billion) or Portugal (€2.4 billion).

EU Observer, 4 July 2007
Portugal promises not to increase EU tensions with Russia
According to Katinka Barysch from the London-based Centre for European Reform, Ms Merkel "struck just about the right tone" pulling Russia up on certain points of democratic principle but also "having the guts to walk away from the [May] Samara summit without any results." This probably made the Kremlin respect her more, says Ms Barysch. She believes that neither the Portuguese presidency nor the Slovenian presidency in the first half of 2008 will be able to break the impasse in Brussels-Moscow relations if Germany was not able to "pull it off with all its diplomatic weight."

Financial Times, 30 June 2007
Labour's rising star has her work cut out in City role
Kitty Ussher is is a member of the "Blairites for Brown" group of talented young Labour MPs who effortlessly transferred their allegiances to the new prime minister. The 36-year-old privately educated Londoner displayed her tenaciousness by becoming Labour's candidate in the very traditional seat of Burnley, where she faced a fight with the far-right British National party. Before working for Ms Hewitt, she was chief economist for Britain in Europe, the campaign group for UK membership of the euro, and at the Centre for European Reform, a pro-European think-tank.

The Guardian, 29 June 2007
War sceptic Miliband offers chance of clean slate on Iraq
Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, which Mr Miliband co-founded, said: "It's an inspired choice. I imagine Brown will delegate to him the job of building a network of friends and allies. Brown is not a natural networker."

EU Observer, 29 June 2007
German presidency success clouded by Polish row
Simon Tilford, analyst at the London-based Centre for European Reform, said the Germans somewhat underestimated Polish sensitivities and could have worked more systematically from the start to "prevent" the row with Warsaw. "They could have seen this coming," he said. "They handled the Poles well but they probably underestimated the damage done in Poland by the [previous German] Schroeder government," he added, referring to the former chancellor's gas pipeline deal with Poland's other World War II enemy - Russia - over Warsaw's head.

EurActiv.com, 29 June 2007
UK's PM Brown announces cabinet shake-up
David Miliband, who replaces Margaret Backett to become the youngest foreign secretary in the past 30 years, will thus now face the challenge of distancing the UK from the Iraq conflict, while remaining on good terms with the George W. Bush US administration. But Miliband, a strong pro-European and co-founder of the Centre for European Reform think-tank, will also be key in smoothing the somewhat tense relations between Europe and Gordon Brown, who is preceived by most EU officials as a eurosceptic.

Financial Times, 27 June 2007
New leaders’ chemistry crucial for EU
Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform, argues that the change of leadership at the top of the EU, with Angela Merkel as German chancellor, now joined by President Sarkozy and Mr Brown, brings three pragmatic, Atlanticist and relatively liberal leaders together at a moment of great opportunity. Yet the chemistry will be crucial.

Euros du village, 27 June 2007
Traité réformateur : l’Europe parlera-t-elle d’une seule voix?
Comme le présentait Charles Grant, du think tank "The Centre for European Reform" (Centre pour la réforme européenne), à la BBC après le Sommet, le rôle actuel du haut représentant pour la politique étrangère et de sécurité commune (PESC), Javier Solana, serait fusionné avec celui du Commissaire européen en charge des relations extérieures (actuellement occupé par l’autrichienne Benita Ferrero-Waldner). ...Le futur traité fusionnerait ces deux organes en un « Service européen pour l’action extérieure » en soutien à un ministre européen des affaires étrangères, comme l’écrivait Charles Grant dans une lettre envoyée au Financial Times avant le Conseil Européen. Il faisait allusion au Traité Constitutionnel, mais le futur Traité réformateur, selon le mandat fixé à la Conférence intergouvernementale qui sera chargée de sa rédaction à l’automne, reprendra les mêmes bases.

World Politics Review, 26 June 2007
Tony Blair's legacy: The view from Europe's contintental capitals
"Although Britain became more influential under Tony Blair, he never fulfilled his potential as a European leader, and to a large degree he failed in his ambition to reconcile the British people to the EU," writes Charles Grant, Director of the London-based Centre for European Reform think-tank in a report entitled "European choices for Gordon Brown." "Many of Britain's pro-Europeans thought it tragic that he deployed his brilliant powers of persuasion on trying to win support for the invasion of Iraq, rather than on explaining how Britain benefits from European integration." ..."Very few British prime ministers have had the good fortune to hold office when the leaders in Berlin, Brussels and Paris are broadly liberal, pragmatic in their approach to EU institutions, and Atlanticist," writes EU-analyst Charles Grant. "Brown has a golden opportunity to work with this new generation to reform the Union."

Turkish Daily News, 26 June 2007
A doomsday scenario for EU-Turkey ties
Simon Anholt is an independent government advisor. He explained how it is difficult to change prejudices, especially, of ordinary people who do not try to find out the truth about a specific country in contrast to the elites – decision makers, diplomats, journalists, investors – whose job is to know about the man on the street, who in contrast to the elites, are looking for the information. According to Anholt, who spoke at a meeting organized by the Centre for European Reform last week in Brussels, one of the best ways to unseat people's prejudice is to do something "phenomenal." "Sometime a single event can unblock deeply rooted opinions," said Anholt.

The New Republic, 26 June 2007
The EU treaty's fatal flaw
True, a new job has been created (though Britain managed to keep its holder from being called a "foreign minister"). But as Charles Grant from the Centre for European Reform has correctly pointed out, the "high representative" for foreign policy will be just that: a representative, with no executive power. He or she will be able to pursue a foreign policy only when the 27 member governments approve its key outlines and tell him to take it from there.

The Moscow Times, 25 June 2007
Europe's leaders reach consensus EU treaty
Charles Grant of London-based think tank Centre for European Reform said that under the new treaty neither the new EU president nor the foreign policy chief - to be known as a High Representative - will have any executive power. "Their authority would depend on their powers of persuasion and the force of their personality," he said. "The creation of these two posts would enhance the EU's global influence, when it has a common policy," he said. "But it would not shift power to the Union, since any EU foreign policy would still require the unanimous consent of the foreign ministers."

Reuters, 23 June 2007
Blair's European dreams hit reality check
Hugo Brady, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based thinktank, said Blair once seemed the man who would tackle anti-EU prejudice in Britain. "But the (political) capital he might have been able to spend (on Europe) was spent on promoting the Iraq war. Once that was done, he had neither the political capital nor the trust of the public left to enter into such a debate," he said. The US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 caused a deep rift in Europe between countries such as Britain that supported it and those such as France and Germany which opposed it. However, Brady said Blair's Britain had won a lot of policy arguments in the EU, had had a constructive say in EU justice and defence policies and had advanced a liberal economic agenda. ...But Brady said Brown's perceived coolness to Europe may act to his advantage. "I think that Gordon Brown is the man to make an historic rapprochement between British public opinion and the EU because his instincts on this are more representative of British people in general and perhaps they'll evolve together," he said.

Helsingin Sanomat [Finland], 22 June 2007
Seven questions about cluster weapons
Nevertheless, international treaties do have weight. They are important specifically for small countries, says researcher Hugo Brady at the CER think-tank in London. "Even a small country can become a moral superpower if it actively takes part in international human rights processes", he believes. The question is one of political credibility. Brady says that small countries can gather international recognition and can profile themselves as peacemakers, for instance. Norway has been very successful at this, and Austria is trying to build a reputation as an opponent of cluster weapons. "A country's moral reputation is important especially in the eyes of the young."

Associated Press, 21 June 2007
After 'Au revoir, Jacques,' EU bids cheerless 'cheerio' to Tony
"Blair, the first convinced pro-European in a generation to occupy 10 Downing Street, leaves office with his ambition to change the terms of the tortured British debate on Europe utterly unfulfilled," writes Hugo Brady, analyst with the Centre for European Reform, a London think-tank. "Fed on a regular diet of tabloid hostility, voters remain suspicious and resentful of the EU."

The Independent, 21 June 2007
Britain still isolated as EU leaders refuse to bow to treaty demands
Mr Blair's much-vaunted "red lines" prompted some dismay in European capitals - particularly Britain's sudden wariness of a Europe foreign minister and insistence that the treaty should not displace the role of the British foreign secretary. "This is a crazy policy," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform. "This is reopening a policy that Britain invented to avoid having a conductor with two orchestras" in Europe.

The Scotsman, 21 June 2007
Poland and UK raise tension at EU talks
Hugo Brady, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank, said the EU needed to draw a line under the treaty. "No member state wants, nor can the EU afford, to spend the next two years talking about its institutions. The EU really needs to get off that agenda and focus on its political priorities", he said, citing dealing with Russia, climate change, organised crime and terrorism as key priorities.

Christian Science Monitor, 21 June 2007
European Union energy companies court Moscow
"This is a problem for Europe," says Katinka Barysch, chief economist at the Center for European Reform in London. "What we're trying to do in Europe is create an integrated, open, and liberal gas market. You can't do that if you have one company controlling the entire gas supply chain."

International Herald Tribune, 20 June 2007
Germany seems resigned to failure on EU treaty
EU analysts said Germany's apparent sangfroid underestimated the effects of failure at the summit meeting, noting that it would undermine credibility with European public opinion and make it all but impossible for the bloc to continue to expand. "The consequences are dire," said Charles Grant, director of the Center for European Reform in London. "The EU would become introspective and obsessed with how to overcome blockages to a new deal. "It would lack the energy and ambition to tackle the real issues that matter, such as coping with a resurgent Russia, helping with the Middle East peace process, leading the world on climate change and reforming its own budget and foreign policy."

Reuters, 19 June 2007
"Summit Queen" meets her match in Kaczynski twins
To avert disaster, Merkel may be forced to go back on her word and accept a deal on everything but the voting system, pushing back that debate until later in the year. "I'm sure it's not what she wants," said Charles Grant, head of the Centre for European Reform in London. "But if the choice is the summit ending in chaos with Poland blocking everything or an agreement with all but the Poles on board for the voting system, Merkel would surely prefer the latter."

The Wall Street Journal, 18 June 2007
EU tries to clear constitution hurdle
"The political wind is better than in the past, " said Hugo Brady, a specialist on the constitution at the Centre for European Reform in London. "The EU economy is doing better, and the generation of leaders that split over the US decision to invade Iraq in 2003 will have gone once Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, leaves office next month", Mr Brady said.

Reuters, 18 June 2007
Brown plays for high stakes in EU treaty talks
"I think the summit is absolutely crucial for Brown. He has to make one of the most crucial choices of his prime ministership even before it begins...," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank.

EU Business, 18 June 2007
Blair battles for EU deal at swansong summit
"With a new generation of reform-minded leaders in charge of France, Germany and the European Commission, Britain has a chance to help lead the EU towards a more pragmatic, economically liberal future," said expert Charles Grant. "But if it blocks a new treaty its voice will count for less and others will lead the EU," added Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think tank.

The Financial Times, 17 June 2007
EU ‘threat’ to flexible labour market
Richard Lambert, head of the Confederation of British Industry, will claim that the charter’s “right to strike” provisions could roll back Thatcherite labour market reforms. Mr Blair has vowed to protect Britain’s labour laws, but faces resistance from some European leaders when negotiations start on a new EU treaty in Brussels on Thursday. The prime minister wants to ensure the EU’s charter of fundamental rights, agreed in 2000, does not acquire legal force in member states through a reference in the new treaty, which would replace the Union’s proposed constitution. Mr Lambert, in a speech at the Centre for European Reform, will say that many early fears from business about the new treaty – such as more majority voting in taxation – did not materialise, but the threat of the charter of rights is “a whopper”. “By giving the charter greater status, we would run the risk of allowing the European Court of Justice – a purposeful body, looking to stamp its own interpretation on the law – to overrule carefully crafted rules on how strikes operate,” he will say. “That’s just what inclusion of the charter could do – maybe not immediately, but over time. Gradually the UK’s labour market flexibility would come under serious threat.” Preventing the charter giving extra rights to British unions is perhaps the main “red line” of Mr Blair’s negotiating strategy this week, a position backed by Gordon Brown, who becomes prime minister on June 27. The argument could be tough because many leaders, including Angela Merkel, German chancellor and host of the Brussels summit, would prefer the charter to be legally binding. Article 88 of the charter enshrines the right of workers “to take collective action to defend their interests, including strike action”. In negotiations on the original constitution, Mr Blair secured agreement that the charter – a non-legally binding declaration – would not acquire legal force when it applied to EU institutions or to member states implementing EU law. Britain has no common law right to strike, but instead has statutory measures that permit strikes with restrictions.

The Sunday Times, 17 June 2007
It's back! Just when you thought it was safe to govern yourself - This week the European Union will try to reach a deal on a reheated constitution
Even for Blair, this EU treaty may be a compromise too far. But Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, says that even if Britain manages to head off pressure for significant treaty changes this year, the issue will return to haunt Brown. "There are some people in Belgium and Luxembourg who think it would be outrageous for Britain not to accept things we’ve signed up to in the past," he said. "Even if there is a willingness to get this one out of the way, this is not the end of treaty change in Europe."

Bloomberg, 17 June 2007
Sarkozy majority unexpectedly shrinks, estimates show
"He [Sarkozy] managed to maintain a majority in power when in other European countries, their power eroded after so many years,'' said Aurore Wanlin, an analyst at the Centre for European Reform in London. "He is precise, he has concrete plans.''

The Financial Times, 16 June 2007
Brown camp reticent on idea
Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, says there would be no good reason for Mr Brown to oppose Mr Blair's candidacy. "The new EU presidency is not actually that powerful a job," he says. "The power of the president will come from his or her moral authority, from an ability to persuade. The creation of this post is actually one of the least interesting bits of the amending treaty that is being debated."

Business Week, 14 June 2007
Germany, France: Growth for both?
After lagging Germany for several years in the reform department, France could be on the verge of major change. Sarkozy is likely to use a strong majority in Parliament to push through changes such as reducing the tax burden for companies and employees on hours worked overtime. "He has a clear strategy and plans to go for it as quickly as possible," says Aurore Wanlin, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London.

The Independent, 12 July 2007
Gordon Brown must fight for the European cause against the massed ranks of sceptics
As the director of the Centre for European Reform, Charles Grant, points out: "With a new generation of reform-minded leaders in charge of France, Germany and the European Commission, Britain has the chance to help lead the EU towards a more pragmatic, economically liberal future. But if it blocks a new treaty its voice will count for less and others will lead the EU." Put like that the path Brown must choose is obvious.

The Telegraph, 12 June 2007
Surely we don't want to be run by Malta
A joint report from Business for New Europe and the Centre for European Reform, published this month, argued that blocking a treaty would be bad for Britain in particular, because it would diminish our influence on the budget and CAP reform. Of course, those who fundamentally dislike the EU will not want a more effective union, any more than they would like to end the six-month rotating presidency

The Independent, 12 June 2007
Our think-tanks are failing the interested public
I cite the recent proliferation of think-tanks and pressure groups that - deliberately or not - disguise their allegiances. Compass, you might feel, seems expressly named to leave the choice to you: north, south, east or west. At least with groups such as Foreign Policy Centre or Centre for European Reform, you have an inkli