Research
Dilemmas and challenges around the EU budget
08 April 2024
The EU budget needs extensive reform both to resolve longstanding shortcomings and in anticipation of a further enlargement of the Union.
And the winner is… Vladimir Putin (for now)
21 March 2024
Putin’s ‘election victory’ does not mean that he will remain in power forever. Western leaders should plan for continued confrontation, but (unlike Putin) they should not fear change in Russia.
Better regulation in Europe: An action plan for the next Commission
19 March 2024
As Europe tries to boost its economic growth and become more innovative, the EU must reinvigorate the ‘better regulation’ agenda – and adapt it to how the EU institutions are evolving.
The EU's defence ambitions are for the long term
13 March 2024
The Commission’s new proposals to strengthen Europe’s defence industry will be hamstrung by limited funding and member-states' doubts. But in the long term, the EU’s role in defence will probably grow.
Weighed down by gravity: UK trade policy after Brexit
11 March 2024
The post-Brexit vision of 'Global Britain' is slowly replaced by the reality that free trade agreements deliver marginal benefits, particularly for the UK’s service-oriented economy.
Two years (and ten years) of war in Europe: Hard times for Ukraine
07 March 2024
After a difficult year for Ukraine, Putin may be encouraged to think he can win the war. But this is a fight neither Ukraine nor Europe can afford to lose.
What to expect from the Digital Markets Act
05 March 2024
Thanks to the Digital Markets Act, large tech firms must now give Europeans more choices about how online services work. But competition authorities will see few reasons to relax.
A new equilibrium in Northern Ireland: Can it last?
01 March 2024
The agreement between the British government and the Democratic Unionist Party addresses immediate challenges but falls short of resolving Northern Ireland’s Brexit conundrum.
Europe and the superpowers: Responding to economic nationalism
26 February 2024
Superpower competition poses a significant challenge for Europe's trade-intensive economy. The EU must evolve its toolkit and economic model to respond.
Helping Europe's digital economy take off: An agenda for the next Commission
20 February 2024
The EU must simplify its digital rulebook, support more privacy-friendly data-driven innovation, and boost investment in digital infrastructure.
Articles
Seven expert views: America first, Europe alone?
19 March 2024
Clingendael Spectator
If Joe Biden is re-elected, and the Democrats control both the US Senate and the House of Representatives, then there would be scope for increased transatlantic co-operation.
Judy Asks: Has the war in Gaza irreversibly damaged Europe's credibility?
14 March 2024
Carnegie Europe
Europe’s response to the war in Gaza has greatly undermined its credibility in the Middle East and beyond.
Why do Britain's goods and services exports appear to be holding up?
08 March 2024
Encompass
On the face of it, UK exports have been surprisingly robust after Brexit. Goods exports to the EU have tracked those to the rest of the world, despite new trade barriers being imposed on the former but not on the latter.
Will Europe's DMA promote gatekeeper competition?
06 March 2024
(CEPA) The Center for European Policy Analysis
The Digital Markets Act aims to level tech’s uneven playing field. This goal requires not just reining in the largest tech companies but encouraging them to compete against each other.
Ukraine's future hangs by a (European) thread
21 February 2024
Time Magazine
Two years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, and Western leaders proclaimed their full support for Kyiv, Congressional Republicans seem ready to throw Ukraine under the bus.
Europe and the Gaza war
07 February 2024
Encompass
Europeans have struggled to form a coherent response to the Israel-Hamas conflict that erupted after Hamas’ brutal attacks on October 7th.
Press
Is Europe at a crossroad?
12 April 2024
EurActiv
“If you think of a world in which geopolitical tensions are going up and in which you have to rearm, being the slow grower is not good news. You are drifting down the economic league table,” Sander Tordoir, a senior economist at the Centre for European Reform (CER) think-tank, told Euractiv.
Rapport: EU:s lagar måste bli bättre för företagen
11 April 2024
Svenskt Naringsliv
En rapport som tagits fram av tankesmedjan Centre for European Reform, CER, visar att EU kan göra mycket mer för att lindra regelbördan för företagen. En central del av kritiken är att EU-kommissionen under ordföranden Ursula von der Leyen har klubbat igenom för många lagar och regler för snabbt och utan tillräcklig genomlysning och förankring.
Comment la France va tenter de défendre sa crédibilité à Bruxelles
10 April 2024
Le Figaro
« Les règles budgétaires sont des garde-fous destinés à préserver la confiance entre les États membres, plutôt qu’à être appliquées au pied de la lettre », explique Sander Tordoir, économiste au Centre for European Reform, à Berlin.
„Finanzcrash in Zeitlupe“ – Ökonomen fürchten das Auslaufen des EU-Wiederaufbaufonds im Jahr 2026
09 April 2024
Table Europe
Sander Tordoir schrieb in einem Papier 2023, dass das EU-Budget mit denneuen Schuldenregeln hätte verbunden werden müssen. Dies würdedie Investitionsbudgets schützen, während es einen Anreiz liefere, dienationalen Budgets in Ordnung zu bringen.
Draghi acude [otra vez] al rescate de Europa con el viejo recetario keynesiano
08 April 2024
El Diario
Sander Tordoir, del Centre for European Reform (CER), think-tank paneuropeísta, pone el dedo en la llaga: la competitividad es una nebulosa de la que siempre hablan los lobistas para presagiar época de vacas flacas, pero, en esta ocasión, en Europa, es un asunto urgente y un baño de realidad, del que “no saldrá con éxito” si no estimula la movilidad laboral, distribuye más equitativamente la riqueza o no canalizan adecuadamente sus cualificaciones laborales.
Going underground: Behind the growing demand for luxury doomsday bunkers
06 April 2024
Euronews
The best way to avoid a major geopolitical conflict is not to build a bunker but to demand your local representatives fund the Ukrainian war effort, according to Ian Bond, the deputy director of the Centre for European Reform.Bond believes that politicians "will eventually take notice" that there’s more public support behind the war and will do something about it if pressured for long enough and by enough people.
Euronews: Brussels, my love? Is Europe ready for Trump in the White House?
06 April 2024
We were joined by Ian Bond, deputy director of the CER who warned that Trump was "subservient" to Putin - which is a threat to America's European allies.
Eurozone inflation fall defies projections, buoying hopes of ECB interest rate cuts
03 April 2024
EurActiv
"It would be surprising if the ECB cut rates already in April," Sander Tordoir, senior analyst at the Centre for European Reform (CER), told Euractiv.
Ukrainian Strikes on Russian oil refineries: What's the impact?
03 April 2024
Euronews
"Since Russian import capacity for refined oil products is limited in the short run, since they're set up to export, it's actually a fairly clever way of causing disruption in the Russian market with limited impact globally," Aslak Berg, Research Fellow at the Centre for European Reform, told Euronews.
Have low wages permanently ‘scarred’ Europe’s economy?
29 March 2024
EurActiv
Sander Tordoir, a senior economist at the Centre for European Reform (CER), which hosted Wednesday’s event, told Euractiv that the ECB official’s concerns about the negative repercussions of persistently low wages are “exactly right”.
Podcasts
CER Podcast: Unlocking better regulation in Europe
11 April 2024
Anthony Teasdale and Zach Meyers discuss better regulation.
CER Podcast: Can Berlin and Brussels disentangle their economy from China’s grasp?
27 March 2024
Sander Tordoir and Shahin Vallée discuss China and Germany's relationship.
CER Podcast: How is the EU's role in European defence changing?
13 March 2024
Charles Grant and Luigi Scazzieri discuss the EU's role in European defence.
CER Podcast: War in Ukraine: Where are we two years on?
29 February 2024
Dame Melinda Simmons, Hanna Shelest and Ian Bond discuss the conflict in Ukraine two years on from Russia's full-scale invasion.
CER Podcast: Europe's defence production challenge
31 January 2024
Camille Grand and Luigi Scazzieri discuss European defence.
Events
CER/ECB discussion on 'The euro area's economic outlook and monetary policy path'
27 March 2024
Brussels
With Piero Cipollone, Jeromin Zettelmeyer and Sander Tordoir
Discussion on 'Can better regulation unlock Europe's economic potential?'
19 March 2024
Brussels
With Wolfgang Hiller, Zach Meyers, Lotta Nymann-Lindegren, Jörgen Warborn and Michael Wimmer and Sander Tordoir. Watch the video of the event here.
CER/UK Mission to the EU discussion on 'How can we make the international financial architecture deliver for sustainable development?'
18 March 2024
Brussels
With San Bilal, Melinda Bohannon, Jestas Abuok Nyamanga, Heidy Rombouts and Sander Tordoir
CER/UCL European Institute hybrid discussion on 'Ukraine's European future: Prospects and possibilities'
27 February 2024
Hybrid Brussels/Zoom
With Ian Bond, Maryna Iaroshevych, Natalie Pauwels, Luigi Scazzieri and Andrew Wilson
CER/Kreab breakfast on 'How to defend democracy in Europe'
22 February 2024
Hybrid Brussels/Zoom
With Věra Jourová, Vice President for Values and Transparency, European Commission