Press
Can this Cold War agreement broker peace between Russia and the West?
01 August 2025
Gzero Media
“It was a very unusual assembly,” says Ian Bond, deputy director of the Centre for European Reform. “The fact that two sides that were brandishing nuclear weapons at each other were nonetheless able to find an agreement of this sort, is pretty extraordinary in itself.”
Europe made major trade concessions to Trump. How did that happen?
29 July 2025
The New York Times
It might nevertheless be one of the better results Europe could have obtained, said Aslak Berg, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform in London.“A lot of the initial reaction is that this a political defeat, this is a humiliation for the European Union,” Mr Berg said. He added: “Is it what the EU wanted? No. Is it ideal? No. But if this agreement sticks — big if — it will provide a certain degree of predictability.”
Why Europe’s trade deal with the US is better than it seems
29 July 2025
The Christian Science Monitor
“There was this self-perception that the EU is a heavyweight that can go toe-to-toe with the US, and that has been the case in previous situations,” says Aslak Berg of the Centre for European Reform in London. “But the US has not chosen to play by the rules anymore.” By “the rules,” Mr Berg is referring to two tenets of the World Trade Organization. First, that tariffs should only be imposed under certain conditions. And second, that unless one nation has a free trade agreement with another, it has to treat all nations the same. These rules are aimed at maintaining predictability and fairness, and Mr. Trump has wholly ignored them.
Venäjä rikkoi Etyjin – Ex-suurlähettilään mukaan Helsingin henkeä silti tarvitaan
29 July 2025
Verkkouutiset
Kokeneen brittiläisen ulko- ja turvallisuuspolitiikan asiantuntijan, suurlähettiläs Ian Bondin mielestä Etyjin rooli Euroopan turvallisuusarkkitehtuurissa on pitkälti unohtunut, ja pääsyyllinen siihen on Vladimir Putinin johtama Venäjä.– Putin on 25-vuotisen virkakautensa aikana rikkonut kaikkia kymmenen Helsingin periaatetta ja monia muita Etyj-sitoumuksia, sotilaallisen avoimuuden periaate mukaan lukien, Centre for European Reform -ajatushautomon apulaisjohtajana toimiva Bond kirjoittaa.
EU negotiated with Trump ‘from weakness’
28 July 2025
The Telegraph
Sander Tordoir, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, and a former European Central Bank official, blames the poor trade terms secured by the EU on the unwillingness of Brussels to retaliate.“Brussels talked a big game about readiness for a trade war - but failed to load the retaliation gun,” he says.
NPO Radio 1: Hoe stellen we belangrijke grondstoffen veilig in tijden van handelsoorlogen?
28 July 2025
Een handelsoorlog met de Amerikanen lijkt - voor nu - afgewend, maar dat de wereldhandel onvoorspelbaarder wordt, is duidelijk. Een strategisch onderdeel daarin zijn belangrijke grondstoffen. Hoe maken we ons minder afhankelijk van de VS, en vooral China? Directeur Johan Vlastuin van recyclingbedrijf AELS en econoom Sander Tordoir schetsen de mogelijkheden.
Europe’s ‘good as it gets’ trade deal redefines ties with Washington
28 July 2025
The Parliament Magazine
“It's the kind of deal that a year ago would be unthinkable but, given the current circumstances, it's probably as good as it gets,” Aslak Berg, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, told The Parliament. He argued that most European exporters will remain competitive under a 15% tariff, meaning the outcome is “better than the worst-case scenario of a complete break.”
Waarom auto's belangrijk zijn in de handelsoorlog met de VS: 'Grote schok als Europa die industrie kwijtraakt'
28 July 2025
Een Vandaag
Een deal is een opluchting, maar het zal volgens Sander Tordoir niet zomaar alle onzekerheid wegnemen. Hij is hoofdeconoom bij de Berlijnse denktank Centre for European Reform en volgt de geopolitieke ontwikkelingen rondom de handelsoorlog op de voet. "Deals worden vaak opgebroken, dat is niet fijn voor handelspartners." Ook vindt hij dat de EU zwak heeft onderhandeld.
Share of goods in UK exports falls to record low
28 July 2025
Financial Times
“Brexit is the main cause of the country’s manufacturing malaise,” said John Springford, associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform think-tank. “Services exports have performed much better because global demand for traded services has been rising, playing to Britain’s strengths.”
Times Radio: Trump's EU tariffs a political 'display of power'
26 July 2025
The EU "doesn't have a high tariff level" against the US; the Trump deal is more about securing "a big political win," says research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, Aslak Berg.
The UK’s weak economic growth and Brexit: Is the worst over?
25 July 2025
Euronews
According to John Springford, an associate fellow at the London-based think-tank Centre for European Reform, Brexit has cost the state £40 billion (€46.1bn) since 2019.“The 2019-2024 parliament raised taxes by around £100 billion, and if we take the OBR’s 4% loss of productivity to be the true figure, £40 billion of those tax rises were needed because of EU withdrawal,” he wrote in a recent study.
Der zweite China-Schock: Wogegen sich Deutschland und Europa wappnen müssen
24 July 2025
Die Politische Meinung
Die deutsche Industrie gerät unter Druck – nicht durch Innovationsrückstände, sondern durch eine strukturelle globale Verschiebung: China produziert am Bedarf vorbei, die USA schotten sich ab, und Deutschland verliert Teile seiner traditionellen Exportmärkte.
For European economic policy, the new world has yet to be born
23 July 2025
Intereconomics
As Europe revisits its economic strategy – spurred by calls to “make Europe competitive again” – it must move beyond stylised contrasts and ask what it takes to build and scale technological capacity today.
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: Trump’s tariffs and digital policy
23 July 2025
Zselyke Csaky and Zach Meyers discuss digital policy as Trump's tariffs are back on the agenda.
Trump grozi wysokimi cłami Unii Europejskiej. Ekspert: „Eskalacja będzie trudna do uniknięcia”
18 July 2025
„Najnowsza groźba Trumpa uczyniłaby eksport UE nieopłacalnym. W takim przypadku Unia nie ma wiele do stracenia, odpowiadając ostro” – mówi nam ekonomista Sander Tordoir
Le gel des fonds pour la Hongrie met à l’épreuve la conditionnalité liée à l’État de droit
18 July 2025
EurActiv
Zselyke Csaky, chercheur principal au Centre for European Reform, affirme que les mesures prises par l'UE pour lutter contre les violations de l'État de droit ont eu des résultats mitigés, comme on a pu le constater en Hongrie et en Pologne.
Newstalk podcast: President Trump issues a 50-day ultimatum to Russia
15 July 2025
President Donald Trump has announced plans to supply advanced weaponry to Ukraine through NATO and has warned of 'very severe' sanctions against Russia should it fail to reach a peace agreement within 50 days. We discuss further with Ian Bond, former British diplomat in Moscow, and now the deputy director of the Centre for European Reform.
Trump's latest tariff threat raises stakes for EU ahead of August deadline
14 July 2025
The Parliament Magazine
“When you reach 30%, you reach a level that’s prohibitive for a lot of trade,” Aslak Berg, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, told The Parliament. He argued that, while some transatlantic commercial ties could be maintained, the impact would be so dramatic that the EU wouldn’t see much of a difference between 30% and an even higher levy.“At that point, you might as well think that you have to retaliate,” he added.
El suicidio económico de la expulsión masiva
14 July 2025
El Pais
Por el contrario, el Reino Unido post-Brexit perdió entre 2-3% del PIB y enfrenta escasez de 330.000 trabajadores según el Centre for European Reform.
BBC News: Sefcovic: Tariff deal between EU-UK is 'close'
14 July 2025
"We are getting very close to a trade war, which is the last thing that the EU wants. Their strategy so far has been to deescalate and delay and that has not paid off.