Press
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: Immigration reform in the UK
09 July 2025
John Springford and Madeleine Sumption discuss the British government's white paper on immigration.
Europe’s dilemma: Build a military industry or keep relying on the US
06 July 2025
The New York Times
There are essentially two schools of thought as Europe embarks on a military spending binge, said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a think tank focused on the European Union.
La OCDE recomienda trasladar a España parte de la industria intensiva europea
06 July 2025
EL Confidencial
Por ejemplo, Sander Tordoir, economista jefe del Centre For European Reform, sostuvo en la red social X que España es un destino “prometedor” para la migración de industrias europeas de alto consumo energético y sugirió que “Alemania debería permitir la migración de parte de su industria siderúrgica y química”. La alternativa, considera, es “subvencionar posiblemente a perpetuidad”.
Angela Rayner attacks Nigel Farage’s Brexit promises
02 July 2025
The London Economic
John Springford, an associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform, has now confirmed this was correct. He told the Times that a “large chunk” of these tax rises would not have been required had the UK remained in the EU or even “chosen a softer form of Brexit.”And it doesn’t seem like the pain is over yet, with the OBR saying it would take 15 years for the full impact of Brexit to be felt, predicting a 15% drop in trade volumes compared to if the UK had stayed in Europe.
Guerre commerciale: face à l’administration Trump, l’UE partagée entre fermeté et renoncement
02 July 2025
Le Moci
« C’est vraiment ironique, commente Sander Tordoir, l’économiste en chef du Centre for European Reform. D’un côté, Trump utilise les droits de douane pour relancer l’industrie manufacturière américaine. De l’autre, il milite pour faciliter la délocalisation des bénéfices des multinationales américaines, allant même jusqu’à soutenir des incitations fiscales susceptibles de les encourager à produire à l’étranger. L’accord mondial sur l’impôt minimum que le G7 et l’OCDE étaient sur le point de conclure est clairement dans l’intérêt des contribuables américains ».
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: The 2025 NATO summit
01 July 2025
Charles Grant and Luigi Scazzieri discuss the recent NATO summit of 25-26 June.
Sous la pression de Trump, l’UE tentée de capituler sur les droits de douane
01 July 2025
Alternatives Economiques
Selon Sander Tordoir, « l’équipe Trump voudra prouver que le 9 juillet n’était pas qu’un pétard mouillé, explique-t-il. Elle va donc certainement rétablir des droits de douane élevés et réciproques sur au moins un pays afin de faire un exemple. »
Switzerland stirs Brexit ghosts in push for EU access
01 July 2025
Financial Times
“The EU’s public position has long been that the Swiss and UK negotiations are separate, but in practice EU negotiators were keen to avoid setting precedents in one negotiation that might affect the other,” said Anton Spisak, an associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform. He added it was “no surprise” the same EU officials were involved in the Swiss negotiations and the recent UK-EU reset.
Buy European»: Die EU schottet sich ab
30 June 2025
Republik
«Vor allem seit der Eurokrise ist Europa sehr abhängig von externer Nachfrage», sagt Sander Tordoir, Chefökonom des Centre for European Reform, der Republik. ...«Wir haben die heimische Nachfrage mehr oder weniger abgewürgt», so Tordoir.
"La Hongrie de Viktor Orban est devenue un régime hybride entre la démocratie et la dictature"
28 June 2025
Franceinfo
Selon le Parlement européen, la Hongrie ne peut plus être considérée comme une démocratie. Car depuis 2010, le Premier ministre Viktor Orban a "façonné les institutions démocratiques pour lui conférer un pouvoir quasi illimité", explique la chercheuse Zselyke Csaky à franceinfo.
How to survive a trade war: A case for EU burden-sharing
27 June 2025
The Parliament Magazine
President Donald Trump’s tariff pause is a chance for the EU to get its house in order and figure out a measured response to the US trade threats.
CER Podcast: Unpacking Europe: The geopolitics of the war in the Middle East
25 June 2025
Charles Grant and Gideon Rachman discuss the geopolitics of the war in the Middle East.
UK to focus new trade strategy on boosting services exports
25 June 2025
Financial Times
Real-terms UK trade volumes have grown by just 1 per cent since 2019, while both the EU and G7 have enjoyed an 8 per cent growth, the Centre for European Reform said last month.
Predictions of £40bn hit to public finances from Brexit ‘correct’
23 June 2025
The Times
On the ninth anniversary of the leave vote, the OBR’s estimate of a 4 per cent loss in the UK’s long-run productivity has been borne out by declining investment and trade volumes, according to John Springford, an associate fellow at the Centre for European Reform.
Lessons in power from the Brexit wars
21 June 2025
Encompass
Britain’s electricity industry is congratulating itself on the outcome of the UK-EU summit last month, with good reason.
PM’s Trump realpolitik looks like appeasement
21 June 2025
The Observer
A study by John Springford, associate fellow of the Centre for European Reform, finds that the annual loss of 4% of gross domestic product from Brexit – as estimated by the Office for Budgetary Responsibility – implies a loss of £40bn a year in tax revenue. He points out that this would have offset “a sizeable chunk” of the £100bn of taxes raised by the 2019-24 Conservative government.
UK's tougher immigration stance may undermine efforts to meet net zero by 2050
18 June 2025
The Economic Times
Stricter immigration rules introduced by the UK government could hinder the country’s net zero and housing goals, according to a new report from the Centre for European Reform (CER). The report found that more than half of the foreign-born workers in green jobs would not meet the new visa requirements, raising concerns about future labour shortages in critical sectors such as construction and clean energy.
Tighter immigration rules could hit UK net zero mission, report warns
17 June 2025
The Guardian
A report by the Centre for European Reform (CER), calculates that more than half of the foreign-born workers doing “green jobs” in the UK – 260,000 out of 465,000 – would not have been allowed in under the new rules.Ministers are relying on employers to raise wages and provide more training in order to attract domestic workers into these roles, but John Springford, an associate fellow at the CER, said that could push up the costs to consumers of going green.
The EU needs to punch its weight on sanctions
15 June 2025
Financial Times
As the Centre for European Reform’s Aslak Berg argues in a new briefing, the ACI gives the commission strong powers that it should use against Russia. Export controls on sensitive technology, too, are best decided at pan-EU level. Above all, these powers need to be deployed in the round in one coherent strategy.
Tariffs could be the spur Europe's single market needs
11 June 2025
Reuters
Aslak Berg, research fellow at the Centre for European Reform think tank, said the Commission seemed to be serious about reforms that made a difference, but needed to get EU members on board.