Press

Turkey's Syria incursion: Can Ankara force NATO to provide assistance?

17 October 2019
Euro News
Luigi Scazzieri, a research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, concurred: "Turkey could trigger Article 5 but it would hardly be credible unless Turkish territory was attacked by Russia or Syria," he told Euronews by e-mail."Other member states would probably be unwilling to provide assistance, unless Turkey came under sustained attack, given that Ankara started this bout of fighting," he added.

BBC Radio 5 Live: Brexit deal?

Sam Lowe
17 October 2019
“There’s this idea that we’re coming towards the end of Brexit...even if this deal goes through we’re just moving to phase three...Brexit is a process not an event” (from 10.51) Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform told  BBC 5 Live.

Tok FM: Gostyńska: Brexitowej sagi ciąg dalszy nastąpi

Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska
17 October 2019
Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform talks to TOK FM about the ongoing Brexit talks.

Rennen gegen die tickende Brexit-Uhr

17 October 2019
Die Welt
Nach Berechnung des unabhängigen Londoner Instituts Centre for European Reform war die britische Wirtschaft im zweiten Quartal 2019 um 2,9 Prozent kleiner, als sie es ohne das Brexit-Votum wäre. Durch den Brexit „verursachte Unsicherheit hat generell ökonomische Aktivitäten getroffen und besonders nachteilige Effekte für Investitionen gehabt“, heißt es in dem am Mittwoch vorgestellten Report.

Brexit deal on a knife-edge as Boris Johnson scrambles to find agreement with DUP

16 October 2019
The Mirror
Brexit has cost almost £70billion since the 2016 referendum thanks to the economy being 2.9% smaller than if the UK voted Remain, according to the Centre for European Reform.

Greta Thunberg accuses rich countries of "creative carbon accounting"

Sam Lowe
16 October 2019
The Economist
Trade deals could be used to encourage exporting countries to cut emissions, says Sam Lowe of the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank in London. The EU is considering a “carbon border adjustment”— higher tariffs on goods from countries that do not meet the EU’s environmental standards. 

EU risks trade fight over carbon border tax plans

Sam Lowe
16 October 2019
Financial Times
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, said the EU “should make it as easy as possible for [importing] companies to seek relief based on proof of actual greenhouse gas emissions”.

UK's economy is £69bn smaller because of Brexit turmoil, says leading think tank

16 October 2019
Evening Standard
Britain's economy is a startling £69 billion smaller than it would have been if the country had not voted for Brexit, according to a leading think tank.The Centre for European Reform said the turmoil and uncertainty triggered by the 2016 vote to quit the EU means the economy is 2.9 per cent smaller than it would have been otherwise. “We have seen a substantial loss of output as a result of slower growth, and the hit to investment is storing up trouble for the future,” said John Springford, deputy director of the CER and author of the analysis.

BBC News: Brexit deal deadline

15 October 2019
"It looks like both sides are willing to strike a Brexit agreement and that in itself is good news – but talk of the town in Brussels is that it's likely there will need to be yet another Council summit on Brexit", Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a senior research fellow a the Centre for European Reform tells BBC News.

Getting Brexit done? It’s already cost UK economy almost £70bn, new report says

15 October 2019
The Independent
Brexit has already cost the UK economy almost £70bn – the equivalent of £440m a week or £840 for every household in the country each year – according to a new report from the Centre for European Reform.

Law and Justice party set for victory in Polish election

Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska
14 October 2019
Financial Times
Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska, from the Centre for European Reform, said that such policies could lead to further clashes between Warsaw and Brussels. However, she said she did not expect a big confrontation before Poland holds presidential elections next spring. “I think there could be clashes here and there . . . but I don’t think that Law and Justice will want to have a fundamental row with the EU, at least in the first year in power, as immediately after the parliamentary elections, they will start gearing up for presidential elections, where they will want to appeal to moderate voters,” she said.

Prayer is Brexit strategy as services brace for red tape storm

Sam Lowe
14 October 2019
Bloomberg
“A lot of British companies selling into Europe or across Europe are going to be breaking the law without realizing it,” said Samuel Lowe, a researcher at the Centre for European Reform.

Election results give hope to opposition in Poland and Hungary

Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska
14 October 2019
The Guardian
“It looks like this may be a small step in the right direction – but it’s clear the opposition still has an awful lot of work to do,” said Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform.

Backstop compromise is still on, but trade issue could yet derail Brexit agreement

Sam Lowe
14 October 2019
The Telegraph
But Sam Lowe, a trade policy expert with the Centre for European Reform, said that the risk posed to the EU by such a scheme, when applied to Northern Ireland, would be “much smaller” when applied to Northern Ireland than UK-wide.“In practice, with a few exceptions, the day-to-day life for people living under a dual-tariff regime would for most just look and feel as if Northern Ireland were in a customs union with the EU,” he added.

EU showdown: Poland's ruling party election victory could reignite judicial row with EU

Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska
13 October 2019
The Express
The party also wants to continue with its judicial overhaul, which sparked concern with Agata Gostynska-Jakubowska from the Centre for European Reform. She said that this could lead to further clashes between Warsaw and Brussels. But she added she did not expect a big clash before Poland holds presidential elections next spring.She said: “I think there could be clashes here and there . . . but I don’t think that Law and Justice will want to have a fundamental row with the EU, at least in the first year in power, as immediately after the parliamentary elections, they will start gearing up for presidential elections, where they will want to appeal to moderate voters.”

Commission takes Poland to court on eve of election

Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska
11 October 2019
EU Observer
"If PiS wins a parliamentary majority in both houses of parliament, it would probably attempt to further undermine democratic checks and balances. For example, PiS wants to make it easier for the government to lift the immunity of judges," Agata Gostyńska-Jakubowska, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform, wrote in a recent analysis.

Newsnight: Ongoing Brexit negotiations

Sam Lowe
11 October 2019
Sam Lowe, a senior research fellow at the Centre for European Reform spoke to BBC Newsnight about the thawing in Brexit negotiations over the past few days.

Boris Johnson's love-hate relationship with Brussels over half a century as Prime Minister prepares for crunch EU summit

11 October 2019
iNews
Charles Grant, a fellow member of the Brussels press pack who now runs the Centre for European Reform, tells i that Mr Johnson was considered more a figure of fun than a threat to the European establishment. “He was cheerful and he was funny,” Mr Grant says. “People thought he was pretending to be eurosceptic because of his career. Nobody thought he was going to become prime minister! His prime purpose was to entertain - and to get on the front page of the Telegraph.”

Britain and EU step up last-ditch Brexit talks

11 October 2019
The New York Times
“The EU want a deal,” said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a research institute based in London. “They have a lot on their plate: a new commission; the possible resurfacing of a eurozone crisis; the migration crisis, which threatens to rear its ugly head again; the trade wars with Trump’s America.”

European Parliament, flexing muscle, rejects France's Commission nominee

Camino Mortera-Martinez
10 October 2019
The New York Times
Camino Mortera-Martinez, a researcher at the London-based Centre for European Reform, said, “The Parliament never misses an opportunity to flex its muscle, but it was a misstep by Macron to put forward a candidate that he didn’t think was OK to be in his own government.”