Research

The new geopolitics: Annual report 2020

11 February 2021
The CER’s annual report features an essay on 12 geopolitical trends that are reshaping Europe. The report also describes some highlights of the CER’s work on Brexit, economics and foreign policy.

How Greece can recover from Covid

Christian Odendahl, Yiannis Mouzakis
09 February 2021
The pandemic is adding to Greece’s economic problems. But the EU recovery fund, if spent well, offers Greece a chance to turn a corner.

It takes two to tango: The EU and the UK need to work together to make the Northern Ireland protocol work

Sam Lowe
02 February 2021
The European Commission’s aborted attempt to restrict vaccines moving from the EU to Northern Ireland risked undermining years of hard work.

Transatlantic relations for the Biden era and beyond

01 February 2021
Most European leaders responded to Joe Biden’s election victory on November 3rd with undisguised enthusiasm.

Foreign policy co-operation: Brexit's missing link

01 February 2021
The UK-EU Trade and Co-operation Agreement does not include foreign policy. The UK and its European partners will continue working together bilaterally and in small groups.

Preparing for a CDU-Green coalition in Berlin

Sophia Besch, Christian Odendahl
01 February 2021
Germany is often slow to adjust policies that have served it well. But the next election is one of the better opportunities to make progress. 

An unequal recovery would be politically explosive

29 January 2021
When restrictions are eased, office workers will spend while poorer people, who have been more likely to get COVID-19, may struggle. Governments need to find ways to make the recovery fair.

Ditchley conference report: COVID-19, the global economy and the return of power politics

John Springford, Christian Odendahl, Sam Lowe, Sophia Besch, Katherine Pye
22 January 2021
At the CER's Ditchley economics conference, participants discussed the global role of the EU in the aftermath of the pandemic, with faltering trade and investment and growing strategic competition between the US and China.

A new transatlantic consensus on Iran

19 January 2021
A new Iran nuclear crisis is brewing. Europeans should seize the opportunity to re-establish a common position with the US and try to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement that Donald Trump abandoned.

Choosing Merkel's successor: None of the above?

Sophia Besch, Christian Odendahl
12 January 2021
The competition for ‘Merkel voters’ has started, and the CDU needs a leader able to keep her broad coalition of supporters together. That may well be health minister Jens Spahn.

The EU-UK trade and co-operation agreement: A platform on which to build?

Sam Lowe
12 January 2021
The new trade deal between the EU and the UK could be improved upon over time, but that is not a given. It could also crumble away.

Ten reflections on a sovereignty-first Brexit

28 December 2020
The UK-EU trade deal prioritises sovereignty over economics. Politicians will soon be talking about how to improve the deal. Very little about the UK’s long-term relationship with the EU has been settled.

Deadly coronavirus, domineering China and divided America: What the new geopolitics means for Europe

17 December 2020
Trump's presidency and COVID-19 have destabilised geopolitics, creating problems for the US and the EU, while strengthening China.

European strategic autonomy and a new transatlantic bargain

Sophia Besch, Luigi Scazzieri
11 December 2020
The distinction between a European path and a transatlantic path in European defence is misguided. Europeans should focus on improving their capabilities and developing a common strategic outlook.

Europe needs a strong Africa, but will it work to achieve one?

Katherine Pye
03 December 2020
The massive problems created by COVID-19 in Africa offer Europe a chance to promote a new partnership. But upgrading the relationship will require the EU to confront both illicit financial flows and a looming debt crisis.

Can Biden mend Trump's foreign policy mess?

30 November 2020
Donald Trump’s foreign policy failures far outweigh his successes. America’s allies may have exaggerated expectations of what Joe Biden can do to put things back on an even keel.  

Navigating accidental illegality

Sam Lowe
30 November 2020
Next year many companies selling goods or services between the UK and EU will inadvertently break some rule or other. But the immediate consequences of their inevitable infractions remain uncertain.

Turkey rising?

30 November 2020
Turkey’s foreign policy has become increasingly militarised and assertive, driven by a mix of ambition, security concerns and domestic politics. However, despite its recent successes, Ankara is at risk of overreaching.