UK science and technology after Brexit: how to fix it
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at how Brexit has hampered UK science and innovation. Britain’s spat with the EU over participation in the €95 billion Horizon Europe research programme remains one of the biggest issues in the fractious post-Brexit UK-EU relationship. The EU will not allow Britain to...
Europe should not forget the challenges to its south
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at how the European south could suffer from the fallout of the Ukraine war. European policy-makers have rightly focused on the war in Ukraine and the economic challenges that the EU now faces. But Europe should not get complacent about its southern neighbourhood....
How to fix the Northern Ireland Protocol
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform argues that the UK and the EU need to work together in good faith to fix the Protocol. In a new Centre for European Reform policy brief, ‘How to fix the Northern Ireland Protocol’, Hilary Benn MP argues that the UK and the EU...
The EU needs a bigger playing field – not a level playing field
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at whether ‘level playing field’ tools can be repurposed to help deliver new priorities. Policy-makers in Brussels and EU capitals are increasingly worried that other countries are taking unfair advantage of the EU’s open markets. They fret that EU firms are disadvantaged. In...
The EU, NATO and European security in a time of war
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at a new political and military reality in Europe. Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has established a new political and military reality in Europe. But the continent faces other challenges in the Western Balkans, the Middle East and Africa. Meanwhile, China poses increasing...
What can we know about the cost of Brexit so far?
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at how far the UK is lagging behind compared to similar economies. Covid-19 made it hard to isolate the impact of Brexit on the UK economy. But now that the most advanced economies have re-opened and have surpassed their pre-pandemic level of output,...
How to make EU fiscal rules compatible with net zero
This briefing from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at Europe and the need for more green investment. In order to be climate neutral by 2050 and to fulfil its 2030 climate targets, Europe needs more green investment. Although total European climate investment is on the rise, thanks in part to the...
Boiling dry
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at how the EU can help prevent instability in the water-scarce Maghreb. Over-exploitation and mismanagement of water, worsened by climate change, has made water scarcity of increasing concern in the Maghreb (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya). It constrains agricultural production and access to...
Russia-Ukraine: The West needs a sanctions strategy
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at how the West can take a more strategic approach to Russian sanctions. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the EU, US and UK have instituted an unprecedented set of economic sanctions – treating Russia in a comparable way to pariah states...
No pain, no gain? The Digital Markets Act
This report from UK think tank the Centre for European Reform looks at the new set of rules to improve competition online. At the end of 2021, the European Parliament agreed on its preferred version of the Digital Markets Act (DMA), a set of new rules to improve competition online. The DMA is part of...