In this week's Centre for European Reform podcast, Senem Aydin Düzgit, Professor of International Relations at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences of Sabancı University and Senior Scholar and Research and Academic Affairs Coordinator at the Istanbul Policy Center, and Luigi Scazzieri, senior research fellow at the CER, join host Octavia Hughes to discuss the potential outcomes of Turkey's elections which will take place on May 14th. Senem explains why the presidential election is more...

In this week's Centre for European Reform podcast, Ian Bond, director of foreign policy, joins host and head of the CER’s Brussels office, Camino Mortera-Martinez, to discuss the EU's elusive China policy. They talk about the lack of consensus among EU member-states on an effective China policy and explain why Brussel's stance on China is different from Washington's. Can Beijing be an honest broker between Moscow and Kyiv? And how will Europe’s China policy evolve over the next...

In this week's Centre for European Reform podcast, Sander Tordoir, senior economist at the CER, joins host Octavia Hughes to discuss the EU's fiscal rules ahead of the release of his policy brief on the same subject next week. Sander explains why EU countries must have public finances that are largely aligned and the difficulties the European Commission has faced in enforcing the rules. He offers some suggestions for improving the rules and gives some insight into the proposals set out by the...

In this week's Centre for European Reform podcast, Helmi Pillai, our (2022-23) Clara Marina O'Donnell fellow, joins our director of foreign policy, Ian Bond, to discuss hybrid threats ahead of the release of her paper on the same topic. They consider the often-disputed definitions of 'hybrid threats' and 'critical infrastructure' and the evolving story of the destruction of the Nord Stream pipelines. Helmi concludes that a whole-of-society approach is crucial for the EU if member-states are...

In this week's episode of the Centre for European Reform podcast, our director Charles Grant is joined by Catherine Barnard, Professor of EU Law and Employment Law at the University of Cambridge and Deputy Director of UK in a Changing Europe, to discuss the recently agreed Windsor Framework. Together, they delve into how the new framework modifies the previous UK-EU trade deal and its implications, examine the role of the European Court of Justice in the agreement, and explore the domestic...

In this week's Centre for European Reform podcast, Dr Olesya Khromeychuk, historian, writer, and director of the Ukrainian Institute London and Sir Richard Shirreff, former NATO Deputy Supreme Allied Commander for Europe, join our director of foreign policy, Ian Bond, to discuss the Ukraine-Russia war. They consider how to avoid 'Ukraine fatigue' in the West, what can be learnt from Ukraine's military successes and whether Western leaders' visits to Kyiv have a practical value, or risk...

In this week’s episode of the Centre for European Reform podcast, we answer questions you have sent to us. Clara Marina O’Donnell fellow Helmi Pillai speaks to the head of our Brussels office Camino Mortera-Martinez and senior fellows Zach Meyers and Luigi Scazzieri. They discuss the EU’s response to the Inflation Reduction Act, Brexit’s impact on UK science and technology, Qatargate, EU migration policy, Iran's nuclear programme and the prospect of sending fighter jets to Ukraine. Produced...

In this week's episode of the Centre for European Reform podcast, the CER's deputy director John Springford and professor at King's College London Jonathan Portes discuss their report 'Early impacts of the post-Brexit immigration system on the UK labour market'. The report estimates that Brexit has led to a net shortfall of 330,000 workers in the UK, concentrated in low-skilled sectors such as transportation and hospitality. They delve into the methods used to reach this figure and debate the...

In this week’s episode of the Centre for European Reform podcast Helmi Pillai interviews John Springford about his most recent cost of Brexit analysis. John shares his estimate of the damage Brexit caused to the British economy in 2022 and explains the reasons for the negative impact. John also discusses the methodology behind his findings and responds to criticisms of his analysis. Produced by Helmi Pillai Music by Edward Hipkins

In this year’s final episode of the Centre for European Reform podcast, our researchers unpack the most significant event of the past year, Russia’s war on Ukraine. The CER’s experts analyse the impact of the war thus far and share their predictions for 2023. Ian Bond, director of foreign policy, evaluates Russia and Ukraine’s performance in the war and the Western response. Senior research fellow Luigi Scazzieri discusses the war’s impacts on European defence and enlargement. Elisabetta...

In this week’s episode of the CER podcast, Camino Mortera-Martinez, head of our Brussels office, and Sander Tordoir, senior economist at the CER, explain the escalating conflict between Hungary and the EU. They discuss the EU’s strategies for tackling democratic backsliding and corruption in Hungary, and cast light on the politics and economics of Hungary’s frozen EU funds. Produced by Helmi Pillai and Rosie Giorgi Music by Edward Hipkins

In this week’s Centre for European Reform podcast, John Springford, our deputy director, and Sander Tordoir, senior economist at the CER, discuss the EU’s fiscal rules. They consider why the rules matter, what their shortcomings are, and weigh up the European Commission’s proposal for tweaking the current fiscal rulebook. Produced by Helmi Pillai and Rosie Giorgi Music by Edward Hipkins

In this week’s Centre for European Reform podcast, Peter Foster, public policy editor at the Financial Times and author of the FT ‘Britain after Brexit’ newsletter, joins our director Charles Grant to consider the prospects for repairing UK-EU relations under new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. They consider the scope for compromise on both sides, particularly on the Northern Ireland Protocol, and examine two major pieces of UK legislation, the Retained EU Law Bill and the Northern...

In this week's Centre for European Reform podcast, CER media co-ordinator Rosie Giorgi puts our listeners' questions to senior research fellows, Elisabetta Cornago and Zach Meyers, and head of our Brussels office, Camino Mortera-Martínez. They discuss how EU policy-makers are responding to the energy crisis, why the UK should tread carefully in burning the EU rulebook, and who the most powerful European leader is right now. [01:30] Energy crisis measures: what are the measures agreed upon so...

Emmanuel Macron set out his vision for a 'European Political Community' in a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg on May 9th. In this Centre for European Reform podcast, head of our Brussels office, Camino Mortera-Martinez, speaks to our director, Charles Grant, about the potential shape of this new European organisation, the purpose it would serve, and which countries might be involved. Produced by Rosie Giorgi Music by Edward Hipkins

In this week’s Centre for European Reform podcast, Hilary Benn, Labour Member of Parliament for Leeds Central and Co-Convenor of the UK Trade and Business Commission, joins our director, Charles Grant, to discuss the stalemate between the UK and the EU over the Northern Ireland Protocol. They consider how negotiations ground to a standstill, the red lines of each side and the prospects for reaching a compromise. Both Hilary and Charles argue that this is not out of reach, provided both...

In this week’s Centre for European Reform podcast, our experts answered your questions. Our media co-ordinator Rosie Giorgi spoke to CER foreign policy director, Ian Bond, senior research fellow, Zach Meyers, and our deputy director, John Springford. They considered how Europe should protect its interests while maintaining a strong trading relationship with China, what the EU has planned in the way of tax reforms, and why the EU’s banking union has stalled. Produced by Rosie Giorgi Music by...

In this week’s CER podcast, Isabel Hardman, assistant editor of The Spectator, joins our director, Charles Grant. They consider the UK Conservative party leadership contest, where party members have to choose between Rishi Sunak, the former chancellor, and Liz Truss, the foreign secretary. Charles and Isabel consider how each candidate’s government experience has shaped their stances on key issues, and examine what the outcome of the election could mean for Britain’s relationship with the...

In this new Centre for European Reform podcast, we looked ahead to Italy's autumn elections. Our media co-ordinator Rosie Giorgi spoke to Luigi Scazzieri, senior research fellow at the CER, about Mario Draghi’s resignation as Italian Prime Minister; the hard-right firebrand Giorgia Meloni, who’s tipped to replace him; and what a (probable) right-wing coalition government could mean for Italy’s relationship with the EU and Rome's foreign policy.

*Running order below* In this week’s Centre for European Reform podcast, our media co-ordinator Rosie Giorgi put our listeners’ questions to the CER’s experts. She spoke to senior research fellows Zach Meyers, Luigi Scazzieri and Elisabetta Cornago, and the CER’s foreign policy director, Ian Bond. They discussed what central bank digital currencies might look like in practice; how the EU measures up against its global defence peers; relations between Russia and the West in the post-Cold...

This is an audio recording from the Centre for European Reform's 24th birthday reception, which we celebrated last night at the Irish Embassy in London. Irish Ambassador to the UK, Adrian O'Neill, and our Director, Charles Grant, gave opening remarks, before Sir Keir Starmer, Leader of the UK Labour Party, gave a keynote speech on Labour's plans for the post-Brexit UK-EU relationship.

In this week's CER podcast, our foreign policy director Ian Bond spoke to three senior figures involved in Ukraine's application for EU membership: Natalie Forsyuk, General-Director of Ukraine's Governmental Office on European Integration & NATO; Ivanna Klympush-Tsintsadze, Chair of the Parliamentary Committee on Ukraine's Integration into the EU; and Katarína Mathernová, Deputy Director-General for Neighbourhood Policy & Enlargement Negotiations at the European Commission, and Head...

In this week's Centre for European Reform podcast, we considered the impact that Brexit has had on the UK economy so far. Our media co-ordinator Rosie Giorgi spoke to two economists: Thomas Sampson of the London School of Economics, and John Springford, the CER's deputy director. They discussed and compared their findings on how Brexit has affected UK goods trade and inflation, and John shared his latest research on how Brexit has impacted GDP, investment and services trade. Read John's...

In late March, the EU agreed upon two big new pieces of legislation for regulating big tech and social media: the Digital Markets Act (DMA) and Digital Services Act (DSA). In this week’s CER podcast, our media co-ordinator Rosie Giorgi speaks to senior research fellow Zach Meyers about the motivations behind the new laws, the companies that will be affected and what the UK is doing to promote digital competition and online safety. 02:10 - Who are the so-called gatekeepers? 04:30 - What...

In this week’s CER podcast, we discussed Macron’s re-election as French President. We strung together the audio from an event that we held just after the elections. Pascal Lamy of the Paris Peace Forum, journalist and broadcaster Christine Ockrent and the Atlantic Council’s Ben Haddad joined us to consider France’s domestic political landscape, Macron’s victory, his vision for French and EU policy this time around, and what the potential stumbling blocks might be. Presented and produced by...