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Ten things everyone should know about the Sino-Russian relationship
policy brief by Bobo Lo, December 2008

Sino-Russian ties are at an historic high. But the relationship remains ambivalent and fraught with mistrust. Moscow and Beijing have different views of the world, contrasting foreign policy approaches, and often competing priorities. Although they share some common interests, this is no strategic partnership, much less an authoritarian alliance directed at the West. Bilateral relations will remain sound over the next decade. However, as China assumes a leadership role in world affairs, latent tensions will become more pronounced. Far from viewing Sino-Russian partnership as a threat, the West must hope that any deterioration will not have far-reaching consequences for Eurasian and global security.

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What Europe wants from President Obama
by Tomas Valasek, November 2008

Barack Obama was the preferred candidate of most Europeans. He will have Europe's goodwill and with it, a window of opportunity to restore transatlantic co-operation on key security issues. Whether he succeeds will depend in part on the president-elect's willingness to try out new approaches to key foreign policy challenges. Europe will expect the substance of US foreign policy to change as much as its style.

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Beyond banking: What the financial crisis means for the EU
by Katinka Barysch, Hugo Brady, Charles Grant, Bobo Lo, Clara Marina O'Donnell, Simon Tilford, Tomas Valasek and Philip Whyte, October 2008

The world is in the midst of a financial crisis which will have far-reaching implications for the EU – not just for the region's immediate economic outlook, but also for the future of the euro, financial regulation, economic reform and global governance. The crisis will also impact the EU's ambitions to tackle climate change as well as its relations with the US, Russia and China. This CER policy brief examines how the financial crisis will affect the politics and economics of the EU. It argues that the EU will emerge relatively unscathed from the current crisis only if its governments can successfully co-ordinate their policies, reduce dangerous economic imbalances and resist populist impulses.


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France, NATO and European defence
by Tomas Valasek, May 2008

France and the UK are close to an agreement that would dramatically improve relations EU and NATO. The two institutions currently make poor partners. Besides Franco-disagreements, Turkish squabbles with the EU also impede EU-NATO co-operation. France had long championed the EU over NATO for defence co-operation but President Nicolas Sarkozy has changed that. He has ordered his diplomats to stop obstructing NATO’s work and offered to return France to NATO's military structures.

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European retail banking:
Will there ever be a single market?
by David Shirreff, December 2007

Integrated markets for entertainment and communications, as well as nearly all goods, stretch from the Arctic to Cyprus. By contrast, Europe’s retail banking industry remains largely segmented along national lines. As a result, it is highly inefficient. This has to change if the full potential of the single market and the euro are to be realised. European lawmakers need to create an environment in which cross-border deals make commercial sense. A framework in which each business within a bank has its own profit-and-loss account and its own dedicated capital would lead to cross-border activity below the level of mega-mergers.

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Russia, realism and EU unity
by Katinka Barysch, July 2007

The Litvinenko murder case is only one of a growing number of disputes between the Kremlin and EU countries. But the EU has been slow to reassess its relations with a more autocratic and assertive Russia. Divisions within the EU have not helped. This new CER policy brief suggests that the EU should focus on finding common ground on pressing issues, such as Kosovo, missiles and pipelines.

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Serbia's European choice
by David Gowan, June 2007

Serbia's accession prospects are looking up, following the formation of a new government in Belgrade and the resumption of SAA talks with the EU. However, disagreements over Kosovo could quickly derail the process again. In this CER policy brief, David Gowan, the former British ambassador in Belgrade argues that Serbs must stop living in the past if they want progress towards stability, prosperity and EU membership.


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Why treaty change matters for business
and for Britain
by Hugo Brady and Charles Grant, May 2007

If Britain blocks Germany's plans to forge an agreement on a new EU treaty, the consequences would be grim, according to a policy brief published today by the Centre for European Reform and Business for New Europe. In 'Why treaty change matters for business and for Britain', Hugo Brady and Charles Grant argue without a deal on a new treaty, enlargement will stop and the EU will be unable to develop effective policies on climate change, the Doha trade round, Russia, the Middle East and much else.

press release


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The EU should not ignore the Shanghai
Co-operation Organisation
by Okasana Antonenko, May 2007

The Shanghai Co-operation Organisation (SCO) is an organisation of increasing strategic importance. It brings together Russia, China and four Central Asian states. The SCO is increasingly active in fighting terrorism and in promoting economic development in Central Asia. In this new CER policy brief, Oksana Antonenko argues that if the EU engaged with the SCO it could help to stabilise Central Asia, improve its energy security, and strengthen its efforts to fight terrorism and drug-trafficking.

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