This year's opening keynote was a tour de force on AI delivered by @marietjeschaake.bsky.social from @stanfordhai.bsky.social, chaired by the CER's Director @cergrant.bsky.social #TheBodrumRT
Charles Grant
@cergrant.bsky.social
Director, Centre for European Reform @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social. Interested in the EU, Russia and China
“The far right has been a problem for Europe for more than a decade, says @cergrant.bsky.social, director of the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social. buff.ly/hf191Kp
https://www.ft.com/content/ec433e1f-bdb4-4a1c-868e-e1c7c4121f45?syn-25a6b1a6=1
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Exciting times. Huge congratulations to @anandmenon.bsky.social. And a massive thank you to @cergrant.bsky.social for his contribution to Europe and Britain.
Matthew Holehouse@matthewholehouse.bsky.social · 4d agoOutstanding news for @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social and @anandmenon.bsky.social
We are delighted to announce that @anandmenon.bsky.social will take over from @cergrant.bsky.social as director of @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social in the new year. Look out for more news soon on how Anand will ensure that some of the best bits of UK in a Changing Europe are maintained at the CER.
Centre for European Reform@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social · 4d ago📢 The @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social appoints a new director: @anandmenon.bsky.social will succeed @cergrant.bsky.social as director, taking over at the start of 2027.
What a brilliant appointment! Congratulations to @anandmenon.bsky.social on becoming the new Director of the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social Congratulations also to @cergrant.bsky.social on job well done, both creating, and building the CER into the important think tank it is!
Huge news for @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social. I look forward to working for @anandmenon.bsky.social. I am also immensely grateful to @cergrant.bsky.social for taking a chance on me in 2013. I'm glad we'll still be able to draw on his wisdom and his extraordinary networks of high-level contacts.
Centre for European Reform@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social · 4d ago📢 The @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social appoints a new director: @anandmenon.bsky.social will succeed @cergrant.bsky.social as director, taking over at the start of 2027.
🗓️ JOIN US: 28/09/26 - @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social/ @euinuk.bsky.social fringe event at Labour party conference on 'Building a stronger Europe' With @stellacreasy.bsky.social, @mphamishfalconer.bsky.social, @cergrant.bsky.social and Jukka Salovaara
"To work, #Schengen needs to be three things: definitive, defensible and credible. None is possible without mutual trust between EU member-states. And none were on display in #Ceuta," @caminomortera.bsky.social tells @cerianbond.bsky.social in the latest #CERpodcast. Listen here: buff.ly/zODFrdk
“Are there some disadvantages to the EU of the British having left?” @cergrant.bsky.social asked Catherine Day in the latest episode of the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social podcast. Listen to the episode in full here: buff.ly/UG8qfsj
“I think there is still a way to go in Europe to get over the loss of the UK, because it was also seen as a kind of spurning of what the EU stands for,” Catherine Day told @cergrant.bsky.social in the CER podcast 'Unpacking Europe', listen here:
Centre for European Reform: Unpacking Europe: 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum
On this week’s Unpacking Europe podcast, the CER’s director Charles Grant sat down with Catherine Day, a former Secretary-General of the European Commission, to discuss the impact the departure...
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And an essay by @cergrant.bsky.social on how much closer UK-EU relations can go – and what could make a more ambitious partnership possible. buff.ly/Cp1xOlu
“I think it's as much in the UK's interest to have a closer defence and security relationship with the EU as it is in the EU's,” Catherine Day told @cergrant.bsky.social in the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social podcast, listen here:
Centre for European Reform: Unpacking Europe: 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum
On this week’s Unpacking Europe podcast, the CER’s director Charles Grant sat down with Catherine Day, a former Secretary-General of the European Commission, to discuss the impact the departure...
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@cergrant.bsky.social, the director of the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social think-tank, warned that associate membership might be the best that Ukraine and other countries could hope for if they want to join the EU in the near future. buff.ly/qvJrOCX
Why the EU is like trying to order a pizza
Sound tough? This is what EU governments do every time they have to make decisions on issues such as foreign and security policy, borrowing or spending large…
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Does anyone know anyone who is interested in the philosopher William James? Clearing out an attic I have a dozen books by him (and a few about him) - they need a home.
“Both sides would benefit from the increased competition and dynamism that closer economic ties would foster.” @cergrant.bsky.social argues that the UK & EU have a shared interest in a more ambitious economic relationship. Read here: buff.ly/HfyluK7
“I think the majority of British people certainly understand that #Brexit has been very damaging to the British economy,” @cergrant.bsky.social said in the latest CER podcast. Listen here:
Centre for European Reform: Unpacking Europe: 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum
On this week’s Unpacking Europe podcast, the CER’s director Charles Grant sat down with Catherine Day, a former Secretary-General of the European Commission, to discuss the impact the departure...
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“There has been no serious or coherent British plan for getting significantly closer to the EU.” @cergrant.bsky.social writes on how far the #UK-EU reset can go & what could make a more ambitious partnership possible, in the CER’s essay collection. buff.ly/cN3iLVB
New #CERpodcast Unpacking Europe, @cergrant.bsky.social spoke with Catherine Day about how #Brexit looks to people in the EU a decade after the referendum. Listen here: buff.ly/UG8qfsj
Centre for European Reform: Unpacking Europe: 10th anniversary of the Brexit referendum
On this week’s Unpacking Europe podcast, the CER’s director Charles Grant sat down with Catherine Day, a former Secretary-General of the European Commission, to discuss the impact the departure...
pod.fo
@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social was delighted to host Nick Thomas-Symonds today. He said Labour's red lines on EU wd remain till next election - but there was a debate to be had about what next manifesto should say abt them. In meantime they wd look at which parts of single mkt UK shd get closer to.
I remember that statement,” he says. “I saw that as veiled language. Because the whole strategy in the campaign was to avoid giving any kind of specificity about what sort of relationship they really wanted … a free trade area can mean all sorts of things.”
In a forward-looking piece, @cergrant.bsky.social looks beyond the immediate 'reset' in UK-EU relations. Can be more than a modest exercise in repair? He offers a well-informed perspective on how the relationship might evolve in the coming years and over the longer term. www.cer.eu/publications...
As the UK and EU prepare for the July 22 summit, our new publication asks how far the ‘reset’ can go. With essays by @nathalietocci.bsky.social, Catherine Day@dschwarzer.bsky.social and @cergrant.bsky.social. Read here:
Ten years after the Brexit referendum
A new CER essay collection reflects on what the past decade has meant for the UK, the EU, and the future of UK-EU relations.
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I learned a lot about what is happening with enlargement from this brilliant podcast, by @milanninberlin.bsky.social and @zecsaky.bsky.social. They are not as pessimistic as I am about the prospects of EU enlargement.
Centre for European Reform@centreeuropeanref.bsky.social · 5mo ago“I think this is crunch time on enlargement. So what is realistic? We will see after the June European Council,” @milanninberlin.bsky.social told @zecsaky.bsky.social in the latest #CERpodcast, listen here: buff.ly/TBagUtJ
Europe needs to rapidly improve its deterrence. A new @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social / Hanns Seidel Foundation paper by @armida.bsky.social outlines key steps European governments can take in the next 1-2 years to accelerate rearmament, readiness and deterrence efforts. Read here: buff.ly/rwfLU1S
In practice, says @cergrant.bsky.social of the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social think-tank, the EU would want to see broad agreement across party lines in Britain before discussing re-entry terms, so that tomorrow’s ministers did not unpick a deal reached by today’s.
Bre-entry may be the next drama to grip the European Union
An old friend comes knocking
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@cergrant.bsky.social spoke on the Pacific Council on International Policy's webinar on 'Europe's future in focus: Security, growth, and the challenge of unity', watch here:
Europe's Future in Focus: Security, Growth, and the Challenge of Unity | Webinar
On May 6, 2026, the Pacific Council hosted a webinar on the challenges and prospects shaping Europe's future. Drawing on CER's 2025 Annual Report, Europe's Future: Grounds for Hope?, the conversation…
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Keir Starmer multiplie les mesures pour rapprocher son pays de Bruxelles, par «intérêt national» pour contrer les effets désastreux du #Brexit. Mais la question européenne reste ultrasensible outre-Manche. L'analyse de @cergrant.bsky.social directeur du @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social buff.ly/LlrYQhz
«Un retour à court terme du Royaume-Uni dans l’UE n’est politiquement pas réaliste» - Le Temps
Le premier ministre britannique, Keir Starmer, multiplie les mesures pour rapprocher son pays de Bruxelles, par «intérêt national» pour contrer les effets désastreux du Brexit. Mais la question…
letemps.ch
@cergrant.bsky.social, director of the @centreeuropeanref.bsky.social think-tank, said that while the EU was keen on greater security and defence co-operation with the UK there were some countries, including France, that were “much less keen on extending economic co-operation”. buff.ly/nFSttlj
thetimes.com