Press quotes

  • Disunity, economic woes dog EU image drive
    Reuters, 05 February 2010

    "There has been a lot of rhetoric about the 'European project' (to strengthen the EU) but to a large extent governments have had their heads in the sand and not addressed the tough underlying problems," Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform think-tank in London, said. "There is an insularity and provincialism which is very worrying."

  • Euro debt crisis is political test for bloc
    New York Times, 05 February 2010

    "The challenges facing the euro zone are very serious," said Simon Tilford, chief economist for the Centre for European Reform in London. "For countries that have become pretty uncompetitive in the euro zone and have weak public finances, the current environment is very dangerous." ..."The southerners can do their best to cut costs and be competitive," Mr Tilford said. "But they need the others to create more domestic demand and be less export dependent."

  • Why Obama won't bother to attend the EU summit
    The Wall Street Journal, 04 February 2010

    Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a London based think-tank, said this president does not have the attachment to the old continent of many of his predecessors. "Obama is very unemotional about the EU," he said. The key to getting him to attend E.U. summits is to provide practical solutions to problems. "He's not going to take the EU seriously unless the EU delivers," he said.

  • Collaborations take a jolt
    Financial Times, 03 February 2010

    "There is very little in recent years that has gone well," says Clara O'Donnell of the Centre for European Reform. "The difficulties of the A400 M transport programme have been especially serious and have undermined the enthusiasm of the UK for joint procurement programmes."

  • Eurozone: Risk of contagion seen from 'Greek disease' as EU ponders options
    Radio Free Europe, 03 February 2010

    Analyst Simon Tilford, the chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in London, says its hard to gauge the overall impact of a default on debt by a eurozone member. "There is a risk at some point of Greece defaulting on its sovereign debt," Tilford says. "I think there is a very real risk of that. Then, it's very difficult, really, to say what would happen."

  • Obama to skip European Union summit in Madrid
    New York Times, 02 February 2010

    Charles Grant, the director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based research centre, said that the Obama snub "is a useful wake-up call for the EU" He said the European Union must realize "that no one will court them or have summits with them because Europe is a nice idea. They need to deliver." Mr Obama sees Europe as an important ally, but "Obama clearly has no emotional identification with Europe," Mr Grant said.

  • Europa pierde peso en la escena mundial
    El Pais, 02 February 2010

    La realidad es que en materia económica la verdadera angustia de Obama es la política financiera del Gobierno de Pekín, al que podría acusar de "manipulador monetario", como ha señalado Charles Grant, director del Centre for European Reform, (CER). En unos de sus trabajos recientes, el CER ha advertido de que "la Administración Obama se ha fijado como objetivo sellar una relación más estrecha con China, suscitando los temores de Europa de ver que este G-2 reduce más su influencia en el mundo".

  • Obama summit no-show not a snub: EU's Ashton
    EU Business, 02 February 2010

    Hugo Brady, researcher at the London-based Centre for European Reform, recalls Obama's first taste of an EU-US summit in Prague last April when the Czechs were holding out on ratifying the EU's reforming Lisbon Treaty.

  • China reacts fast and furious to US deal
    National Post, 02 February 2010

    "Over the past year, China's behaviour has changed," said Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform. "Relatively hard-line and nationalist elements in the leadership appear to have sidelined those with liberal and international instincts. "China's foreign policy has become more assertive." ..."The current [Chinese] leadership, led by Hu Jintao and Wen Jiabao, is due to hand over to the 'fifth generation' of leaders in 2012," Mr Grant said. "There is much manoeuvring for position.

  • Most EU hopefuls face long wait to membership
    Reuters, 01 February 2010

    Accession is unlikely for years for all but Croatia and Iceland. "Stefan Fuele actually has some low-hanging fruit," said Katinka Barysch from the Centre for European Reform think-tank. "He starts his job by getting Croatia in fairly quickly. He's got Iceland. Fantastic. He gets two countries in. All the other countries are simply too far away from being ready."