Press quotes

  • Politicians slash public goodies
    The Washington Times, 28 December 2011

    "Austerity is now part of the problem, not the solution," said Simon Tilford of the CER. "Investors are looking at eurozone economies and thinking, ‘How are they going to grow? How are they going to service their debt?’ Uncoordinated and excessive fiscal austerity is further weakening their growth prospects."

  • Crisis gatecrashes 10th birthday of euro
    Ekathimerini, 27 December 2011

    ”Everything seemed to be going along just nicely until the financial crisis came along and shone the spotlight on the institutional shortcomings of the eurozone,” said Philip Whyte of the CER...

  • Germany faces recession risk as crisis hits confidence
    Reuters, 21 December 2011

    "Germany won't be able to rely on exports to drive growth and business investment will only hold up if there is a recovery in domestic demand," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER in London.

  • Germany faces recession risk as crisis hits confidence
    Reuters, 21 December 2011

    "Germany won't be able to rely on exports to drive growth and business investment will only hold up if there is a recovery in domestic demand," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER in London.

  • What have the Eurocrats ever done for us?
    The Sunday Times, 18 December 2011

    Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER, a broadly pro-Europe think-tank, said: "In areas where the EU has no role, Britain is a highly regulated place. We cannot blame that on the EU." He cites Britain’s poor infrastructure, for example, as a more serious obstacle to growth.

  • Britain and France: Seasonal greetings
    The Guardian, 16 December 2011

    As Simon Tilford of the CER argues, the fiscal compact agreed in Brussels and about which a draft version circulated yesterday hard-wires pro-cyclical, fiscal austerity into the institutional framework of the eurozone.

  • Das Eigentor
    Die Zeit, 16 December 2011

    Auch Simon Tilford, glaubt, dass Cameron die City unnötigerweise isoliert hat. »Gerade weil London von der Transaktionssteuer mehr betroffen gewesen wäre als alle anderen Finanzplätze, ist es unwahrscheinlich, dass Deutschland und Frankreich sie jemals durchgesetzt hätten«, sagt er.

  • Who wins from David Cameron's veto - Britain or the EU?
    Public Service Europe, 14 December 2011

    Director of foreign policy and defence at the CER Tomas Valasek points out that "Britain has become toxic by association" in Europe, meaning that "ideas which it sponsors will be resisted on principle, not on merit ...

  • UK-EU bustup: the price for CEE
    The Economist, 14 December 2011

    Tomas Valasek of the Centre for European Reform has written an excellent and gloomy analysis of the wider damage caused by David Cameron's botched negotiations. One point is that Britain's likely absence from European economic decision-making will tilt the balance towards French etatism.

  • Ireland warns of damage from British EU opt-out
    Reuters, 14 December 2011

    "Diplomatically speaking, we're in a much poorer position because Britain is not in the room," said Hugo Brady, of the CER. "They were quite willing and quite happy to be the difficult partner so you could hide behind them in diplomatic negotiations ...