Press quotes

  • The gridlock where debts meet politics
    The New York Times, 05 November 2011

    As Simon Tilford, chief economist of the CER, a research group in London, said, "Countries will face tougher choices."      

  • Papandreou backs down on vote for Greece's bailout deal
    USA Today, 04 November 2011

    "They have no chance of returning to debt sustainability on the current course," said Simon Tilford of the CER. "Their economy is in free fall. Today's announcement will do nothing to reassure investors who believe that default - probably a disorderly one - is now inevitable."

  • The euro crisis puts political leaders at risk
    National Public Radio, 04 November 2011

    "Investors know that the European Union doesn't have the firepower to bail Italy out," says Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER in London.

  • Greece exit from euro poses EU legal, political headache
    Agence France Presse, 04 November 2011

    "On balance, I think Greece is likely to be outside the eurozone within 12 months but I don't believe it will be forced out of the EU. It would be playing with fire," Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER told AFP.

  • Stephanomics - Financial crisis
    BBC News, 03 November 2011

    Stephanie Flanders is joined in the studio by Willem Buiter, chief economist at Citigroup, Jim O'Neill, chairman of the asset management division of Goldman Sachs and Katinka Barysch, deputy director of the CER for her series of debates about the financial crisis.

  • European rescue could spell long-term pain for UK
    CNBC, 03 November 2011

    "There's a view among the most eurosceptic that Britain's future does not lie in the EU in any case," said Philip Whyte of the CER. "They are saying Britain should withdraw from the EU and then trade with it governed by WTO rules."

  • La sortie de la Grèce de l'euro, un casse-tête juridique et politique
    Liberation, 03 November 2011

    Si les Grecs finissent par rejeter le plan de sauvetage de leur pays, «il sera de plus en plus difficile de concevoir comment ils peuvent rester dans la zone euro», estime Simon Tilford, économiste en chef au CER, un centre de réflexion londonien.

  • Greece case highlights slump in euro loyalty
    Agence France Presse, 02 November 2011

    "The euro crisis has led national parliaments in Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and elsewhere to question their hitherto unchallenged support for European integration," said Hugo Brady of the London-based CER.

  • China is more Wile E Coyote than Superman, professor warns Europe
    The Guardian, 01 November 2011

    "If we want them to chip into any new vehicle we have to give them a guarantee … For policy and finance circles, the expectations [of China] are very low – and hence realistic," said Katinka Barysch, deputy director of the CER in London.

  • Greek bailout – and Papandreou's premiership – in jeopardy
    The Christian Science Monitor, 01 November 2011

    "The respite we had after last week's EU summit didn't last very long, and the current events in Greece are not just increasing the likelihood of a disorderly default there, they also contribute to contagion in Italy and Spain," said Simon Tilford of CER.