Press quotes

  • Politics force growth back on to Europe's agenda
    Reuters, 25 April 2012

    But Philip Whyte, a senior research fellow at the CER, is skeptical that the eurozone can regain the path of growth unless it corrects what he sees as fatal flaws in the design of the single currency.

  • Divided Europeans caught in vise of austerity
    The New York Times, 24 April 2012

    Simon Tilford, the chief economist at the CER, said countries were being forced to impose fiscal austerity at precisely the wrong point in the economic cycle. "If they attempt to meet fiscal targets, investors punish them because they worry about growth;

  • Angry EU voters, citizens rebel against austerity
    The Huffington Post, 24 April 2012

    "What is happening in Europe is the austerity drive is actually slowing down the necessary rebalancing of European economies," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER. ... "I don't think there are any examples of countries accepting endless austerity and downward standards of living ...

  • Economic gloom deepens Europe's political crisis
    The Wall Street Journal, 23 April 2012

    "The eurozone is a sick patient on a bed, and the doctors gathered round can't agree on the diagnosis, so it's hard to heal the malaise," said Charles Grant, director of the CER.

  • What would a Hollande presidency mean for France and Europe?
    Channel 4 News, 23 April 2012

    Speaking to Channel 4 News, Simon Tilford said that while Mr Hollande's policies on labour market reform and the retirement age were "antediluvian", some of his other ideas were reasonable. "He is right to allude to the risks of excessive fiscal austerity ...

  • NATO ministers to grapple with Afghan troubles
    Reuters, 18 April 2012

    Edward Burke of the CER said insurgents had received funding siphoned off from international aid sent to help Karzai. "For many European governments, they feel the Karzai administration is too corrupt and too indifferent to the requests of its allies," said Burke.

  • European rescue fund may face biggest test yet
    The New York Times, 18 April 2012

    "They are going to have to do something in Spain's case," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER, a research institute. "This is a big economy and the banks are holed below the water line." ...

  • Debate grows as Europe fears return of a crisis
    The New York Times, 17 April 2012

    The recent shift has underscored that there have been no substantive fixes beyond promises by countries to reduce their budget deficits. "It looks like it's coming back with a vengeance, largely because none of the underlying problems have been solved," said Philip Whyte of the CER.

  • Pressure on Spain builds as bonds face key auction
    The Wall Street Journal, 16 April 2012

    "There is a risk that, in the absence of offsetting stimulus through macro policy…structural reforms will make things worse in the short-term, however beneficial in the long-term," said Simon Tilford, of the CER.

  • The commission conundrum
    The Economist, 14 April 2012

    Charles Grant, director of the CER, a London-based think-tank, highlights another paradox. "The commission has gained more and more legal powers, but it has less and less moral authority."