Press quotes

  • The German elections and the eurozone crisis
    Reuters, 23 January 2013

    Katinka Barysch is interviewed from Davos to discuss the German elections, the on going eurozone crisis and David Cameron's speech on the EU.

  • European summits not an ideal decision-making method
    The New York Times, 22 January 2013

    "Leaders have ended up doing much of the heavy lifting in the crisis because it really comes down to them to decide whether to commit their taxpayers to spend what it takes to save the euro," said Hugo Brady, a senior research fellow at the CER in London.

  • Can Britain forge looser ties to Europe without losing influence?
    The New York Times, 22 January 2013

    Charles Grant, director of the CER, says that already "British influence in Brussels is at its lowest level in the 25 years I have been following the EU." ..."I think Britain still could have clout in more limited areas if it keeps friends and allies," Mr Grant said.

  • Cameron's mixed signals befuddle Britons
    The Globe and Mail, 22 January 2013

    Mr Cameron "is gearing up for what I would call sort of a counter-terrorism-light approach," said Rem Korteweg, a senior research fellow at the CER. "And the 'light' part means that there's going to be support given to the [African] mission and that will be in the form of special forces that help the mission to achieve its objectives and providing surveillance capabilities.

  • The 'lost generation' that never was
    Presseurop, 21 January 2013

    "We should be copying their vocational training system. Young people's employment prospects depend partly on themselves and on whether they are able to adapt their plans to market realities", said Katinka Barysch at the CER in London.

  • Obama's second term: The world waits
    Financial Times, 21 January 2013

    The Europeans welcome Mr Obama's wariness about using force to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons and strongly support his efforts to intensify pressure on Iran’s leaders through economic sanctions. “Most EU governments have long worried that attacking Iran would destabilise the region,” says Clara Marina O’Donnell of the CER.

  • Britain becomes Germany's biggest trade partner as Berlin-London pact deepens
    The Telegraph, 21 January 2013

    Charles Grant director of the CER, said Mrs Merkel will "bend over backwards" to help Britain by offering safeguards for the City and backing for market reforms, but only up to a point. "They will not agree to repatriate powers or let the UK cherry pick which parts of the EU they want to belong to," he said, warning the Tories not to overplay their hand.

  • Europe brightens, to investors anyway
    The Wall Street Journal, 18 January 2013

    "Persistently weak economies in Spain and Italy will push up public debts as a proportion of GDP, as well as bad loans at banks", says Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER, a London think-tank. "Ultimately the debt problem is being made bigger" by Europe's lack of growth, he says.

  • UE: l’Algérie fait reculer Cameron
    Liberation, 17 January 2013

    "Cameron agit avant tout tactiquement sur le plan domestique. Ce qui l’intéresse, c’est son parti et les électeurs. C’est sa priorité […] Il ne s’intéresse pas à la politique internationale," explique Charles Grant, directeur du think-tank CER.

  • France faces prolonged conflict in Mali
    The Globe and Mail, 15 January 2013

    Mali is not the same as the French mission under NATO auspices in Afghanistan, which Mr Hollande is pushing to end quickly, said Rem Korteweg, of the CER."We have to look at the [region] as basically France’s backyard – at least that's the way they tend to like to see it.