Press quotes

  • Wave of protests engulfs Greece
    The New York Times, 18 June 2013

    Simon Tilford, of the CER. said, "The idea that Greece is somehow out of the woods seems complacent,” adding, “It reflects a readiness to ignore the large-scale political challenges facing Greece."

  • Cash strapped Europe pools defence, saves little so far
    Reuters, 17 June 2013

    "Countries remain scared to pool capabilities because they don't want to lose control and they don't like the idea of having to sacrifice jobs," said Clara Marina O'Donnell, of the CER.

  • What Britain wants for the G8 summit
    Channel 4 News, 16 June 2013

    Simon Tilford, of the CER, believes the best way to combat avoidance and evasion is to introduce harmonised tax rates and tax bases (what is liable for tax), but is under no illusions that this will happen.

  • Eurozone risks return to fore
    The Wall Street Journal, 14 June 2013

    Spain and Italy "need prices to rise less rapidly than in Germany to rebuild competitiveness, but they need a measure of inflation to ensure debt sustainability," says Simon Tilford, of the CER. "Something has to give."

  • The green shoots of solidarity
    European Voice, 13 June 2013

    Critics of the government in Berlin say that Germany and its exporters should do more because they are the big beneficiaries of monetary union. If the single currency disintegrated, then the value of a new German currency would soar on the foreign exchanges, hitting German exports, Simon Tilford of the CER, has argued.

  • Türkei: Erdogans harte Linie gefährdet EU-Beitrittsverhandlungen
    Der Spiegel, 12 June 2013

    "Je mehr Erdogan sich zu einer Art Putin light entwickelt, desto schwieriger wird es, für den EU-Beitritt der Türkei zu werben", sagt Charles Grant, Direktor des Centre for European Reform.

  • Conflicting goals complicate an effort to forge a transatlantic trade deal
    The New York Times, 12 June 2013

    Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER in London, is more optimistic than Mr Elliott but sees "a risk the whole thing will get hijacked and there will be so many exemptions and opt-outs that the meaning of the exercise will be limited."

  • Tusk says he won't run for EC presidency
    Warsaw Business Journal, 11 June 2013

    In April this year, Hugo Brady from the CER, reignited the talk. “Germany might back Tusk in order to cement Berlin’s political alliance with Warsaw and because it is time for someone from one of the newer member-states to get a top job,” he wrote.

  • EU refuses to co-operate on security
    The New York Times, 10 June 2013

    “Apart from a very few countries, such as France and Britain, the Europeans have been very complacent about strategic affairs,” said Rem Korteweg, of the CER. "It’s as if the world outside does not affect them."

  • David Cameron: The good European
    The New Statesman, 10 June 2013

    The PM sees the EU as part of the solution, not the problem for the UK economy - a brave position to take as leader of today's Tory party... For more on that, and other rebuttals of the anti-EU case, I recommend this article by Katinka Barysch of the CER.