Press quotes

  • Europe needs Germany to lighten up
    The Washington Post, 16 May 2012

    As economist Simon Tilford of the CER puts it, "any attempt to permanently lock-in [German] competitiveness gains will simply perpetuate the crisis."

  • Austerity to strain transatlantic ties at NATO Chicago summit
    Reuters, 16 May 2012

    "There is definitely going to be an effort to present things in the best light possible, but the fact remains that as soon as we are talking about more ambitious forms of defence cooperation, which require large budgetary investments, it's really hard to progress and it's going to remain so for the foreseeable future," said Clara O'Donnell of the CER. ...

  • Greek deadlock drives increased eurozone fears
    ABC News, 15 May 2012

    But Charles Grant, director of the CER, says the Greek economy will be thrown into greater turmoil if it exits the currency bloc. Without the financial support of the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund, Greece will have to print money to pay salaries and pensions.

  • Only Lord Mandy could make austerity this cool
    The Times, 15 May 2012

    The blooming bromance between Ed Balls and Lord Mandelson had to be seen to be believed. Odd couple does not even begin to cover it. But it seems the old enemies over the euro are now as one on how to save the eurozone. Yesterday, they went public at an event organised by the Centre for European Reform think-tank.

  • Holland will try to sway Merkel to his vision
    International Herald Tribune, 15 May 2012

    He may even push for a restructuring of the rest of Greek debt. But it will be a hard sell, and Mr Hollande has to be careful, notes Charles Grant, director of the CER. "If Hollande tried to gang up with, say, Italy and Spain, to force Germany into a complete U-turn, he would fail ...

  • Greek impasse prompts euro exit warnings, rattles markets
    Reuters, 14 May 2012

    "If Greece moves towards exiting the euro ... the EU would then need to enlarge its bailout funds and prepare other emergency measures," said Charles Grant, director of the CER think-tank in London. ...

  • Isolated Merkel sticks by austerity after vote setback
    Reuters, 14 May 2012

    "Merkel will find it hard to resist them all," said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform in London.

  • Ed Balls backs calls for new referendum on Europe
    The Guardian, 14 May 2012

    Speaking at a Centre for European Reform seminar in London, Mandelson also praised as prescient a speech by Balls in 2010 in which he set himself up as an early opponent of the coalition's government's deficit reduction policy.

  • Miliband to get back on track with reshuffle
    Financial Times, 14 May 2012

    Lord Mandelson also joined Mr Balls on the platform of a Centre for European Reform event and praised the shadow chancellor for his "prescient" speech two years ago at Bloomberg in which he warned of the dangers of sucking demand out of the economy as a storm approached.

  • François Hollande faces a baptism of fire in Berlin
    The Guardian, 14 May 2012

    "France has much less clout in the EU than Germany. The financial crisis and the euro crisis have highlighted the vulnerabilities of the French economy: its waning competitiveness," wrote Charles Grant, director of the CER. ... "Can Hollande really make a difference? He might ...