Press quotes

  • EU's eroding support imperils crisis response
    The Wall Street Journal, 25 June 2013

    "The biggest problem the EU faces is a crisis of legitimacy," says Charles Grant, director of the CER. "The euro arguably needs more centralised economic policy-making, but the popular support for that is not there."

  • The comeback of old king coal
    Financial Times, 24 June 2013

    But as an excellent, if depressing, forthcoming paper from Stephen Tindale to be published by the Centre for European Reform makes clear not a single one of the CCS plants which are supposed to be built in European by 2015 is actually under construction.

  • EU betrays cultural blind spot in handling Turkey
    Financial Times, 21 June 2013

    Heather Grabbe, formerly a senior EU official dealing with enlargement, in a Centre for European Reform paper this week urges the EU to "hug Turkey closer at this great moment in Turkey’s democratic journey".

  • Germany's ascendancy over Europe will prove short-lived
    The Daily Telegraph, 19 June 2013

    Simon Tilford, from the CER, says Germany was never as weak as it looked earlier this decade, and is not as strong as it looks now. But success goes to the head in politics. The national mood has swung from “self-flagellation” to “hubris”, with some questioning the need for Europe at all.

  • 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.