Press quotes

  • Could Britain end up leaving the EU? The key questions
    Channel 4 News, 11 January 2013

    Charles Grant, director of the CER argues that EU governments will not grant treaty opt-outs to Britain because of fears that it could gain "an unfair competitive advantage" within the single market and encourage other countries to follow Britain's pick-and-mix example.

  • UK government battles to cut deficit
    Marketplace, 08 January 2013

    Simon Tilford of the CER says it's the government's fault for talking tough and denting confidence. "The language they've adopted: 'We must cut. We must rein in spending. We must accept lower living standards.' This has unsettled both consumers and companies," claims Tilford.

  • The threat to the euro is over: EU chief Barroso claims single currency will not implode
    The Daily Mail, 07 January 2013

    "The consequences are likely to be far-reaching. Not only will governments struggle to push through the needed reforms, but there is a risk of a broader backlash against the market economy and the European Union," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER.

  • Why Cameron will say all the wrong things on the EU
    The Huffington Post, 03 January 2013

    In an article in the FT, Charles Grant of the CER wrote of a multi-tier Europe and said: "Life in the third tier need not be uncomfortable for the UK. If it makes an effort to win friends and allies among its partners, including those in the euro, it will have an influential voice in EU decision-making."

  • Giuristi ed economisti: accordo inapplicabile
    Libero Quotidiano, 02 January 2013

    "Le politiche di austerità in fase recessiva sono sempre un rischio, ma lo sono specialmente quando tutta l'Europa sta tirando la cinghia. Queste politiche di austerità, attuate in modo scoordinato a livello europeo e in fase recessiva, sono state un fallimento totale e pongono una seria minaccia alla moneta unica" dice a Libero Simon Tilford, capo economista del CER.

  • IMF for the first time made an overall assessment of the EU
    EU inside, 29 December 2012

    According to Philip Whyte, a senior research fellow at the CER in London, to accept that the eurozone suffers from a structural flaw that can only be corrected by more federalism is politically explosive.

  • EU patience running out as Britain struggles to settle its European destiny
    The Guardian, 27 December 2012

    "For two decades Britain's EU debate has been one-sided: Eurosceptic politicians and commentators have set the agenda, while few politicians (or business leaders) have argued the merits of the EU," Charles Grant of the CER wrote in a recent paper.

  • EU leaders vow to boost Europe's defence capabilities
    Reuters, 14 December 2012

    Europe's common security policy is "stuck between the strategic realities of declining defence budgets, waning European power in the world and a lack of will and ability to project strategic force outward", said Hugo Brady, a senior research fellow at the CER.

  • Perché la City si sente assediata
    Il sole 24 Ore, 14 December 2012

    "È stata una risposta un po' emotiva - precisa Philip Whyte economista del think-tank Centre for European Reform - nel senso che i timori politici sono apparsi dominanti sulle considerazioni tecniche".

  • Europe gets the prize: Sixty years of peace, if not prosperity
    World Tribune, 13 December 2012

    Charles Grant of the London-based Centre for European Reform told the BBC, "The EU merits the peace prize. It’s role in history is unique and positive, and much more important than the inability of the current bunch of leaders to resolve the Eurozone’s travails."