Press quotes

  • In face of debt crisis, EU asks for budget increase
    Marketplace, 19 November 2012

    A veto, says Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER, will raise serious questions about Britain's EU membership. "It will be another indication that the country really does seem intent on distancing it self from the EU and perhaps even withdrawing from the union," Tilford says.

  • Disagreements with Germany over Europe could spell big trouble
    The Economist, 17 November 2012

    Charles Grant of the CER believes that he [Mr Hollande] is trying to strengthen his position relative to Germany in three ways. One is to forge stronger links with Mediterranean countries, especially Italy and Spain, to form a block that could help to counter Mrs Merkel.

  • Who will dictate Europe's future?
    BBC News, 16 November 2012

    Which country holds the key to the euro's fate? Which of the 17 members will turn out to be the "pivot state" - the country around which the future of the eurozone will turn? I spent most of last weekend thinking about the future of Europe with economists, politicians and senior policy makers at a two-day seminar organised by the CER.

  • Lesser-known Brits are heavy-hitters in Europe
    EurActiv, 15 November 2012

    EurActiv’s UK40, released today shows that officials and politicians relatively unfamiliar to a British audience top the lists of those who pull the policy strings on EU affairs. Politicians and officials did not wholly dominate the list, which also included Charles Grant (32nd) the director of the CER.

  • EU crisis: Cutting down mast to save ship
    The Voice of Russia, 09 November 2012

    This week the European Commission has published a new economic forecast for the eurozone countries up to the year 2014. This is discussed with our guest speakers Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER and Frederik Erixon.

  • Obama and the Russians: Moving on to the 'post-reset'
    Radio Free Europe, 07 November 2012

    "I was recently in Moscow talking to various people in government and outside the government who work in the foreign policy world and they certainly have been hoping that Obama would win because from their point of view he is the devil they know," Charles Grant, director of the CER in London, says.

  • Angela Merkel warns UK will struggle alone if it turns against EU
    The Guardian, 07 November 2012

    The Centre for European Reform has calculated the UK contribution would be £7.4bn a year if the budget were frozen, while the German or commission plans would result in an additional £400m-550m a year "at most".

  • Fragile coalition in Greece narrowly backs austerity
    The New York Times, 07 November 2012

    "The reason why we've seen the economy implode much more rapidly than thought is that they grossly underestimated the impact that fiscal austerity of this magnitude would have on the Greek economy," said Simon Tilford, the chief economist at the CER.

  • UK and Germany: Exasperated allies
    Financial Times, 06 November 2012

    "People in Britain think that because we’re important, the other Europeans will say yes," says Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a UK-based think-tank. "But they will say no. People are deluding themselves. They won't allow us to opt out of significant policy areas."

  • Europe gets a low profile in US presidential duel
    EurActiv.com, 05 November 2012

    "Whoever wins the elections will increase its calls for Europeans to do more to uphold international security and continue refocusing America's attention towards the Pacific," said Clara Marina O' Donnell from the Centre for European Reform.