Press quotes

  • Europeans woo US, promising relevance
    New York Times, 28 March 2010

    But Europe is not ready for a serious discussion with Washington, said Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform, a research group based in London. "You can't build a good transatlantic relationship unless you have a Europe that knows what it wants," he said. On the issues that Washington cares most about, Mr. Grant said, the Europeans are divided or their common position weak. And the euro crisis, he said, "means we're introspective."

  • Greece bailout: What's the future of the euro?
    The Christian Science Monitor, 28 March 2010

    "Spain is going to pose a big problem. It is in all sorts of trouble about how it will increase growth. It lost a great deal of competitiveness, and costs have gone up," says Simon Tilford, an economist at the Centre for European Reform, a think-tank in London. "Any economy regarded as having poor growth prospects is going to struggle to borrow at affordable levels."

  • Greek debt crisis dominates EU talks
    Voice of America, 25 March 2010

    The chief economist at the Centre for European Reform in London, Simon Tilford, believes EU leaders will come up with some kind of minimum deal in Brussels. But he thinks it will fail to give Greece the support it needs nor will it offer long term solutions for other struggling European economies. "I think Greece faces a very, very tough time," he said. "They are going to struggle to retain the confidence of the financial markets.

  • Europe's choice: growth or safety net
    The Wall Street Journal, 25 March 2010

    "The euro was supposed to achieve higher productivity and growth by bringing about a deeper integration between economies," says Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a London think-tank. "Instead, integration is slowing. The lack of flexibility in labour and product markets raises serious questions about the likelihood of the euro delivering on its potential."

  • Bailout showdown: Greece and Germany raise the stakes
    Time, 24 March 2010

    Simon Tilford, chief economist at the London based Centre for European Reform think-tank, says Merkel's brinkmanship is understandable given the political risks of Germany's conceding too soon but that she cannot hold out indefinitely. "It is implausible that Greece could get through the rest of this year unaided," he says. "Ultimately, the Germans will put something on the table. They will always defend the stability of the euro."

  • Sarkozy cannot fall out with Merkel
    Financial Times, 24 March 2010

    As Charles Grant, of the London based Centre for European Reform, points out, there have been crunch moments before that have prevented the bloc from moving forward. This is one that could send it careering backwards.

  • Europe looks at IMF with unease as Greece struggles
    New York Times, 24 March 2010

    "The sums involved are quite large, and no one knows quite how much of that gap the IMF can fill," said Philip Whyte, an economist at the Centre for European Reform in London. "Even 10 or 11 billion euros would be a big help," he said, but it would need to be supplemented by some form of European loan, bilateral or collective, particularly with Greece needing to roll over an additional $44 billion later this year.

  • Merkel hailed as EU 'victor' in Greece crisis
    EU Business, 24 March 2010

    "I am not hugely optimistic," Simon Tilford from the London based think-tank Centre for European Reform told AFP. "They might manage to finesse it to make it look like there has been an agreement ... But with a bit more scrutiny it will become apparent that we haven't made a whole lot of progress. "There will be some kind of deal announced, and it will be some sort of hybrid, but the terms attached to the granting of any bilateral loans will be unrealistic."

  • EU eyes aid deal that satisfies Merkel and Greece
    Reuters, 23 March 2010

    "Greece has to roll over a lot of money in April and May. It might manage to do that but the idea that it could get through the rest of this year unaided is pretty implausible," said Simon Tilford of the Centre for European Reform think-tank. "There is pressure now to agree to something at the summit but it has to be something that Germany can accept and also prevents Greece going (directly) to the IMF. It will be hard."

  • Greek debt crisis merely adds to the list of issues dividing the European Union
    The Washington Post, 21 March 2010

    "The creation and enlargement of the EU was one of Europe's biggest achievements, but now its inability to speak as one, and its failure to agree on how to tackle its underlying economic and social challenges, is undermining Europe's standing and potentially leading it into a period of decline," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank.