Simon Tilford
Simon Tilford
Associate fellow
Areas of expertise
Britain and Europe, the euro, fiscal and monetary policy, labour and social policy, competition, innovation, environmental economics and demographics.
Twitter
Britain and the EU: The cost of leaving
03 August 2009
Britain’s media and political class have a right to be sceptical about the EU, even hostile to it. But they also have an obligation to be honest about the economic implications of a retreat from full membership of the Union.
The Swedish EU presidency
01 July 2009
A painful recession in Europe, uncertain prospects for the Lisbon treaty, a looming gas crisis in Ukraine and a lame-duck Commission are some of the challenges that the Swedish EU presidency will have to deal with in the second half of 2009.
Britain’s eurosceptics need to come clean
25 June 2009
Britain’s media and political class have a right to be sceptical about the EU, even hostile to it. But they also have an obligation to be honest about the economic implications of a retreat from full membership of the Union. Their failure to do so is dishonest and poses a serious risk to Britain’s prosperity.
Are the British the new French?
05 May 2009
The British tend to deride France as a hopelessly statist, anti-entrepreneurial country full of bolshie workers intent on extracting disproportionate rewards for their labour and a state too weak to resist them. This characterisation is not wholly inaccurate.
The G20 summit – a distraction?
03 April 2009
The good news first. The summit delivered more than expected. The trebling of the funds available to the IMF goes well beyond anything expected and is very welcome.
Carbon price collapse threatens the EU's climate agenda
01 April 2009
The EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS) works by capping the output of carbon dioxide and then distributing allowances to emit the gas to large energy users.
How serious is the threat to the single market?
19 March 2009
There has been a lot of anguished talk about how the EU’s single market is under threat. Much of this alarm has focused on government support for struggling car firms and public bail-outs of crisis-ridden banks.
Germany: Between a rock and a hard place
19 February 2009
Twelve months ago it seemed inconceivable that any member of the EU could face a sovereign debt crisis. It would have been the stuff of fantasy to argue that Ireland or Austria could be among those at risk.
The Lisbon scorecard IX: How to emerge from the wreckage
13 February 2009
EU governments are taking increasingly unorthodox measures to prevent the economic crisis from overwhelming their economies. They are right to intervene, but their policies must not undermine Europe's long-term economic growth prospects in the process.
The euro at ten: Is its future secure?
07 January 2009
The euro is riding high and the financial crisis has illustrated the safe haven that membership provides. On the face of it, the future of the single currency looks rosy.