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.
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The EU's climate agenda hangs in the balance
01 December 2008
The EU has entered a severe economic downturn. Not only does Europe face the deepest recession since the 1970s, but the recovery when it does arrive will be weak and patchy.
State, money and rules: An EU policy for sovereign investments
01 December 2008
The debate about sovereign wealth funds will return as global growth and commodity prices recover. European governments have been right to reject new EU rules on SWFs, and instead support multilateral efforts to set voluntary standards.
Is EU competition policy an obstacle to innovation and growth?
20 November 2008
European countries need to improve their record of developing high-tech businesses if they are to prosper. This was explicitly recognised in the EU's Lisbon agenda of economic reforms launched in 2000. The reasons for Europe's poor record of innovation are complex, but one factor may be competition policy.
The Commission's economic forecasts are still too complacent
07 November 2008
On the face of it, it appears churlish to accuse the Commission of complacency when it is forecasting no growth in the eurozone economy in 2009 and a deep recession in the UK.
Beyond banking: What the financial crisis means for the EU
23 October 2008
The world is in the midst of a financial crisis which will have far-reaching implications for the EU – not just for the region's immediate economic outlook, but also for the future of the euro, financial regulation, economic reform and global governance.
Scapegoating the US lets others off too easily
02 October 2008
Huge amounts have been said about the consequences of the credit crunch for the US and UK economies. They undoubtedly face major adjustments, and several years of very weak economic growth.
A new European mercantilism?
01 August 2008
Europe’s economic liberals have had a successful ten years. There have been protectionist pressures throughout this period, of course.
The CER guide to the French presidency
04 July 2008
France's EU presidency was always going to be ambitious, with wideranging plans for climate change, immigration and defence. Now, however, France will have to focus on resolving the legal and institutional mess created by the Irish No to the EU's Lisbon treaty. President Nicolas Sarkozy will struggle to save the...
Europe can afford to curb greenhouse gases
02 June 2008
In March 2007 the EU pledged to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 20 per cent by 2020, from 1990 levels. But as EU governments and the Commission work on the policies needed to achieve this goal, opposition is mounting, particularly towards the Commission’s proposals for reforming the EU’s emissions trading scheme (ETS).
How to make EU emissions trading a success
01 May 2008
The European Union has set ambitious targets to limit greenhouse gases. But it will not be able to meet these targets without an effective market for trading carbon emissions.