Press

"A No vote in the only popular poll on current efforts to save the euro would be hugely damaging to the treaty, in that it would signal to investors that if it was put to a vote in many countries, it would not get past," said Hugo Brady, of the CER.

"Intellectually, I think Cameron is right with his analysis," says Charles Grant, director of the Centre for European Reform. "But the way he has said it has increased concern in the markets and that has damaged Britain's soft power."

“At this juncture, it’s hard to see how the Germans could make big concessions,” said Simon Tilford, of the CER. “What could potentially open up space for the Germans to make big changes would be a Greek departure”

Para SimonTilford, del CER, Alemania debe afrontar una difícil elección: "O niveles de inflación más altos a costa de la confianza del electorado alemán en el euro o la suspensión de pagos de varios Estados soberanos que, en última instancia, provocaría el colapso de la moneda común."

“Paradoxically, every solution consists of more Europe,” concludes Charles Grant of the CER.

"If Greece goes, there would have to be a clear signal from Germany that it would do everything necessary to keep Spain, and that the ECB will do all it must to help Spanish banks," said Charles Grant, director of the CER.  "It really comes down to the Germans," Mr Grant said. "If they don’t do the right thing, the euro zone comes closer to unraveling."           

Simon Tilford of the CER in London, said, "The Europeans may blink, but this time they might not blink enough." He said that European leaders might propose a "mini-Marshall Plan" to stoke growth in Greece, but that what was needed were political changes to promote closer bonds among eurozone countries.

But Charles Grant, director of the CER told FRANCE 24 that such is Assad's defiance of international pressure that "no matter what France says towards Syria it will not make any difference".

"There is definitely going to be an effort to present things in the best light possible, but the fact remains that as soon as we are talking about more ambitious forms of defence cooperation, which require large budgetary investments, it's really hard to progress and it's going to remain so for the foreseeable future," said Clara O'Donnell of the CER. ... O'Donnell said that, given its own budget woes, Washington wants to rely more on allies to take responsibility for their regions so the United States can reduce its involvement.