Press
Germany supports the Government and believes that the 29th March should not stop it
01 April 2012
La Vanguardia
"Investors are gradually concluding that Spain is not on the verge of a soft recession but a real crash" notes Simon Tilford, chief economist of the CER. "Spain is being asked to do the impossible, something no other comparable country has ever managed. Neither Ireland nor Latvia is a model for Spain, warns Tilford. What might possibly work for such small economies will not work in a country of the size of Spain."
Punishment of the model student
01 April 2012
La Vanguardia
Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER, says "There is risk that many of the good things that occurred in Spain in the run-up to the crisis are now being overlooked, much as in the case of Ireland, whose pre-crisis growth story is now portrayed as now more than a property bubble". "Spain has not done so many things badly" continues the economist from CER, for whom the key cause of the crisis in Spain was "the massive inflow of capital into Spain as Spanish households and businesses – encouraged by negative real interest rates – went on a borrowing spree.
Europe ministers reach deal on trillion-dollar 'firewall'
30 March 2012
Voice of America
Simon Tilford is chief economist at the CER. He says Europe's reaction to its economic crisis is not working. What is needed, he says, is a federalized system where resources cross borders more freely.
Spanish workers protest labour reforms
29 March 2012
Voice of America
Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER in London, said austerity measures in Spain, like elsewhere, will not solve its economic problems. "What's worrying about what we are seeing is that very little seems to have been learned from what happened in Greece and Ireland and Portugal," he said.
EU's working time directive
28 March 2012
BBC Newsnight
Simon Tilford of the CER argued that the proposed amendments to the EU’s working time directive are unnecessary, but that their impact on UK businesses will be limited and the British government should reserve its firepower for more important issues.
Companies hoard cash, damping growth
22 March 2012
The Wall Street Journal
According to Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER, the ratio of investment to gross domestic product in Europe is at a 60-year low even as companies pile on cash. Corporate cash holdings are now €2 trillion ($2.64 trillion) across the eurozone and an extraordinary £750 billion ($1.19 trillion) in the UK.
Economists: Europe stuck on bailout merry-go-round
22 March 2012
The Guardian
"There's a real risk that the Spanish economy will get caught in a downward spiral and need a bailout," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER.
One flew over the EU's mess
19 March 2012
The Wall Street Journal
Welcome to the European Union Home for the Economically Insane. We care for nations dealing with status anxiety, paranoia and low self-esteem, or those who are simply drifting into a senile old age. Please follow me on the guided tour.
Upstairs we have the Acropolis Room. This is where...
Upstairs we have the Acropolis Room. This is where...
A letter to David Cameron
15 March 2012
Mark Lynas.org
Dear Mr Cameron,
We write because we believe you have been misled by four prominent environmentalists who contacted you recently about nuclear power.
We write because we believe you have been misled by four prominent environmentalists who contacted you recently about nuclear power.
On aviation and climate, the EU must stick to its route
15 March 2012
European Voice
Charles Grant, the director of the CER, a think-tank, could hardly have timed better his pamphlet on "Russia, China and global governance", published at the end of last month.
Europe to Germany: Your eurocrisis 'answers' don't work for us
14 March 2012
The Christian Science Monitor
"The German answer so far is to revise previous rules to make stricter rules," says Philip Whyte of the CER. "Rules may help in the long term, but there's an immediate crisis in households and nations. Germans are sincere in the belief that Italy and Spain will benefit from reform. But austerity without growth reminds me of policies in the '30s: slashing spending as economies contract."
In a first, Europeans act to suspend aid to Hungary unless it cuts deficit
13 March 2012
The New York Times
"The decision to take a somewhat tougher line with Hungary, by threatening to suspend cohesion funds, is not a case of double standards," said Simon Tilford, the chief economist at the CER. "The Spanish have not been guilty of mismanaging their economy, whereas that can hardly be said of Hungary."
The power balance in Afghanistan
09 March 2012
The Times
Letter to the editor (The Times)Sir, You say that the situation in Afghanistan is "not chaos" [see leading article 8 March 2012]. This assertion does not ring true.
US disengagement from Europe 'will weaken NATO'
09 March 2012
Jane's Defence Weekly
The US disengagement from Europe is permanent, according to a new CER report
The US step-back from Europe, combined with the harsh current economic climate, will force NATO to rein in its ambitions, the report argues
The United States' strategic step-back from bearing the burden of NATO's power projection is...
The US step-back from Europe, combined with the harsh current economic climate, will force NATO to rein in its ambitions, the report argues
The United States' strategic step-back from bearing the burden of NATO's power projection is...
A recovery in Europe? Really?
09 March 2012
Reuters
"The case against Europe's growth strategy is that it is all supply and no demand," said Philip Whyte at the CER. "Fiscal policy is being tightened too rapidly. The more certain EU countries do to balance their budgets, the more output contracts," he said in a recent paper.
Syria: Getting Aid in and Assad Out
08 March 2012
Voice of Russia
A debate on the violence in Syria and asks whether world powers should assist the anti-government forces and provide more humanitarian aid to suffering civilians. He was joined by Edward Burke of the CER
How to wake Britain from sleepwalking to the EU exit
07 March 2012
Europe's world
History, geography and economics are all responsible for the UK’s deep-seated euroscepticism, says Charles Grant. But now these forces are strengthening so that Britain could easily leave the Union within 10 years. He sets out tactics for countering that.
Border control: How a fear of foreigners is gripping Europe when its economy needs them most
05 March 2012
Time Magazine
"At the time that Europe needs more market-driven reforms, the political climate for those kinds of reform has become very unfavorable," says Simon Tilford, chief economist of the CER in London. "People feel threatened."
Border control: How a fear of foreigners is gripping Europe when its economy needs them most
05 March 2012
Time Magazine
"For the last generation, the idea that European integration is the future was something you just didn't question," says Hugo Brady, a senior research fellow in Brussels at the CER.
Canny Belgian poised for second term at EU helm
01 March 2012
Agence France Presse
"If politics is the art of the possible, he's perfect," said analyst Hugo Brady of the CER. "If he wasn't there we'd miss him. We need a steady hand," he said. "He's contributed to the orderly holding of European Councils," or summits.