Press
Europe's economic struggles continue despite Greek deal
07 November 2011
Voice of America
Simon Tilford of the CER, says the ECB must step in - something its top officials are reluctant to do. "The problem at the moment is that we’re in a period of exceptionally weak economic growth. We're going through unprecedented economic weakness."
Greece cobbles together interim government as Italy teeters
07 November 2011
The Christian Science Monitor
“A new government will help,” says a skeptical Philip Whyte of the CER in London. “But even a unity government will be hard pressed to accept the measures that Greeks are being asked to swallow.
In turmoil, Greece and Italy deepen euro crisis
07 November 2011
The New York Times
“In the longer run, the eurozone cannot be viable unless something is done to tackle the imbalances that gave rise to the crisis,” said Charles Grant, the director of the CER, a London research institute. “Either there has to be a convergence of unit labor costs, via effective reform in the south, or there must be permanent transfer union, with payments flowing from north to south.”
Debate: Should we feel sorry for Greece?
07 November 2011
BBC News
Greece is at the eye of the storm gathering over the world economy, and threatening to tear the eurozone apart. But should the rest of us be sorry for Greece, or angry? Here, two experts present opposing arguments for and against sympathy.
AGAINST SYMPATHY - Nicholas Walton, European Council on...
AGAINST SYMPATHY - Nicholas Walton, European Council on...
The gridlock where debts meet politics
05 November 2011
The New York Times
As Simon Tilford, chief economist of the CER, a research group in London, said, "Countries will face tougher choices."
Political uncertainty lingers in Greece
05 November 2011
The New York Times
Charles Grant, director of the CER, said that if Greece defaulted or prepared to leave the euro zone before the bloc could build a big enough bailout mechanism "and before there’s a credible Italian government," it could "bring down the whole euro system."
The euro crisis puts political leaders at risk
04 November 2011
National Public Radio
"Investors know that the European Union doesn't have the firepower to bail Italy out," says Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER in London.
Greece exit from euro poses EU legal, political headache
04 November 2011
Agence France Presse
"On balance, I think Greece is likely to be outside the eurozone within 12 months but I don't believe it will be forced out of the EU. It would be playing with fire," Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER told AFP.
Papandreou backs down on vote for Greece's bailout deal
04 November 2011
USA Today
"They have no chance of returning to debt sustainability on the current course," said Simon Tilford of the CER. "Their economy is in free fall. Today's announcement will do nothing to reassure investors who believe that default - probably a disorderly one - is now inevitable."
Stephanomics - Financial crisis
03 November 2011
BBC News
Stephanie Flanders is joined in the studio by Willem Buiter, chief economist at Citigroup, Jim O'Neill, chairman of the asset management division of Goldman Sachs and Katinka Barysch, deputy director of the CER for her series of debates about the financial crisis.
European rescue could spell long-term pain for UK
03 November 2011
CNBC
"There's a view among the most eurosceptic that Britain's future does not lie in the EU in any case," said Philip Whyte of the CER. "They are saying Britain should withdraw from the EU and then trade with it governed by WTO rules."
La sortie de la Grèce de l'euro, un casse-tête juridique et politique
03 November 2011
Liberation
Si les Grecs finissent par rejeter le plan de sauvetage de leur pays, «il sera de plus en plus difficile de concevoir comment ils peuvent rester dans la zone euro», estime Simon Tilford, économiste en chef au CER, un centre de réflexion londonien.
Greece case highlights slump in euro loyalty
02 November 2011
Agence France Presse
"The euro crisis has led national parliaments in Germany, the Netherlands, Finland and elsewhere to question their hitherto unchallenged support for European integration," said Hugo Brady of the London-based CER.
China is more Wile E Coyote than Superman, professor warns Europe
01 November 2011
The Guardian
"If we want them to chip into any new vehicle we have to give them a guarantee … For policy and finance circles, the expectations [of China] are very low – and hence realistic," said Katinka Barysch, deputy director of the CER in London.
Greek bailout – and Papandreou's premiership – in jeopardy
01 November 2011
The Christian Science Monitor
"The respite we had after last week's EU summit didn't last very long, and the current events in Greece are not just increasing the likelihood of a disorderly default there, they also contribute to contagion in Italy and Spain," said Simon Tilford of CER.
Britain, watching Europe, seeks to preserve influence
01 November 2011
The New York Times
"In London, EU legislation is increasingly seen as a threat to the City," said Philip Whyte of the CER in London. But the Continent does not always hold London traders in high regard.
Nationalists emboldened by EU crisis, debt pact
31 October 2011
Associated Press
Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER, said the emboldening of eurosceptics in Britain could have relevance for other countries as well. "Ongoing crises could turn people against the EU. But closer integration is going to be unpopular, too," he said.
G20 looking to reignite world economy at Cannes summit
31 October 2011
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
Simon Tilford, chief economist with the CER think-tank, wrote this month that as the US and several European nations slash consumption to cut their deficits, surplus countries like China should make up the difference.
NATO operation in Libya ends after 7 months, could it be a model?
31 October 2011
The Christian Science Monitor
"As good a war as it comes … with limited civilian casualties," says Tomas Valasek of the CER, citing the difference with other NATO operations in precision bombing. "There were no Chinese embassies hit in Tripoli [as in Belgrade, Serbia in 1999], no refugee convoys hit, no weddings that I know about [as in Afghanistan.]"
An EU of two tiers after eurozone debt crisis
28 October 2011
BBC News
Charles Grant, director of the London-based CER, calls the change fundamental: "Henceforth, there will be two clubs: the broader EU and the new euro club with its own rules and institutions."