Press

Clegg tells of tough choices over Europe

25 September 2012
Financial Times
Charles Grant, director of the CER, says a fourth source of potential conflict within the coalition will arise when Britain has to decide, before 2014, whether to take its one-off chance to withdraw from 130 EU crime and policing rules. "It’s certain Britain will exercise its block opt-out," he says.

European pensions targeted

23 September 2012
USA Today
"Certainly, if you have people retiring in their 50s - and you're not looking like you're going to get the tax revenues you thought you would in the future - then it is difficult to be able to fill in some of the gaps in your public pension systems," said John Springford of the CER. "You do need to get public-sector workers to work longer."

Europe needs service-market liberalisation

20 September 2012
The Wall Street Journal
In exchange for sharing southern Europe's debt burden, Germany is demanding liberal economic reforms in those countries. Yet Germany is not following its own advice.

Ideas for future EU hit instant headwind

20 September 2012
European Voice
Charles Grant of the CER, was sceptical about the prospect of changes. He said that there was "no enthusiasm for treaty change or institutional reform" in France.

Germany's Wolfgang Schäuble at 70 – still at heart of efforts to save eurozone

Katinka Barysch
20 September 2012
The Guardian
Schäuble's mantra has consistently been that what's good for Europe is good for Germany... "He's an old-fashioned, very serious European federalist," said Katinka Barysch, a German economist at the CER in London.

Merkel turns to ex-mentor Kohl to sell Europe to Germans

Philip Whyte
20 September 2012
Reuters
"There was an initial desire (in Europe) to punish Greece rather than help it," said Philip Whyte of the CER. "Germany played a big role in that and the benefits of Germany's euro zone membership weren't highlighted much."

As doubts grow about a BAE-EADS merger, could it prove a danger to national interests?

Tomas Valasek, Ben Wallace
19 September 2012
City A.M
The fear that the merger might pose a threat to national security is without foundation. How? Would the German or French bits of the company withhold supplies to the UK armed forces on political grounds?

11 European foreign ministers call for greater integration

18 September 2012
The New York Times
"Germany's renewal of the concept of political union reflects the fact that the German political class has become more integrationist as the euro crisis has progressed," said Charles Grant, director of the CER.

Germany slowly comes to terms with sending its armed forces abroad

Tomas Valasek
18 September 2012
The Guardian
"Afghanistan turned out a lot less safe than they thought it was going to be, but the Germans toughed it out, changed their rules of engagement, and fired back," said Tomas Valasek, the director of foreign policy and defence at the Centre for European Reform.

Stalled rally puts pressure on Spain

Simon Tilford
18 September 2012
The Wall Street Journal
Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER, said the Spanish government was right to consider the bailout request with caution. "If one of the conditions is a further tightening of fiscal policy, then the risk is that that will depress the Spanish economy even further, and they won't be able to meet the terms of the bailout," he said.

BAE-EADS merger would advance Europe's military goals

Clara Marina O'Donnell
16 September 2012
Reuters
"In the broadest terms, this merger does enact what many European governments... have been saying for a long time - that in order for the European defense industry to remain competitive in the long term it needs to consolidate," said Clara Marina O'Donnell of the CER.

Germany's savers feel resentment and guilt over pressure to end euro crisis

Katinka Barysch
16 September 2012
The Guardian
German taxpayers stump up a "solidarity surcharge" of 5.5% of income tax to fund the hefty costs of unification in an arrangement due to last until 2019. "East Germany might well need another trillion," said Katinka Barysch, a German economist at the CER.

Illegal immigration emerges as new crisis for Greece - and EU

15 September 2012
The Wall Street Journal
Last year, some 351,000 people were in the EU illegally by overstaying their visas... "The attention needs to be shifted to that too," said Hugo Brady of the CER. "Greece isn't the cause of illegal immigration, it's a serious patch of vulnerability."

German court rejects calls to block eurozone rescue fund

Simon Tilford
13 September 2012
USA Today
Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER said the ruling's most interesting aspects were the conditions attached. "It's unlikely that the German government would vote to increase the amount of money that it can commit to the fund," he said.

Defence sector plans for hard times ahead

Clara Marina O'Donnell
13 September 2012
Financial Times
"Faced with the lack of demand in Europe, the name of the game for many European defence companies has been to try and get into other markets like the US," says Clara Marina O’Donnell of the CER.

London sees commercial sense of alliance

Clara Marina O'Donnell
12 September 2012
Financial Times
"One of the interesting questions is what this means for the much-vaunted Franco-British defence relationship," said Clara Marina O’Donnell of the Centre for European Reform.

Spanish leader yet to agree on bailout conditions

Simon Tilford
11 September 2012
Marketplace
Refusing to go along with the austerity measures could jeapordize other EU governments support for the bailout program, according to Simon Tilford of the CER. If that happened, "the ECB will not be allowed to buy the debt," Tilford said.

El 'eje del Norte' afloja la presión

Simon Tilford
09 September 2012
El Pais
"No hay duda de que los años de crisis [economica] han tenido un impacto primera vez, Alemania está en una posición abiertamente dominante", comenta Simon Tilford, economista del Centre for European Reform.

European bank move could help economy

Simon Tilford
07 September 2012
Voice of America
"This is an argument about money, said Simon Tilford of the CER. "Who pays for misallocated capital, profligate borrowers or irresponsible lenders? The only way of addressing this kind of problem is by both sides taking a hit. And so far the full burden of adjustment is being imposed on the debtors."

In launching cases, Commission shows it plays by rules

06 September 2012
The Wall Street Journal
 "It's commendable that the commission is prepared to stand up for little Eastern European countries at the risk of hurting relations with Russia," said Charles Grant director of the Centre for European Reform, a London-based think-tank.