Press
Downgrade of debt ratings underscores Europe's woes
13 January 2012
The New York Times
"It will make it harder to erect firewalls around struggling euro zone economies and convince investors that things are more sustainable," said Simon Tilford, the chief economist for the CER in London.
Is a breakaway Scotland brave or foolhardy?
12 January 2012
Reuters
Hugo Brady of the CER think-tank and a former Irish government official, said the SNP's assumption of automatic membership "would be a very difficult ask because it would set a precedent for other new members that might join."
End of an affair? City of London and EU in bitter acrimony
12 January 2012
Yale Global
The global financial crisis has had a seemingly odd impact on relations between the City of London, the United Kingdom and the European Union. Before the crisis, the dominant assumption in Britain was that what was good for the City, Europe's largest financial center, was good for the UK and...
EU legal expert casts doubt on new fiscal treaty
11 January 2012
EU Observer
Charles Grant, director of the London-based Centre for European Reform, told the meeting "it is quite likely Britain will leave the EU within 10 years."
EU faces defence challenge as US looks to Asia
10 January 2012
Reuters
"Contributing troops to these conflicts has been very financially and politically expensive for European countries," says Tomas Valasek of the CER. "There will be some who will rejoice that the US has in effect said that it plans to do fewer 'nationbuilding' wars."
For Europe, a 'green light' to lead
09 January 2012
Defence News
"The new emphasis on Asia and the Middle East could mean the US will be less likely to lead future operations in and around Europe", said Tomas Valasek, of the CER in London.
Nothing to celebrate
04 January 2012
Foreign Policy
Think 2011 was a bad year for Europe? 2012 could be a whole lot worse - if EU leaders don't get serious and deal with these 6 problems.
Welcome to the new year. In Europe, it doesn't look particularly promising. Even in the most optimistic scenarios for the...
Welcome to the new year. In Europe, it doesn't look particularly promising. Even in the most optimistic scenarios for the...
Ten years of the euro: the sceptics got it wrong too
03 January 2012
The Guardian
I came across an upbeat pamphlet called EU:2010: An optimistic vision of the future. Written in 2000 by Charles Grant, it set out a vision of a resurgent Europe into which he hoped the second Blair government would take us around about 2005...
To head off trouble, EU prepares for less union
02 January 2012
International Herald Tribune
"People talk about tax measures continuing to be subject to unanimity", said Philip Whyte, senior research fellow at the CER, "but you could have this type of reinforced cooperation in an area covered by unanimity and with a country not taking part being affected by the measure".
Is Britain on the way out?
01 January 2012
The German Marshall Fund of the US
In this GMF podcast, Senior Advisor Michael Leigh and Director of the CER Charles Grant discuss the increasing isolation of the UK from the EU and the effect of this isolation on the rest of Europe, and on transatlantic relations.
Politicians slash public goodies
28 December 2011
The Washington Times
"Austerity is now part of the problem, not the solution," said Simon Tilford of the CER. "Investors are looking at eurozone economies and thinking, ‘How are they going to grow? How are they going to service their debt?’ Uncoordinated and excessive fiscal austerity is further weakening their growth prospects."
Crisis gatecrashes 10th birthday of euro
27 December 2011
Ekathimerini
”Everything seemed to be going along just nicely until the financial crisis came along and shone the spotlight on the institutional shortcomings of the eurozone,” said Philip Whyte of the CER... The low interest rates that monetary union brought with it for southern Europe led governments, businesses and households to take on increasingly unmanageable burdens of debt and everyone, including the northern states, underestimated the dangers, Whyte said.
Germany faces recession risk as crisis hits confidence
21 December 2011
Reuters
"Germany won't be able to rely on exports to drive growth and business investment will only hold up if there is a recovery in domestic demand," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER in London.
Germany faces recession risk as crisis hits confidence
21 December 2011
Reuters
"Germany won't be able to rely on exports to drive growth and business investment will only hold up if there is a recovery in domestic demand," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER in London.
Making EU allies
20 December 2011
The Times
The Government should seek to protect the City, but went about it the wrong way at the Brussels summit.Sir, Camilla Cavendish's article on the City and the EU (“France defends farmers: we must save the City”, Dec 15) contains much common sense.
Schengen's 'black swan' moment?
19 December 2011
E!Sharp
Europe's leaders are - understandably - focused on the euro crisis, pretty much to the exclusion of all else. But policy-makers should beware another calamity in 2012: a possible breakdown of the EU's Schengen zone of passport-free travel. Undoubtedly, these two troubled flagships of European integration share parallels. For a...
Why Ireland should ratify any eurozone treaty early
18 December 2011
The Sunday Business Post
EU officials are putting the final touches to the first draft of a 'fiscal stability' treaty to be ratified by eurozone countries by the end of 2012. The treaty - which commits each euro government to run balanced budgets in perpetuity - will be one of the oddest ever signed...
What have the Eurocrats ever done for us?
18 December 2011
The Sunday Times
Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER, a broadly pro-Europe think-tank, said: "In areas where the EU has no role, Britain is a highly regulated place. We cannot blame that on the EU." He cites Britain’s poor infrastructure, for example, as a more serious obstacle to growth.
EU foreign policy must not become a casualty of the euro crisis
16 December 2011
EU Observer
Dear EU leaders,
We are seriously concerned about the impact that the current eurozone debt crisis is having on the external relations of the Union.
The first casualty is the time available for foreign policy. We recognise and support your efforts to overcome the current crisis but it is...
We are seriously concerned about the impact that the current eurozone debt crisis is having on the external relations of the Union.
The first casualty is the time available for foreign policy. We recognise and support your efforts to overcome the current crisis but it is...
Britain and France: Seasonal greetings
16 December 2011
The Guardian
As Simon Tilford of the CER argues, the fiscal compact agreed in Brussels and about which a draft version circulated yesterday hard-wires pro-cyclical, fiscal austerity into the institutional framework of the eurozone.