Press

Greece exit from euro poses EU legal, political headache

Simon Tilford
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

Simon Tilford
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."

The euro crisis puts political leaders at risk

Simon Tilford
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.

Stephanomics - Financial crisis

Katinka Barysch
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

Philip Whyte
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

Simon Tilford
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

Katinka Barysch
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

Simon Tilford
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

Philip Whyte
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

Simon Tilford
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

Simon Tilford
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?

Tomas Valasek
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.]"

Britons hanker for life outside EU as crisis bites

28 October 2011
Reuters
Hugo Brady of the CER, said the overwhelming popular feeling in Britain was that Europe was a hindrance. "The reality is that Britain would be far less able to wield its influence (outside the EU). The EU, flawed as it is, is the only game in town in Europe," said Brady.

Europe debt crisis plan hinges on economic growth

Simon Tilford
28 October 2011
Los Angeles Times
They're right to be talking about growth, because unless they get the economy going and arrest this slide into a slump, there's no chance of getting public finances across the union under control," added Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER.

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."

Markets soar following eurozone debt deal

Philip Whyte
27 October 2011
Channel 4 News
Philip Whyte, senior research fellow at the CER discusses how share prices and the value of the euro have soared after European leaders agreed a framework to solve the debt crisis last night.

Don’t panic, Merkel's war rhetoric 'is to keep the peace'

27 October 2011
The Times
Hugo Brady of the CER in Brussels, said: "What she is really saying now is that Germany still needs the EU whether Germans like it or not. This is not the Swabian housewife approach any more, she sounds more like Helmut Kohl every day."

Europe looks to China for possible bailout help

Katinka Barysch
27 October 2011
Associated Press
"You will hear some less-serious people in Ireland or Greece say, We don't need you Europeans with your conditions because the Chinese will bail us out," said Katinka Barysch, deputy director of the CER.

Markets rise but questions remain after euro debt deal

Simon Tilford
27 October 2011
Voice of America
"There is no new money involved," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER. "What they are essentially saying is that we will cover a proportion of your losses if these countries get into funding difficulties."