Press

The European Central Bank's inflation conundrum

Simon Tilford
06 November 2013
The New York Times
Some economists, like Simon Tilford of the CER, argue that the eurozone is already stuck in the same kind of economic quicksand that trapped Japan for decades and that the ECB must aggressively stimulate growth now. "There is a point where the eurozone will pass the point of no return," Mr Tilford said.

Espanha volta a atrair investimentos

Simon Tilford
02 November 2013
Estadao
"A raiz do problema é que a Espanha está tentando fazer duas coisas contraditórias: alcançar uma desvalorização interna dentro da zona do euro para melhorar sua competitividade comercial, enquanto tenta manter sua dívida sustentável", disse Simon Tilford, do CER em Londres.

Optimism, and caution, as Spain attracts investment

Simon Tilford
01 November 2013
The New York Times
"The root of the problem is that Spain is attempting to do two contradictory things: pull off an internal devaluation within the eurozone to bolster trade competitiveness, while ensuring that its debt burden remains sustainable," said Simon Tilford of the CER.

Video interview on 'Europe should regulate to promote carbon capture and storage'

Stephen Tindale
30 October 2013
Stephen Tindale discusses his latest CER policy brief 'Europe should regulate to promote carbon capture and storage'.

Convalescent eurozone seeks to escape debt overhang

28 October 2013
Reuters
"Ideally the eurozone would combine a symmetrical budget policy with debt monetisation by the ECB," Belgian economist Paul De Grauwe at the London School of Economics wrote in an essay for the Centre for European Reform.

A democratic nightmare

25 October 2013
The Economist
In a new publication, the Centre for European Reform (CER), argues that the commission "needs to act as referee in the political game, not as captain of one of the teams".

China risks turning into 'giant North Korea' says panda pundit

Ambrose Evans-Pritchard
25 October 2013
The Independent
China experts Minxin Pei and Jonathan Fenby left a group of grizzled policy veterans open-mouthed with astonishment at a Westminster lunch by Centre for European Reform.
Minxin fears that China may be reverting to police-state Maoism, with self-criticism sessions making a comeback. The reforms are skin deep so far, and the...

A sensible selection process?

Heather Grable, Stefan Lehne
24 October 2013
European Voice
An excellent paper by Heather Grable and Stefan Lehne, published by the CER argues that a partisan president will undermine the Commission's legitimacy by politically tainting powers and responsibilities that need to be exercised super partes.

Video interview on 'China 2025: Regime transition in China?'

22 October 2013
Charles Grant interviewed Minxin Pei, professor of government and the director of the Keck Centre for International and Strategic Studies at Claremont McKenna College.

Positive signals sent to Balkans on EU membership

Rem Korteweg
20 October 2013
Monitor Frontier Markets
Mr Korteweg says that Croatia’s accession in July 2013 will be the last expansion for several years. "Each country suffers from political, judiciary or economic problems, warranting a more pessimistic outlook on swift EU membership."

The Kremlin uses bully-boy tactics to keep other countries in the fold

17 October 2013
The New Statesman
Putin and his ministers were uncharacteristically polite about Barack Obama, welcoming co-operation with him over Syria’s chemical weapons.

EU needs an overhaul

17 October 2013
European Voice
All across Europe, people are fed up with the European Union. The eurozone's difficulties explain much of the disenchantment.

How do you solve a problem like Russia?

17 October 2013
The Guardian
Charles Grant, director of the CER, said that while Putin's personal relationship with Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel, was famously bad, David Cameron was said to have developed a pragmatic working relationship with the Russian leader.

La relation avec Londres presque "au point mort"

17 October 2013
Le Monde
Charles Grant, directeur du CER, remarque que, contrairement à Angela Merkel, David Cameron semble avoir noué une relation de travail pragmatique avec le dirigeant russe. Et les ministres des affaires étrangères des deux pays, William Hague et Sergueï Lavrov, s'entendent bien.

Ireland turns corner from crisis to recovery

Simon Tilford
17 October 2013
Deutsche Welle
"Investors, for various reasons, believe that Ireland will grow; that Ireland is going to be able to service its debts. They don't believe that that's the case with Portugal or Greece and they have doubts with one or two other countries," Simon Tilford of the CER, told DW.

Xenophobes of the world, unite? French, Dutch far-right weigh alliance

17 October 2013
The Christian Science Monitor
"It's difficult for a group of nationalists to come together on an internationalist platform," says Hugo Brady, senior research fellow at the CER. "The minute they start doing that kind of stuff, they start resembling the mainstream parties that they claim to despise."

Does Europe want immigrants?

Hugo Brady, Judy Dempsey
16 October 2013
Carnegie Europe
Following recent boat disasters in the Mediterranean and against the backdrop of right-wing, anti-immigration sentiments in Europe, our experts discuss the issues surrounding immigration in Europe.

Pascal Lamy should lead European Commission, says Delors

Heather Grabbe, Stefan Lehne
15 October 2013
EurActiv
In a report published yesterday (14 October), the Centre for European Reform said that the proposal to put forward 'faces' for European elections to improve democratic legitimacy was ill-fated.

It's time for European governments to embrace a real reform agenda for the EU

14 October 2013
LSE blog
Hugo Brady writes that rather than attempting to negotiate the re-nationalisation of EU powers to Westminster, he and other European leaders should consider some practical, feasible reforms that the Union can begin to implement immediately.

Brussels disputes UK claims of 'benefit tourism'

14 October 2013
Financial Times
John Springford, of the CER said the government’s 'benefits tourism' claims were a canard. "Contrary to popular opinion, EU immigrants are far less likely to take up benefits than the British population...  the great majority of EU immigrants come to Britain to work," he said.