Press

The collapse of the carbon market

Stephen Tindale
23 May 2013
Financial Times
In economic terms a carbon tax is clearly the most effective and simplest way of encouraging the shift to a low carbon economy. Of course the level of the tax matters. Stephen Tindale, in an excellent paper for the CER, suggests a floor price of 30 euros a tonne.

Les tensions s'avivent au sein de la "troïka"

Simon Tilford
21 May 2013
Le Monde
"Pour ces pays, c'est aussi scandaleux que d'imaginer les Etats-Unis réclamer l'aide du FMI pour sauver la Californie", pointe Simon Tilford du "think tank" européen, CER, basé à Londres. ... "C'est triste. Cela ne fait qu'accentuer l'euroscepticisme" conclut Simon Tilford.

Dublin fears rise in cross-border crime if UK opt out of EU rules

20 May 2013
Financial Times
"Police on both sides of the Irish Sea – as well as either side of the border – fear a return to the days when Ireland's supreme court would refuse extradition of terrorist suspects", says Hugo Brady of the CER.

Video interview on 'The working time directive'

Katinka Barysch
20 May 2013
Katinka Barysch discusses her recent policy brief 'The working time directive: What's the fuss about?'. The working time directive has had limited impact on British business. It has caused trouble in hospitals partly because the NHS relies so heavily on junior doctors.

Thinking the unthinkable: Quitting a currency

Simon Tilford
19 May 2013
The Wall Street Journal
"Just the sheer enormity of quitting the euro has so far militated against a surge in support to leave," says Simon Tilford of the CER. Once people feel there is no light at the end of the tunnel, however, "we'll probably start to see a more open debate about the costs and benefits of remaining in the single currency," he says.

Europa desgarra a los 'tories'

Philip Whyte
18 May 2013
El Pais
Philip Whyte, investigador del CER, discrepa de esa visión. En un estudio titulado ¿Perjudican los vínculos europeos de Gran Bretaña su prosperidad? concluye que muchos de los argumentos económicos euroescépticos son "engañosos" y que los problemas de la economía británica "no tienen nada que ver con las cargas burocráticas de la UE".

Recession causes grief for Hollande on election anniversary

Simon Tilford
17 May 2013
The Globe and Mail
"France's economy stacks up well among European countries", says Simon Tilford of the CER. Economic growth has been better than most eurozone countries since the financial crisis; productivity is higher, as is foreign investment.

Coping with China's slowdown

16 May 2013
European Voice
Charles Grant, director of the CER, is certainly right when he says that EU negotiators have a poor record using their leverage as China's main trading partner in getting China "to do what they want", especially opening up its own markets to EU firms and combating intellectual property theft.

Euro crisis mires continent in longest slump since war

Simon Tilford
16 May 2013
The Wall Street Journal
"Financial markets have become more sanguine than a year ago, but the underlying problems of the euro zone haven't been fixed," said Simon Tilford, chief economist at the CER, a London-based think tank.

As Europe struggles, the Franco-German alliance turns testy

15 May 2013
The Christian Science Monitor
It’s also symbolically disconcerting for the identity of Europe. Hugo Brady of the CER, says that the breakdown is one of the biggest challenges the union faces today."If there isn't a France-German alliance, it’s the end of the Europe we’ve known for 50 years.”

Eurozone sets bleak record of longest term in recession

Simon Tilford
15 May 2013
Financial Times
"It’s pretty shocking data," said Simon Tilford, economist at the CER, a think tank. "The figures for Italy, Spain and France are very worrying ... There’s a very, very strong case for aggressive monetary relaxation across the eurozone now."

Britain could reshape Europe if it would only try

14 May 2013
Financial Times
Is there any point in Britain staying in the EU if it is outside the euro? No, according to increasing numbers of  British eurosceptics  and European federalists.

Labour must stand firm: No to a referendum on Europe

09 May 2013
The Guardian
Cameron has deliberately fudged what he means, special UK optouts or universal reforms for all: on Thursday he spoke of both. Germany's Angela Merkel seems somewhat receptive, according to Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform.

Eurosceptics take heart from UKIP's election wins

08 May 2013
European Voice
"UKIP is part of a pan-European phenomenon," Charles Grant of the CER said. "It's not just hostility toward the EU; it's about hostility to the political class."

Foreign policy: Struggle for coherence remains intense in diplomatic relations

08 May 2013
Financial Times
"It was an undoubted success," says Ian Bond of the Centre for European Reform (CER), a London-based think-tank. "It shows that forging a relationship with the EU still has a lot of attractions for its neighbours. Catherine Ashton's patient approach certainly paid off."

La UE teme el avance de los eurófobos

Katinka Barysch
07 May 2013
El Pais
"Los votantes empiezan a buscar respuestas fuera de ese bipartidismo, porque las que les han dado hasta ahora no son convincentes. Y los más confundidos pueden encontrar atractivos los mensajes simplistas de las fuerzas populistas", cierra Katinka Barysch, del Centre for European Reform.

One more field where the continent trails Germany

07 May 2013
The New York Times
John Springford of the CER said the winner-take-all aspect of soccer could also be troublesome for Europe as it battles the debt crisis. "The euro crisis has been dominated by that narrative of competitiveness," Mr Springford said. "That kind of zero-sum thinking that is analogous to the football mentality is one of the reasons why it’s been so difficult to create a lasting solution to the euro crisis."

Thousands protest against 'Mr Weak' François Hollande

05 May 2013
The Daily Telegraph
Charles Grant of the Centre for European Reform said: "The Germans have to be pragmatic enough to realise they are losing the argument and have got to soften, which will make it easier for Hollande to claim he has helped to push the EU into a more growth-oriented strategy."

Nigel Farage: How one man changed the face of British politics

04 May 2013
The Guardian
Charles Grant, of the CER, said the combination of economic crisis and bad governance by EU leaders had created the ideal climate in which populism could grow. He said: "We have a weak economy, weak leadership and a very badly run EU.

Revival of Europe's economy falls to German leader

03 May 2013
International Herald Tribune
"They are prevaricating all the time and allowing short-term domestic considerations to determine eurozone policy," said Charles Grant, of the CER.