To the extent that we've got a fiscal crisis right now, part of it is prompted by a bullheaded insistence on the part of the president, for example, that we should extend all of his tax cuts, make all of them permanent.

I can document this past week [of presidency] we've put out memos from every agency showing what did we do. Try to be as honest as possible. There's a little hype involved obviously. It's spin because it's our agencies. We feel some pride about it. But tried to be self-critical as well.

Our government shouldn't make promises we cannot keep, but we must keep the promises we've already made.

At a time when the European project is facing challenges, it's especially important to show the benefits of economic integration by continuing to invest in our people and working to reduce inequality, both within and across our countries.

There isn't anyone who can't serve ... nobody who can't help somebody else.

This is about respect for women, the judgments that women make and their doctors about their reproductive health. It's an important part of who women are, their reproductive health.

I think that at a certain stage those early ambitions burn away, partly because you achieve something, you get something done, you get some notoriety. And then the particularities of who you are and what your deepest commitments are begin expressing themselves. You're not just chasing the idea of "me" being important, but you, rather, are chasing a particular passion.