I believe neither the French nor the Dutch really rejected the constitutional treaty.

Without the Turkey agreement, tens of thousands of refugees would still be stuck in Greece. The Commission presented proposals for securing Europe's external borders early on, but they languished in the Council for months. As you can see, the Commission isn't asleep. Oftentimes it has to wake up the others.

There can be no doubt that, with the United Kingdom, we will lose a very market-oriented voice.

In the end, the British didn't vote to leave because of the euro. They're not even members of the currency union. Even the refugee crisis hardly affected the country.

The problem is: When two governments or institutions in Europe hold differing opinions, it is immediately a crisis.

My father was a steel worker and Martin's [Schulz] grandfather was a miner in Saarland. In these occupations, there is a particular awareness of solidarity. That creates links that aren't present in other relationships.

The Turks know that if they want to join the EU, then they must respect our rules. We are a union of beliefs, not a bunch of squawking chickens. But if we continue talks with Erdogan, that doesn't mean we have to bow down to him.