I urge everyone to be patient and reasonable and I warn against shooting from the hip in the truest sense of the term. Pressure and dialogue are needed.

Germany will continue to play a central - perhaps even a more important - role in the European Union. I think that we will all miss the pragmatic approach of the British, however, particularly in those long nights of negotiation.

I'm not deaf and the Commission isn't operating in a parallel world of legal texts.

My main concern is to protect people from detriment.

We do not attract Russian money to Luxembourg with high interest rates.

Trump knows that he is encountering a complete lack of understanding in Europe, but it's apparent that he's not very impressed by it. My experience, however, has been that American presidents take a greater interest in Europe over the course of their term.

The position of EU commissioner for economic and monetary affairs could be combined with the office of Euro Group chairman. That job would be a great challenge for anyone who assumed it. On the one hand, he would have to make proposals. On the other hand, he would have to negotiate compromises with his European counterparts.