My main concern is to protect people from detriment.

I am in favor of the European institutions being led for the next two-and-a-half years as they have been thus far. We need stability.

I would have thought that they [Boris Johnson and Nigel Farag] would have had a plan,instead of developing a plan they are leaving the boat.

Europe is a democracy and differences of opinion are part of it.

My friendship with Martin [Schulz], by contrast, is completely different in that it goes far beyond politics.

You can't deepen the European Union against the wishes of the European countries.

Since it took up office, the Commission which I lead has pursued a clear policy: we need less interference from Brussels when it comes to the things that Member States can deal with better on their own. That is why we no longer regulate oil cans or showerheads, but concentrate instead on what we can do better together rather than alone - such as tackling the refugee crisis or securing our external borders. Only in that way can we make people feel that Europe makes a tangible difference.