I say to my friends, 'Don't just listen to the vuvuzelas; look at who scores the goals.' And this is the important thing.

Decisions taken by the most democratic institutions in the world are very often wrong.

If we say leaders are incompetent, we are going to fuel extremist, populist, xenophobic and ultra-nationalist parties.

I'll put it frankly - Britain has more influence in China than Norway or Switzerland, with all respect for the other countries.

I believe that Europe without Britain at the heart will be less reform-driven, less open, less international Europe.

What people call serendipity sometimes is just having your eyes open.

Let us not forget that the European Community started as a project for peace after the terrible Second World War. And today people take for granted the freedom to travel, to study, to work abroad. And the citizens of one country have almost exactly the same rights as another country.