A lot of the American press at the time was saying 'just watch what happens when Bertelsmann tries to buy EMI, that will be a moment of truth that will show the Commission's true colors.' Well, that deal never happened either.

I have the most profound respect for the Department of Justice and the FTC. We in Europe are a younger and I would say junior institution to the historical antitrust experience of the US.

If the euro becomes a factor promoting Europe's drifting apart, then the foundation of the European project is destroyed.

It is very unusual for a country to ask guys who are not politicians to come and run the country.

Growth in any individual European country has to be the result of policies for growth pursued in that country consistent with budgetary discipline.

This is certainly not the first case in which a merger approved in one place hasn't gone through in the other. There was a case last year where the merger between two EU companies was approved here and blocked in the U.S.

If Spain goes under, Italy will come under even more scrutiny.