There was in Italy a hidden demand for a boring government which would try to tell the truth in non-political jargon.

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

I believe that in Europe, we have a collective leadership.

I hope that my government can help change Italian mentality.

If governments let themselves be fully bound by the decisions of their parliaments without protecting their own freedom to act, a breakup of Europe would be a more probable outcome than deeper integration.

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.

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.