In times of upheaval, people wish for nothing more than composure and sincerity.

You can be sure that I won't experiment with right-wing terms.

It's not attractive at the moment to vouch for the European idea. I still do it, because I believe nothing would be better for our continent.

My mother's brother was killed while clearing mines in 1945. Those are things that mark your childhood and they help explain why we are so devoted to European unity.

Europe was founded as a community bound together by solidarity.

I am strictly against making cuts in the current budgetary period for things such as research funding and investments as a reaction to Brexit. I think that we can do an excellent job of explaining this to the German people.

Just come to Brussels after a Council meeting. Do you know what happens? Every head of government holds his or her own press conference. They all say the same thing, in 24 languages: I was able to push through my agenda. And if the result is anything other than what they desired, the message is: Brussels is to blame. It has been this way for over 20 years. These messages stick with people, and that's deadly for Europe.