I am grateful to the Germans in general, particularly those who displayed unending dedication to the refugees and who continue to do so.

The dangerous glorification of the nation state, and the baiting of minorities that goes along with it, releases an anti-democratic energy.

The share of wealth held by the minority is much greater than the share held by the majority. We have to draw our own conclusions from that and it has to change.

But if you constantly insist only on your own interpretation, it isn't long before it seems patronizing.

Imagine a German as president of the European Commission. If he or she goes to some particular country and says do this or that, it won't be very well received. The president quickly ends up being the evil German. But if the president is elected by and controlled by 700 representatives from all EU countries, that legitimizes him or her in a very different way.

The EU is a community of values, not military buildups.

Donald Trump has made the principle of purposely breaking a taboo into a means of achieving his political objectives, which is something that he has in common with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. Trump systematically violates international rules. But we cannot allow ourselves to forget that Trump is not the U.S.