There are surely people in London who would love to play us off against each other. That would be disastrous for the EU.

We are living through an epochal shift. If we aren't careful, the elementary foundations of our pluralistic democracy will be threatened.

I would never attack somebody only because they belong to a different party.

Would I sacrifice a friendship to take a step forward in my political career? Thus far in my political career, I have been spared from having to make such a decision, thank God. And I can't imagine what it must be like.

There are surely people in London who would love to play us off against each other. That would be disastrous for the EU.

We all have to accept accusations that we ignored the refugee crisis for far too long. The first time that I referred to the Mediterranean Sea as Europe's cemetery was in October 2013, when hundreds of people drowned off Lampedusa. Italians, Maltese, Greeks and Spaniards have been pleading for help for years. But nobody cared.

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.