Without new money, salaries won't be paid, the health system will stop functioning, the power network and public transport will break down, and they won't be able to import vital goods because nobody can pay.

I believe it is wrong to give Moscow a rebate on Ukraine sanctions because of Syria.

When it comes to climate protection, the whole world will have to pay the price. But if Donald Trump intends to conclude a trade agreement with the EU, he will have to abide by our climate standards. In any case, waiving climate protection does not make American products more competitive.

The ESM, the European Stability Mechanism, is not funded by Germany alone. Twenty-seven percent of the bailout package comes from Germany. Italy and France together cover a total of 38 percent. That's reality. It makes no sense to say that everyone wants to get at Germany's money.

European policy is always an interplay of rationality and emotion.

At the end of the day, men like Donald Trump need to be given that which they themselves dispense: clear messages. I would confront him as clearly and explicitly as possible. It is not only the right, but also the duty, of the leader of a German government to do that.

If you say in advance there is going to be a main candidate and then that doesn't count later, then that's going to be a highly problematic occurrence in a democracy.