Greece's debts are all denominated in euros, but it isn't clear who holds how much of those debts. For that reason, the consequences of a national bankruptcy would be incalculable. Greece is just as systemically important as a major bank.

I'm a firm believer in the monetary union.

We in Europe need to discuss how we can improve the community. That is the correct order.

About three million Muslims live in the country, but we have no relationship to our diverse Muslim society, despite the fact that it's an established part of our larger society. We need to build a stronger foundation for the relationship between Muslims and the state.

For Martin Schulz, the chancellor candidate for the center-left Social Democrats, friendly wishes don't go far enough. He would like to see much more enthusiastic support for Emmanuel Macron than that shown by Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose comments so far have tended to be reserved. As she put it, she doesn't see a need to change her policies because of Macron.

The United States lived on borrowed money for too long, inflating its financial sector unnecessarily and neglecting its small and mid-sized industrial companies.

We will not be able to meet the challenges of integration and the threats posed by international terrorism. If we want to prevent attacks, we'll need more information and better integration.