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.

Treaties exist so that they will be adhered to. It only serves to strengthen euroskepticism when we constantly make promises and reach agreements that we do not adhere to.

Politics means competition, especially in senior positions. If you don't know that, you're not especially suited to politics.

As a wheelchair user, you cant move about freely. Thats the only thing that bothers me a little. When Im in the Euro Group in Brussels, colleagues who want to talk to me have to come to me. But I hope they know that this has nothing to do with arrogance.

If we want to avoid a clash of cultures - and the jury is still out on whether we can - we'll have to make different cultures and religions compatible with the universal nature of human rights and tolerance. But I can promise you this: Anyone who calls me an infidel at the conference will be in for a fight.

I don't want to interpret the pope's words, especially as I am one of those horrible people who fell away from the Roman church after Martin Luther.

I want to see religious instruction and sermons held in German in the mosques. The ideal, in my view, would be for imams to be trained in Germany and to speak our language, just as the Roman Catholic Church now holds mass in German and gave up Latin long ago.