Germany has always stood for an E.U. of the 27 countries. But in light of Britain's continued resistance to further integration steps, as we saw with the fiscal pact, there are limits to my optimism in this regard. It's quite possible that we will have to create the new institutions for the euro zone first.

Our balanced budget has an important psychological function. It is a signal that we can't continue to constantly take on debt.

I think we will have to spend more on defense, for infrastructure, for extension of the broadband network and also for domestic security.

I would caution against fueling cheap populism. First of all, every German who has spent a vacation in Greece knows that the standard of living there isn't higher than it is in Germany. Second, Greece is paying a high price for European assistance.

If there are possibilities for strengthening investments, they will not fail because of us. Emmanuel Macron is right when he says that we need to do more and talk less.

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.

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