If the Schengen system (of border-free travel) is destroyed, Europe will be seriously endangered politically and economically. That is why we Europeans have to invest billions in Turkey, Libya, Jordan and other countries in the region as quickly as possible everybody as much as they can.
Wolfgang SchaubleHistory shows us a lot of things. It shows why the Lord's Prayer includes the supplication: "And lead us not into temptation." In my day, dissertations were still written by hand, or drummed out with a typewriter. In the past, you had to round up the literature, find the books and find the passages. Nowadays you click on Wikipedia or Google and you have everything you need. This probably makes it more difficult to resist temptation.
Wolfgang SchaubleWe in Europe need to discuss how we can improve the community. That is the correct order.
Wolfgang SchaubleMy job is not to predict everything that might happen in the future, but to address what we can do today.
Wolfgang SchaubleI 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.
Wolfgang SchaubleThose who constantly qualify everything and have no opinions of their own are ultimately just as incapable of tolerance.
Wolfgang SchaublePolitics means competition, especially in senior positions. If you don't know that, you're not especially suited to politics.
Wolfgang SchaubleIn China, it was always said that a double-digit rate of growth would be dangerous. Now, the country has a growth rate of 6.9 percent and suddenly that is supposed to be a catastrophe for the global economy.
Wolfgang SchaubleWe 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.
Wolfgang SchaubleGreece'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.
Wolfgang Schauble