Referendums are a democratic instrument, but so are decisions reached in a parliamentary democracy. I advise extreme caution when it comes to referendums. In Germany too.

Referendums have always posed a threat when it comes to EU policy, because EU policy is complicated. They're an opportunity for those from all political camps who like to oversimplify things.

The EU is an unique project that replaced war with peace, hate with solidarity. Overwhelming emotion for awarding of Nobel prize to EU

For many people, politics in Brussels and Strasbourg might as well be happening on another planet.

But if you constantly insist only on your own interpretation, it isn't long before it seems patronizing.

I'm not a populist. But I try to present complicated issues in such a way that people know where I stand.

Before we talk about further accessions, we have to consolidate the European Union internally. People are increasingly losing faith in the EU's effectiveness.

I am a man of parliament, a man of the people. I am not a representative of the executives.

A joint European army is a very far-reaching proposal and it would be difficult to implement. Such initiatives are nevertheless needed.

The problem with us EU politicians is that we approach everything with cool rationality, and then wonder why we don't win people over emotionally.

I believe that the majority of people in Europe want to demonstrate solidarity with the refugees.

The only limitation is that which one sets up in one's own mind.

I love you every day as if it is Valentine’s day.

My practices were not set up to be easy or enjoyed.

Approach every meeting with a purposeful, high-energy, ready-to-make-a-contribution attitude, and watch how fast leadership’s perception of you follows your behavior.

Genre might certainly increase some of your narrative freedoms, but it also diminishes others. That's the nature of genre.

I like narrative, and I ultimately am in love with the men and women I write about, most of them.

In the world there is no democracy better than our democracy. Such a thing has never before been seen.

I don't want to be an old dad.

Let your holidays be associated with great public events, and they may be the life of patriotism as well as a source of relaxation and personal employment.

We choose to believe that the granite is alive. If life is movement, then rock - with its atoms flying around like stars in cosmos - is alive.