Jean-Claude Juncker Quotes
-
I put my money on Brexit. The EU Financial Stability Commissioner, Jonathan Hill from Britain, still owes me a pound.
→ -
I wouldn't like Greece to stay recession. I do think that everything has to be undertaken to reconnect with growth.
→ -
My father was a steel worker and Martin's [Schulz] grandfather was a miner in Saarland. In these occupations, there is a particular awareness of solidarity. That creates links that aren't present in other relationships.
→ -
Yesterday's shining heroes of Brexit have become the sorrowful heroes of today.
→ -
Without the Turkey agreement, tens of thousands of refugees would still be stuck in Greece. The Commission presented proposals for securing Europe's external borders early on, but they languished in the Council for months. As you can see, the Commission isn't asleep. Oftentimes it has to wake up the others.
→ -
I am a champion of trans-Atlantic relations and I do not believe there is any other option available to us than working closely together with America - including Canada. There is no other alliance option, but the same is true for the U.S.
→ -
I have known a great many politicians who have not managed to stay in power for 16 years. I have nevertheless already managed to remain at the helm for 18 years. I still want to achieve a great many things for my country. Experience is not a disadvantage here, especially as the head of government of a small country in a European setting that has become more difficult.
→ -
Trump is a partner for us who cannot be easily categorized. Putting it in the noblest way possible, his understanding of politics is a little different from ours here in Europe. The way he acts forces us Europeans to take on a new responsibility. We are not standing with our backs up against the wall, but, to put it as pithily as the German chancellor has: We can no longer rely on the U.S. the way we could in the past.
→ -
I would describe that [friendship with Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras] as a utilitarian friendship. At the time, his country was facing the prospect of leaving the euro zone and many Greeks felt abandoned by Europe. In such a situation, it seemed appropriate to me to present myself as a friend to Greece. It had to do with the country's dignity.
→ -
I prefer to concentrate on my task of leading Europe to the success that our citizens expect. We have to look forwards now because what is at stake is what makes Europe Europe.
→ -
I'm convinced that, in the long term, a monetary union includes a joint debt policy under strict, mutually agreed upon conditions.
→ -
If someone complains about Europe from Monday to Saturday then nobody is going to believe him on Sunday when he says he is a convinced European.
→ -
Much as I would have liked to respond factually and truthfully to each and every piece of misinformation spread by the Brexit campaign, it was important that I stayed out of the domestic political debate. It was David Cameron's task to win the UK referendum, not ours.
→ -
Since populists never miss an opportunity to create a lot of noise about anti-Europe stance. However, the repercussions of the British referendum could quickly put a stop to such crass rabble-rousing, as it should soon become clear that the UK was better off inside the EU - economically, socially and in foreign policy terms.
→ -
Decisions can only be reached in Europe if France and Germany agree.
→ -
Stories are invented: Juncker wants to introduce the euro everywhere or immediately deepen the EU - although I publicly stated the opposite that same day.
→ -
You can consider this carved in stone: I rule out becoming Herman Van Rompuy's successor.
→ -
I am for it - not to make a threat, but to make clear that decisions that have been made are applicable law, even if you have voted against it. At issue here is European solidarity, which cannot be a one-way street. The traffic has to move in both directions.
→ -
My friendship with Martin [Schulz], by contrast, is completely different in that it goes far beyond politics.
→ -
In 1913 many believed that there would never again be a war in Europe. The great powers of the continent were so closely intertwined economically that the view was widespread that they could no longer afford to have military confrontations.
→ -
I assumed office to bring the EU to a point from which there is no going back. Instead, I am having to unwind the EU to a certain extent.
→ -
I'm ready to be insulted as being insufficiently democratic, but I want to be serious ... I am for secret, dark debates.
→ -
Angela Merkel did the right thing. Her decision and the extraordinary willingness of the German people to take in refugees conveyed an image of Germany that is still having positive repercussions today. Unfortunately, people in Germany are no longer seeing that.
→ -
I am in favor of the European institutions being led for the next two-and-a-half years as they have been thus far. We need stability.
→ -
It is always said that Europe is a project of the elite. That's incorrect.
→ -
For my generation, the monetary union has always been about forging peace.
→ -
Those who are saying that Mario Draghi is in the camp of those trying to push Greece outside the Euroarea, are wrong.
→ -
The use of EU summits to frame political victories or defeats is an annoying habit.
→ -
Between now and then, after 43 years of European marriage, the whole body of legislation will therefore have to be disentangled. That entails a whole range of specific and very complex questions: what will be the future legal status of the millions of EU citizens in the UK and the millions of Britons on the continent?
→ -
I have changed the focus of the work of my Commission so that we no longer concern ourselves with trivial details and concentrate on the key issues instead. By doing that, we met a large number of the legitimate demands made by the British people. The Commission really did do everything it could to create the conditions for a positive campaign.
→
Jean-Claude Juncker
- Born: December 9, 1954
- Occupation: Former Prime Minister of Luxembourg
Related Authors
-
Mario Draghi Economist -
Matteo Renzi Prime Minister of Italy -
Angela Merkel Chancellor of Germany -
Justin Trudeau Member of the Canadian House of Commons -
Francois Hollande President of France -
Catherine Ashton British Politician -
Herman Van Rompuy Former Prime Minister of Belgium -
Gunther Oettinger German Politician -
David Cameron Prime Minister of the United Kingdom -
Jose Manuel Barroso Portuguese Politician -
Alexis Tsipras Greek Politician -
Martin Schulz German Politician -
Guy Verhofstadt Former Prime Minister of Belgium -
Mariano Rajoy Prime Minister of Spain -
Nicola Sturgeon First Minister of Scotland -
Marine Le Pen Member of the European Parliament -
Wolfgang Schauble Former Federal Minister of the Interior (Germany) -
Nigel Farage British Politician -
Donald Tusk Prime Minister of Poland -
Theresa May British Politician