"I was going to say he's a piece of work, but that might not translate too well. Is that all right, if I call you a 'piece of work'?"

“Borders are the worst invention ever made by politicians.”

“We all know what to do, we just don’t know how to get re-elected after we’ve done it.”

“Every fourth euro spent within the EU budget will go towards action to mitigate climate change... I am glad to see that young people are taking to the streets in Europe to raise visibility of the issue of climate change.”

“I am determined, as is the Government, to do everything to preserve everything that we have worked for and that we believe in … by using all necessary means to fend off the hostile .”

“I have a lot of understanding for people skeptical about the EU. Because there are legitimate questions to the address about the European Union, including the Commission. You have to answer that. You have to talk to the Eurosceptic people. By the way, sometimes I am myself, I am not free from Euroscepticism sometimes. But I am not on the way to fundamental opposition.”

“If it's a Yes, we will say 'on we go', and if it's a No we will say 'we continue'.”