Frans Timmermans

I think in Trump's view of the world, when the other person loses, he wins.

If you believe that through putting the judiciary under political control you can make it a better judiciary, you are wrong, and you are violating your own obligations under European treaties.

My parents married in 1959 and came to Amsterdam on honeymoon. That was a huge thing, event, for them. Now my children fly off for the weekend to Riga, Prague, or Barcelona.

I'm from Limburg, near the German border.

It has become routine for national politicians to blame Europe. When something works, they claim it as their success. When something doesn't work, then Europe is to blame.

The problem with UKIP and the extreme right - Mr. Le Pen, Wilders - they are really good at making an analysis of the problem. And they immediately go completely overboard in providing a solution that would never work and is morally completely unacceptable.

Britain can get far better results if it engages with Europe than standing on the sidelines and saying that Europe should change.

While, of course, you cannot discriminate between nationals of member states, access to the labour market does not mean automatic access to social security systems.

As long as U.K. remains member of the E.U., it should respect the E.U. law.

I am a huge fan of the Premier League, but do you think it will maintain its attractiveness if the Champions League is only an affair between English clubs and one or two others?

I find it unspeakably sad that the United Kingdom has voted to leave the European Union.

The absolute low point for me in more than 30 years of professional life was the Brexit vote.

If children knew what the effects are of using single-use plastic straws for drinking sodas or whatever, they might reconsider and use paper straws or no straws at all.

If the E.U. is to survive... it is based on the fact that for every community that belongs in Europe, there is a place in Europe.

If there's no future for Jews in Europe, there's no future for Europe.

I'm just one generation between someone who cheered when Germans were burning and someone who doesn't even know that there is a border. That's a miracle - really is a miracle - and it gets me really emotional.

Since when is politics consistent?

Our darkest angels in Europe are always somewhere under the surface.

I will do everything I can... to make sure that Poland sticks to a development that fosters the rule of law, democracy.

I believe many people - especially small- and medium-sized enterprises across the European Union - are disenchanted with Europe because we haven't delivered the goods.

In a free Europe... the system of power lies on three pillars. These are democracy, rule of law, and human rights. It's impossible to use one against the other.

If you understand that we need a comprehensive approach to the migration issue, and only at European level, will this comprehensive approach be valuable and work. If we cannot convince our member states and citizens of that, then we will be in the same situation as the Dutch citizens were in 1581.

The issue of migration has played a key role in all of our member states, wherever we are. Only we, as a European Union, can convince our citizens that we do have an answer to this - not deny migration, not pretend you can solve it by building fences and walls, not pretending we can solve it by letting everybody in.

If nationalism makes us poor, weak, and morally insecure, how can it claim to be patriotic? I maintain that nationalists are unpatriotic.

Nationalism is like alcoholism: a short period of exaltation followed by a long period of headaches.

If you look at European societies since the financial crisis began in 2008, with very, very few exceptions, the differences between rich and poor have increased, and sometimes hugely.

The main actors on the world stage are the size of continents, be they nation states or voluntary groupings of nation states such as the E.U. Nostalgia can help us ignore these harsh realities for a while, but it will not make them go away.

If the law does not give you what you want, you can oppose the law, you can work to change the law, but you cannot ignore the law. So it is fundamental that the constitutions of every one of our member states are upheld and respected.

It is a duty for any government to uphold the rule of law, and this sometimes requires the proportionate use of force.

Respect for the rule of law is not optional; it's fundamental.

I think we have a political and moral duty to do everything within our power to maintain the Good Friday Agreement.

If we do not counter the argument that most radical nationlists use, which is, 'To protect is to be protectionist,' if we don't counter that argument, all of our economies will suffer.

Given the amount of money circulating in the sport, European taxpayers and supporters are entitled to know how their clubs are being managed.

If you want to maintain the unique character of our sport in Europe, which is of great importance to millions of people, you need to be able to put associations in a position to protect the weaker clubs.

I want Europe to go forward, not backward.

The European Union is not unbreakable; something that is breakable is extremely valuable.

The argument that won the Brexit campaign is the one that said take back control... which is another way of saying we want to control our destinies again. This is an existential issue for the whole of Europe, not just for the U.K., because this sentiment is not limited to the United Kingdom.

Public support will dwindle if the public thinks that free movement means undermining of social security systems... we need to get that right.

We need a tough approach to make justice prevail and, also, because sports should not be damaged by the violence of hooligans.

If we put our policies in the right order, we have a sustainable society without lowering but even increasing our levels of wellbeing.

How many millions of straws do we use every day across Europe? I would have people not use plastic straws any more.

Look at what the divisiveness of Brexit has done to the U.K.

The European Union should come up with a solid plan to help especially Poland and Slovakia make this transition away from coal.

There's a myth that in Arab countries, they all like Palestinians. They don't. On the contrary.

This is the game of those who deny climate change or who deny the need for sustainability. They say, 'They are going to take everything away from us. They are going to take our cars away from us. They are going to take our steaks from us. They are going to take all the things that make life nice away from us. So let's not go there.'

Protectionism has never been an answer, will never be an answer. We need trade. We need trade agreements worldwide.

Let's be clear: a nationalist is not a patriot.

Whether they are Jewish, Muslim, Christian, or atheist, everybody has a place in this society.

Is wellbeing only economic growth? Only salaries? Or is wellbeing also being able to breathe clean air and drink clean water?

Nationalism makes us poor because its Siamese twin, protectionism, will destroy the internal market and disrupt international trade.