Frans Timmermans

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

“We need to be able to answer not yesterday's challenges but to tomorrow's challenges.”

“If Europe does not understand that our sister continent, Africa, a stone's throw away, is going to face a demographic explosion, if there is no real economic and political restructuring, if we do not understand we have a collective responsibility for Africa, there is not a fence high enough to stop people coming to Europe.”

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

“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.”

“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.”

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

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

“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.”

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

“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.”

“The Netherlands believes in a vigorous Europe with a commission that is independent and robust.”

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

“Is it not in human nature sometimes, based on the facts that you now know, to reconsider?”

“For all its shortcomings, European co-operation and integration has created an understanding of shared destiny. We no longer point guns at each other; we fight it out at a conference table. And we will continue to do so when the U.K. is no longer a member state but, I hope, still a friend.”

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

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

“The German car industry has a clear vision of the necessity of stability in the continent that goes beyond selling cars. For Germany, the economy is an instrument in a much wider issue of stability in continental Europe and overcoming the mistakes of the past.”

“For me, arguably, the European Parliament is the best-functioning European institution. They are extremely good at law-making; they're extremely good at finding compromise under pressure.”