Quotes from Frans Timmermans

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.

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.

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

I want Europe to go forward, not backward.

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Plastic waste is undeniably a big issue, and Europeans need to act together to tackle this problem because plastic waste ends up in our air, our soil, our oceans, and in our food.

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.

Nationalism makes us weak because its eternal seeking of enemies, its disdain of others, its need to feel superior makes cooperation with other nations to collectively guarantee our freedom and security much more difficult.

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

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.

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.'

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.

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.

Being part of the E.U. in Poland means that for the first time in a millennium, nobody disputes Poland's borders, and it brought a level of freedom that Poland has never known before.

Since when is politics consistent?

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

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

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?