Quotes from Mario Monti

As to the question of elected or not elected, each member of the European Commission has been appointed jointly by the governments of the 15 member states, and undergone individual scrutiny and a vote of confidence from the European Parliament.

I don't believe we're seeing the beginning of a divergence. We have seen a partial divergence on this case.

The two greatest priorities for my government are tackling tax evasion and corruption.

My aspiration is not to be loved. It is that my government be respected and credible.

I hope that my government can help change Italian mentality.

I believe that in Europe, we have a collective leadership.

So I think democracy, in the long-term, in our countries will survive if it comes to be associated with leadership, will not survive if democracy plus media brings to us more and more followship rather than leadership.

First of all, I don't like to speak about austerity. I'd prefer to speak of fiscal discipline. Fiscal discipline, in the end, amounts to austerity if it is not accompanied by other policies.

Dominant companies have a special responsibility to ensure that the way they do business doesn't prevent competition... and does not harm consumers and innovation.

If governments let themselves be fully bound by the decisions of their parliaments without protecting their own freedom to act, a breakup of Europe would be a more probable outcome than deeper integration.

All I am saying is I will be a senator - should there be any special circumstance where the political forces would believe that there might be a need for my service, I would consider it.

I am certain that most Germans have instinctive liking for Italy, just as Italians admire Germans for their many qualities.

Italy has piled up huge public debt because the successive governments were too close to the life of ordinary citizens, too willing to please the requests of everybody, thereby acting against the interests of future generations.

Not all Greeks are ready to do whatever is necessary to stay in the euro.

I have always been considered to be the most German among Italian economists, which I always received as a compliment, but was rarely meant to be one.

I believe that reforms will not really take hold if they do not gradually come into the culture of the people.

What will growth policy have to look like in a fiscally compacted Europe? Clearly any illusion of budget stimulated growth policy will have to go away.

Reference to the territory and total disregard for the nationality of the companies is of course the best guarantee that competition assessment remain just that and doesn't get affected by trade or other considerations.

Much of what Germany and France have done in the rescue of Greece has also helped German and French banks, who for a long time were major creditors for Greece and Greek banks.

There was in Italy a hidden demand for a boring government which would try to tell the truth in non-political jargon.

A lot of the American press at the time was saying 'just watch what happens when Bertelsmann tries to buy EMI, that will be a moment of truth that will show the Commission's true colors.' Well, that deal never happened either.

That statement was not addressed to the authors of political statements. I said that I deplore attempts to misinform the public and to /trigger/ political intervention. And there were such attempts.

The absence of political personalities in the government will help rather than hinder a solid base of support for the government in parliament and in the political parties because it will remove one ground for disagreement.

This is certainly not the first case in which a merger approved in one place hasn't gone through in the other. There was a case last year where the merger between two EU companies was approved here and blocked in the U.S.