If the euro becomes a factor promoting Europe's drifting apart, then the foundation of the European project is destroyed.
My aspiration is not to be loved. It is that my government be respected and credible.
The two greatest priorities for my government are tackling tax evasion and corruption.
I believe that reforms will not really take hold if they do not gradually come into the culture of the people.
There is no government in Europe where ministers go through that kind of confirmation process, which in fact is modeled on the way the U.S. cabinet members are confirmed.
I believe that in Europe, we have a collective leadership.
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.
I am certain that most Germans have instinctive liking for Italy, just as Italians admire Germans for their many qualities.
The Italian economy has been held back for decades.
Growth in any individual European country has to be the result of policies for growth pursued in that country consistent with budgetary discipline.
I have the most profound respect for the Department of Justice and the FTC. We in Europe are a younger and I would say junior institution to the historical antitrust experience of the US.
I know that speaking with parties, which I do, but not very often, is seen by many as a contamination.
It is very unusual for a country to ask guys who are not politicians to come and run the country.
I hope that my government can help change Italian mentality.
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.
In the area of macroeconomic policies, I think we'll see more centralization, like in the budgetary sphere.
Italy needed structural reforms to become more competitive.
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.
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.
