When it comes to human dignity, we cannot make compromises.
Angela Merkel
Climate change knows no borders. It will not stop before the Pacific islands and the whole of the international community here has to shoulder a responsibility to bring about a sustainable development.
The question is not whether we are able to change but whether we are changing fast enough.
The willingness to learn new skills is very high.
Hatred, racism, and extremism have no place in this country.
I am not an expert in this field but I do try to keep up to date with the Bundesliga. And I do follow World Cups and European Championships more closely.
For me, it is always important that I go through all the possible options for a decision.
Here we have the Schengen agreement, and the truth is that for years we trusted each other and set border controls on the outer borders of the European Union. And as was the case with the economic and monetary union, with this step, regarding the management of the Schengen area, we did not go all the way in terms of political solutions.
Sometimes I can't stop myself from buying things just because I see them - even when I don't really need them.
This multicultural approach, saying that we simply live side by side and live happily with each other has failed. Utterly failed.
I have a relatively sunny spirit, and I always had the expectation that my path through life would be relatively sunny, no matter what happened. I have never allowed myself to be bitter.
We have a duty as the state to protect our economy... We are for the protection of intellectual property.
Above all it is important to point out that we can only maintain our prosperity in Europe if we belong to the most innovative regions in the world.
That is why everyone in politics, and we do it, must make sure that they do not depend on one single interest group. A good compromise is one where everybody makes a contribution.
Controversial disputes are a part of democratic culture.
We are a country based on democracy, tolerance, and openness to the world.
It's my damn duty and obligation to do everything possible for Europe to find a united path.
Germany's strength lies largely in the fact that the Federal Republic is a center of industry and that it's an export nation.
For me, personally, marriage is a man and a woman living together.
The euro is our common fate, and Europe is our common future.
We Germans have a special responsibility to be alert, sensitive, and aware of what we did during the Nazi era and about lasting damage caused in other countries. I've got tremendous sympathy for that.
I've learned that even the word 'jubilee' used in connection with the Reformation can give rise to discussions.
I believe those that produce the least emissions in autos will also be those who have the greatest success worldwide.
I will not let anyone tell me we must spend more money. This crisis did not come about because we issued too little money but because we created economic growth with too much money and it was not sustainable growth.
We will have to accept a certain degree of legal immigration; that's globalisation... In the era of the smartphone, we cannot shut ourselves away... people know full well how we live in Europe.
Nobody in Europe will be abandoned. Nobody in Europe will be excluded. Europe only succeeds if we work together.
The people in East Germany have lived through so many changes in the last 15 years like never before in the country, and they did this often with great enthusiasm. But in the West we also have a high degree of transformations.
That makes me think of the 2002 World Cup Final above all else. Nobody thought at the time that our team would get through to the Final against Brazil. We should remember that this summer.
Solidarity and competitiveness are the two sides of a European coin.
We've stated very clearly that no negotiating chapters between the European Union and Turkey will be concluded before the Ankara Protocol is complied with: that's to say before Turkey grants all E.U. member states, including Cyprus, access to its ports.
At German unification, we were lucky to get so much help from West Germany. Now, we have the good fortune of being able to help each other in Europe.
As politicians we have to react to the fact that many people do not feel that they can relate to the EU.
More reforms will give more impetus to German industries to invest in India. German companies want to be treated on par with Indian companies, and creation of an equitable market is crucial for investments.
We've always had this experience that things take long, but I'm 100% convinced that our principles will in the end prevail. No one knew how the Cold War would end at the time, but it did end. This is within our living experience... I'm surprised at how fainthearted we sometimes are and how quickly we lose courage.
I always wanted to know what I'd face next, even though that was maybe a bit detrimental to spontaneity. Structuring my life and avoiding chaos was more important.
It is nonsense to say that Germans are unable to change.
There are 1600 German companies active in India, and some of them are more than 100 years old. Our companies value India as a location for manufacturing and as a market.
The problem is, of course, that these interest groups are all asking for changes, but their enthusiasm for change rapidly disappears when it affects the core of their own interests.
I chose to pursue a career in physics because there the truth isn't so easily bent.
Politicians have to be committed to people in equal measures.
You can much better have an influence on the debate when you sit at the bargaining table and you can give input.
Spying among friends is never acceptable.
In Europe it is particularly important that we build good relations to everyone who holds political responsibility because Europe can only be build together.
Greece wishes to be part of the eurozone, but it must, of course, go through with the necessary reforms to make this happen.
Let me say this on a personal note. Without the United States of America, I would in all probably not be able to stand here before you today.
The 'community method' can only be applied in those areas in which the European Union actually has competence. Where the community has no competence, the 'community method' clearly cannot be applied.
For somebody who comes from Europe, I can only say if we give up this principle of territorial integrity of countries, then we will not be able to maintain the peaceful order of Europe that we've been able to achieve.
Whoever decides to dedicate their life to politics knows that earning money isn't the top priority.
The G7 - and earlier, the G8 - were a group of countries that shared the same values with regard to freedom and democracy, and through the annexation of Crimea, Russia made it clear at a certain point that these values of keeping the peace, integrity of the borders of a country were not being respected.
Thus, the focus on this main political goal must become more visible in EU politics and to achieve this, we need a political impulse. It must be clear what the priorities on the agenda are.
