Jean-Claude Juncker
Jean-Claude Juncker
Jean-Claude Junckeris a Luxembourgish politician who has been President of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union, since 2014. Previously Juncker was Prime Minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013, as well as Minister for Finances from 1989 to 2009. He was the longest-serving head of any national government in the EU, and one of the longest-serving democratically elected leaders in the world, by the time he left office, his tenure encompassing the height of the European...
NationalityLuxembourger
ProfessionPolitician
Date of Birth9 December 1954
Jean-Claude Juncker quotes about
As a human being I am personally saddened, as I have a great deal of respect for the large number of British colleagues I have worked with over the years. That is why I personally invested countless hours, days and nights, in negotiating a fair deal for the United Kingdom.
With their charm and legendary sense of humor, the British directly or indirectly paved the way for a large number of European compromises.
Between now and then, after 43 years of European marriage, the whole body of legislation will therefore have to be disentangled. That entails a whole range of specific and very complex questions: what will be the future legal status of the millions of EU citizens in the UK and the millions of Britons on the continent?
Article 50 governs the exit from the European Union and here there can also be no renegotiation.
The good thing about the European Union is that the joint project ultimately benefits all Member States and not just a few.
You can't have euro bonds without more interconnection among the national budget policies.
The outcome of the referendum does not affect those of my officials who have British nationality, since they work for Europe and not for the UK. They have made a major contribution to our common European project, and I will continue to count on their talent and commitment.
Germany will continue to play a central - perhaps even a more important - role in the European Union. I think that we will all miss the pragmatic approach of the British, however, particularly in those long nights of negotiation.
Here in Brussels, we did everything to accommodate David Cameron's concerns. My collaborators and I personally spent countless days and nights negotiating an agreement that was fair toward the United Kingdom and toward the other 27 Member States. I was then very surprised to see that this settlement played no role whatsoever in the campaign in the United Kingdom. At the same time it is hardly surprising.
There is a proposal to divide the currency zone into a north and a south euro. There is also the idea of setting up a core monetary union in the middle of Europe. I disapprove of these debates. Instead, we should devote all of our efforts to supplementing the monetary union with a political union.
In Europe, even more so than in national politics, we have to follow the principle laid down by Martin Luther: Use language that the people will understand, but don't just tell them what they want to hear.
For my generation, the monetary union has always been about forging peace.
I said in my inaugural address that I am not the Council's secretary, nor am I the Parliament's lackey. That can sometimes lead to conflicts, which are defused through dialogue.
I put my money on Brexit. The EU Financial Stability Commissioner, Jonathan Hill from Britain, still owes me a pound.