Top 140 European Union Quotes

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.

If I am prime minister, we will come out of the European Union, and part of that will be control of free movement.

Don’t belittle the hurt that has been caused by the job-destroying machine that is the European Union.

We would like Serbia to become a member of the European Union as quickly as possible.

The European Union is becoming more economically feeble every year.

For the European Union, Russia is as important politically and economically as China is to the U.S.

If Parliament is voting overwhelmingly against leaving the European Union without a deal but is voting in favour of a softer Brexit, then I don’t think it’s sustainable to ignore Parliament’s position and therefore leave without a deal.

Western Europe has been redefining the nation state since 1945 when it formed the European Union following World War II.

The Czech Republic, severed from its old Slovak half, sits in apparent landlocked contentment, inside the European Union but outside the troubled Euro Zone, set into the new Continental mosaic like one of the small sturdy paving stones, just a few inches square, that form the sidewalks under the visitor’s ambling feet.

I will be Madame Frexit if the European Union doesn’t give us back our monetary, legislative, territorial, and budget sovereignty.

Indeed, our British friends have decided to leave us – which is very sad for all of us – but life goes on, and the European Union as well goes on.

By the way, the European Union Member States together – even the euro area Member States together – are by far the biggest contributors to the IMF.

Let’s not underestimate the European Union. You know what united Europe? Values. And that’s why I am absolutely sure about the unity of the European Union and its solidarity with Ukraine.

I don’t know if the European Union contributes a great deal to espionage. At the union level, they talk about commerce and privacy. But to keep citizens safe, that remains a responsibility back in national capitals.

Very few MPs disagree with the need for a withdrawal bill to enable us to disentangle our 50-year relationship with the legal structures of the European Union and to enable us to function effectively outside of it.

The euro must be defended, or uncertainty about the European Union will be widespread.

I’m one of many who have seen their parents and their friends lose their jobs, lose their income, lose their livelihood because of the European Union.

Genuinely, as a mum, all the sunlit uplands are when we leave the European Union.

The strongest institution in the hands of the European Union is the euro.

I have absolutely no doubts that the best for the U.K. is to stay in the European Union.

The European Union is an institution that is in the interest of big business, not the European people. So it’s understandable that some people thought we should leave.

We’ve been a bit too defensive about the European Union rules. We don’t want to become protectionist and nationalist in the way we buy things but we think we could do a lot more to promote British business through procurement.

Do you agree that the European Union should be able to prescribe the mandatory settlement of non-Hungarian citizens in Hungary without the consent of parliament?

I can’t foretell the future, but I don’t believe that the act of leaving the European Union would make our economic position worse; I think it would make it better.

The people who are backing the Remain campaign are people who have done very well, thank you, out of the European Union.

In Greece, refugees are being waved through to the heart of Europe. That is simply unacceptable in the long run. The European Union cannot act like a human trafficker.

The European Union and its member states continue and will continue, as the nuclear deal is implemented, to have open channels with Iran.

At the heart of these challenges lies the question of how the institutions of the European Union make laws, the types of laws they pass and the effectiveness with which those laws are implemented on civil society and the economy.

A new state, if it wants to join the European Union, has to apply to become a member of the European Union like any state.

As complicated and complex and as difficult as we are, the unity of Europe is a pre-condition for a better organized world, and if the European Union would fail or decompose, or other members left, the U.S. would have a more difficult role to play in the world.

My second job has been to try to use my power to create institutions of a modern state that could enter the European Union, and there was very little time. The door was closing, and I wanted to get Bosnia through before it shut.

Like so many other people in the U.K., I took the chance offered to us in a single question: Should we leave the European Union or remain within it? Following a great deal of thought and thorough analysis, the answer I arrived at was, ‘Yes, we should leave the E.U.’

No matter who becomes chancellor, Poland and Germany will remain neighbours, strategic partners, not only within the European Union, but also world partners, and I don’t believe anything could change in our relations.

You do not need to be within the single market to be able to export to the European Union, as we see from the wide range of goods on our shelves every day.

The UK is not going to leave the European Union. Of course not. We are inextricably wound up with Europe. In terms of culture, history and geography, we are a European nation.

We have civil servants like Ollie Robbins who are very pro-E.U., who have never wanted us to leave and have done everything in their power, including colluding with the European Union, to try and keep us in.

I am very worried about politicians who know that their countries are greatly benefiting financially and at the same time are saying that the European Union is not good for us. The message has to be coherent.

We have the character of an island nation: independent, forthright, passionate in defence of our sovereignty. We can no more change this British sensibility than we can drain the English Channel. And because of this sensibility, we come to the European Union with a frame of mind that is more practical than emotional.

We need to underline the need for Britain to depart from the European Union in an orderly fashion.

I’m a great supporter of the European Union. I didn’t support entry to the Euro, not because I’m against it in principle but because I didn’t think it was economically right for Britain. But that doesn’t make me any less pro-European.

I don’t want to leave euro or leave the European Union.

The European Union cannot be compared to the United States. America is a nation, but Europe is not. Europe is a continent of many different nations with their own identities, traditions and languages. Robbing them of their national democracies does not create a European democracy – it destroys democracy in Europe.

I’m proud to have led the brokering of the ambitious 2030 climate package in the European Union to cut greenhouse gases by at least 40%, which puts the E.U. ahead of the global pack in terms of commitments.

If Britain votes to leave the European Union, then that could have huge implications for the entire island of Ireland and, given all the predictions, would run counter to the democratic wishes of the Irish people.

Britain has always told the world that being British is about the humanity, compassion and moral fortitude that we have. All great things that we are supposed to have spread across the world. A leave vote now says that we don’t really care about anyone else, we don’t care what happens to the European Union.

Many businesses in Yorkshire want the security and stability of Britain’s continued membership of the European Union, a cause I look forward to championing passionately in this place and elsewhere.

The government has been repairing Poland’s image and its relations with the European Union and the world.

There must be no question for us that we in the European Union and the eurozone stand by Greece in solidarity.

How can we later criticise other countries outside the European Union for adopting such measures to repress opponents when we are tolerating this inside the European Union with European citizens? Like me – I’m a European citizen.

It is the hope of the European Union that Ariel Sharon will keep the peace process alive and continue the dialogue according to the wishes of all the parties involved.

The euro area must not be treated as an ‘opt out’ from the European Union.

We need not to just kill the boat-smuggling business model: we also need to get rid of this asylum-shopping in the European Union.

Leaving the European Union really does give us a chance as a country to become more outward-looking, to become more competitive, and to deepen our links with our partners right across the world.

We don’t want protectionism at the heart of the European Union.

Terrorism is an evil that threatens all the countries in Europe. Vigorous cooperation in the European Union and worldwide is crucial in order to meet this evil head on.

Instead of trying to bring freedom to the Arab world, couldn’t we just concentrate on trying to fend off the European Union and defending our own porous borders?

America after Trump may be more like the European Union; a rambling alliance of interstate compacts, rather than the forced marriage of a country that emerged after the Civil War.

I believe something very deeply. That Britain’s national interest is best served in a flexible, adaptable and open European Union and that such a European Union is best with Britain in it.

We need a Palestinian state – that is the ultimate goal, and this is the position of all the European Union.

Mexico is the second most important destination of U.S. exports. What does this mean? The U.S. sells to our country almost the same as it sells to all the European Union, five times what it sells Brazil. More than what it sells together to Brazil, Russia, China, and India.

Everyone understands the European Union is a failure. It has not kept any of its promises – in particular about prosperity, security – and, worst of all, has put us under a guardianship.

Whether we remain in the European Union will determine Britain’s future role in the world and the comparative success of our economy for our children and grandchildren.

Our objective must therefore be to ensure EU better regulation contributes towards delivering a modern European Union which relentlessly focuses on building a dynamic and innovative economy equipped to meet the challenges of the 21st century.

It’s a European Union of economic failure, of mass unemployment and of low growth.

The British people voted to leave the European Union – let’s just leave.

Europe is no longer a Christian continent; few Europeans attend religious services on Sunday, and the European Union recently refused to refer to Europe’s religious heritage in its fledgling constitution.

I think it’s extremely unlikely that the European Union will fracture with nations dropping off the edge.

We are also trying to fight successfully in the European Union against anti-Semitism. Because of Austria’s history, it is, from my point of view, our obligation to do that.

The ability to control our borders stands at the heart of the debate on whether or not Britain should leave the European Union.

I have spent more time thinking about European issues than even I can imagine – so many years thinking about Britain and the way our influence around the world was amplified through the European Union.

The heart of the matter is that the very nature of the European Union, and of this country’s relationship with it, has fundamentally changed after the coming into being of the European monetary union and the creation of the eurozone, of which – quite rightly – we are not a part.

My mum is Palestinian and my dad is British but worked all his life from the European Union for their Foreign Action Service. So I was born in Hammersmith but moved away when I was one. That’s when dad joined the European Commission.

I remain committed to a balanced policy, which will protect our national interests both on our eastern border – I mean with Russia – and of course with the European Union.

If we get the capabilities, NATO, along with the European Union, can do amazing things.

We are convinced that Turkey would be a useful member of the European Union.

There is a need for the European Union to use all potential we have on defense cooperation.

Anyone who’s working in manufacturing here should know they will have increased opportunities if we leave the European Union.

The European Union will never see America, or an American president, as a risk.

Speaking from my experience as a person involved for a long time in building the European Union, it is important to have patience and efforts to build a community of nations.

We are not directly involved in Syria. But we will be working with our partners in the European Union and at the United Nations to see if we can persuade the Syrian authorities to go, as I say, more in that direction of respect for democracy and human rights.

We have a commitment to making sure that the U.K. remains a member of the European Union.

I want to show a new vector of policy that will be there when I will become a president. And my vector is friendship with America and friendship with European Union.

We link our future to the euro, to the euro zone, and to the European Union while being the nearest neighbor of the United Kingdom with, obviously, a common travel area and a very close working relationship with the U.K.

Boris Johnson’s experience in life is telling a lot of porkies about the European Union in Brussels and then becoming prime minister.

If the European Union wants to be an address where civilizations meet, it must take Turkey in.

It’s unbearable to see the people betrayed time and again by politicians who don’t keep their promises and by the technocrats at the European Union.

I think that the European Union negotiators have gotten a shock. They were shocked when they realised the Brexit trade negotiations were not just going to be a continuation of those that happened under Theresa May.

The European Union is the world’s most successful invention for advancing peace.

The European Union arose on an economic foundation, and it turns out that even this is not a solid base. Cultural identity has been neglected.

Brexit is a disaster, Italy won’t be real about its debt, and the European Union is in trouble.

In 2015, the majority of refugees and migrants reached the European Union through Greece. Greek authorities were overwhelmed by the sheer number of people arriving at their shores. But they did not stay there. They were waved through to Central Europe at an increasing pace.

Germany benefits the most from the European Union because Germany is, by far, the biggest exporter into the Euro Zone, and therefore, it benefits. And one who benefits the most must take the biggest responsibility.

Indians invest more in Britain than in the rest of European Union combined. It is not because they want to save on interpretation costs, but because they find an environment that is welcoming and familiar.

Norwegian legislation is more in conformity with the rules of the European Union than most member states.

The day after Britain voted to leave the European Union, I woke up determined to make a success of Brexit. I was surprised by how quickly I went to acceptance of the result, without passing through any of the prior stages of grief.

While the United States has largely been missing in action from the diplomatic game, the European Union and Iran have been making progress at developing a formula that would lead to the suspension of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program and the start of serious negotiations.

I think that we must come together progressively, with the British, the Germans, the Spanish, the Italians and with the new members of the European Union, we must make an effort to forge closer links.

I would love to help the textile sector, but at the same time, a big red flag is held by the automotive parts and automotive sector. They don’t want to open up to the European Union.

There have been major disagreements within the European Union.

The British people have decided to leave. It is a sad decision but one which I respect. The vote puts the European Union in difficulties. It must recognise its shortfalls.

If I don’t manage to negotiate with the European Union, something I wish, then I will ask the French to leave the European Union. And then you’ll be able to call me Madame Frexit.

When it comes to whether Britain should remain in the European Union, almost all political parties and traditions – Labour, the Greens, Liberal Democrats, the SNP, Plaid Cymru, and half of the Tory Party – agree that we are better off in Europe.

We believe that from both a German and a Polish perspective, it is desirable for Great Britain to remain in the European Union.

We need to put Italian interests before those of the European Union, or at least at the same level.

I’d like to see the argument made for greater worldwide federalism, not just the European Union.

Let me be absolutely clear: I think it is defeatist to sort of say we want to leave the European Union. We’re going to try and change the rules and change the way it works and change the objectives that it has in order to make it something that works for Britain.

The European Union should come up with a solid plan to help especially Poland and Slovakia make this transition away from coal.

As the political leaders of Europe meet to save the euro and European Union, so should religious leaders.

I have specifically argued that we need to change our relationship with the European Union by fundamentally reforming not just our relationship but the European Union itself.

If we left the European Union, it would be a one-way ticket, not a return. So we will have time for a proper, reasoned debate. At the end of that debate you, the British people, will decide.

The European Union will continue to fully support multilateral global governance based on international law, human rights, and strong international institutions.

After the Berlin Wall came down I visited that city and I will never forget it. The abandoned checkpoints. The sense of excitement about the future. The knowledge that a great continent was coming together. Healing those wounds of our history is the central story of the European Union.

We believe that the European Union is facing a truly historic choice.

I will not say the fact that there are no European Union observers at an election means that it will not be fair and free.

The fact that we’re going through a crisis is an opportunity for Europe to be more coordinated and more integrated. We’re actually talking about a European Monetary Fund or euro bonds, about guarantees for countries, about economic governance in the European Union. That shows the strength of Europe.

The savings rate in Italy is high, but the markets do not trust Italy even though it’s the third largest economy in the European Union and the eighth in the world.

This can sound as something naive. But if we are together in this union, it’s because we choose to be one in many things. That’s what makes the European Union experience so challenging and also a model. Why did we do this choice? Because we see that we share a common interest and common values.

The treaties of the European Union say that, once a country has decided to leave, then they are excluded from the treaty after two years, unless there is unanimous agreement to extend that period.

The European Union is not unbreakable; something that is breakable is extremely valuable.

The institutions of the European Union, and the states that belong to this union, each and every one, are paying the price of our failures, hesitations and contradictions. We should each ask ourselves how personally responsible we are.

I think Churchill would have thought it extraordinary that we would have thought ourselves so successful, so powerful, so well thought of in the world that we could afford to give up this extraordinary relationship we have in this great European Union.

One of the reasons why many British voters chose to leave the European Union was because they distrusted European institutions. Of all the many costs of Brexit, this was one I did not foresee: That it could wind up damaging the nation’s faith in its own institutions too.

We Estonians will do what is necessary to join the European Union.

The US and the European Union needs to help in the translation of the demand for democracy into a political will.

The views of the European Union are fully reflected in this text, particularly the key objective of the EU, namely vigorously to address the disarmament of Iraq and to do so within the framework of the UN Security Council.

The European Union is not only a great idea, but it’s also an idea we must keep working on.

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

European citizens expect that there will be also a fair system inside the European Union and in the euro, and that’s why we have to have quite hard discipline.

I want us to move as quickly as we can towards a free trade deal between the U.K. and the U.S.A. that would be good for both of us. That would also send a signal to the European Union that there’s a bigger world outside of the European Union, and Britain can manage just nicely.

We want the United Kingdom to remain in the European Union.

The next leader of this country needs to be someone who believes heart and soul that Britain should be outside the European Union.

If the ‘Athens Spring’ – when the Greek people courageously rejected the catastrophic austerity conditions of the previous bailouts – has one lesson to teach, it is that Greece will recover only when the European Union makes the transition from ‘We the states’ to ‘We the European people.’

Albania, Macedonia and Greece have managed to create a good partnership in the south of the Continent and are making progress in blocking the spread of the conflict. But any spillover could destroy this European-oriented partnership and create problems for the European Union countries themselves.

It’s an uncomfortable fact that leaving the European Union in a way that is true to the referendum result is becoming harder and harder to deliver.

The United States and the European Union do want to have a rule of law, and that rule of law should be for a fair trial. And that fair trial needs to have an impartial jury.

The U.K. is outward-looking, trade-oriented, growth-oriented, and we do not have enough of that storyline, that tradition, that culture within the European Union.

The single currency should allow the European Union, and therefore France, to balance its monetary strength with the United States. It should help us adjust to the development of China.

The European Union needs to reinvent its security system. It needs to break the stovepipes that prevent sharing information, enforcing borders and protecting citizens.

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.

It is in our nations’ interests to see a strong European Union with a growing economy, competitive on the world market.