Internal protectionism in Europe would be deadly, really a disaster for European economies. – Jose Manuel Barroso
My mother wanted me to be a professor, because I have several people in my family who are professors at university. – Jose Manuel Barroso
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. – Jose Manuel Barroso
There’s a tendency in many politicians to become inward-looking, more protectionist, more nationalistic and more defensive, in the bad sense of the word. – Jose Manuel Barroso
I’ll put it frankly – Britain has more influence in China than Norway or Switzerland, with all respect for the other countries. – Jose Manuel Barroso
We need open, competitive, market economies… but at the same time with effective regulation and supervision. – Jose Manuel Barroso
Decisions taken by the most democratic institutions in the world are very often wrong. – Jose Manuel Barroso
I have full confidence in the IMF. It is a very strong international institution. – Jose Manuel Barroso
I say to my friends, ‘Don’t just listen to the vuvuzelas; look at who scores the goals.’ And this is the important thing. – Jose Manuel Barroso
You have to understand that to have a revolution when you are 18 years old is completely different from normal political leaders who were born in a democracy and will die in a democracy and never to have experienced that change. I have seen that change. – Jose Manuel Barroso
The dynamic of globalisation in financial and economic terms, but also in geopolitical terms, confronts Europeans with a stark choice: live together, share a common destiny and count in the world; or face the prospect of disunity and decline. – Jose Manuel Barroso
You see in times of crisis that extremist forces, populist forces, have a better ground to oversimplify things and to manipulate feelings. Feelings of fear. – Jose Manuel Barroso
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. – Jose Manuel Barroso
I think diversity can also be a resource, an asset, especially in a world that is becoming globalized, to deal with difference, to deal with variety, to deal with complexity. – Jose Manuel Barroso
I believe that Europe without Britain at the heart will be less reform-driven, less open, less international Europe. – Jose Manuel Barroso
For investor confidence, it is important that there is certainty about the future of Ireland in E.U. – Jose Manuel Barroso
The E.U. is founded on the Treaties which apply only to the Member States who have agreed and ratified them. – Jose Manuel Barroso
I very often compare relations between states to relations with people. Sometimes we are nicer to those we don’t know well, who are not our friends, than we are to our friends, because with our friends we don’t need to be nice all the time. – Jose Manuel Barroso
