Top 77 Quotes & Sayings by Wolfgang Schauble

Crisis and pressure help foster change - that's why I'm not so pessimistic towards crises.

There are several silver linings on the horizon. The current account deficits in Spain and Portugal are declining because they have become more competitive and they're exporting more.

If you are prepared to run for public office, you also have to be willing to accept a debate about you.

It is true that no member state can be required to make payments to others. But if countries want to offer voluntary assistance, as in the Greek case, this isn't only allowed, but it's also in Germany's interest. We all benefit by ensuring the stability of the euro zone.

Politics means competition, especially in senior positions. If you don't know that, you're not especially suited to politics.

The United States lived on borrowed money for too long, inflating its financial sector unnecessarily and neglecting its small and mid-sized industrial companies.

Greece's debts are all denominated in euros, but it isn't clear who holds how much of those debts. For that reason, the consequences of a national bankruptcy would be incalculable. Greece is just as systemically important as a major bank.

Mr. Geithner is an excellent minister. We have a good personal relationship.

The German export successes are not the result of some sort of currency manipulation, but of the increased competitiveness of companies. The American growth model, on the other hand, is in a deep crisis.

Germany has always stood for an E.U. of the 27 countries. But in light of Britain's continued resistance to further integration steps, as we saw with the fiscal pact, there are limits to my optimism in this regard. It's quite possible that we will have to create the new institutions for the euro zone first.

I think there will be no government bankruptcy in Greece.

The presidency of the Euro group is an interesting and important task.

Europe should speak more effectively and clearly with one voice in the world.

This much is true: When we created the euro, it wasn't possible to create a political union along with it. People weren't ready for that. But since then, they've grown more willing to go in that direction. It's a process, one that is sometimes laborious and sometimes slow. But it's important to keep the populations involved.

If we were to have a presidential election in Europe it would be an event that would spark a huge interest in people from Lisbon to Helsinki, just like national elections. And it would create a completely different political setting in Europe.

Even when one is doing well, one still worries that things might go badly again in the future. This is an old observation based on human experience.

I would caution against fueling cheap populism. First of all, every German who has spent a vacation in Greece knows that the standard of living there isn't higher than it is in Germany. Second, Greece is paying a high price for European assistance.

As a wheelchair user, you can't move about freely. That's the only thing that bothers me a little. When I'm in the Euro Group in Brussels, colleagues who want to talk to me have to come to me. But I hope they know that this has nothing to do with arrogance.

My private financial situation is such that I don't need to worry about my investments. I don't have much to invest.

I would wish for more British involvement in Europe, not less.

I've been a politician long enough to know that every year will find us living in a situation that one couldn't have imagined a year previously. Sometimes it's better than we imagined, sometimes it's not as good.

In the long term, Germany didn't need a finance minister who was absent during important negotiations in the European Council. But the chancellor strongly encouraged me to stay. And everything did work out for the best in the end.

As for the role of France and Germany: French politics is often more self-confident then German politics due to the catastrophe in the first half of the last century. If Berlin and Paris don't agree, then it is difficult to make progress in Europe.

We cannot allow the bankruptcy of a euro member state like Greece to turn into a second Lehman Brothers.

History shows us a lot of things. It shows why the Lord's Prayer includes the supplication: "And lead us not into temptation." In my day, dissertations were still written by hand, or drummed out with a typewriter. In the past, you had to round up the literature, find the books and find the passages. Nowadays you click on Wikipedia or Google and you have everything you need. This probably makes it more difficult to resist temptation.

In the EU, we agree that the pressures causing migration must be reduced.

If we want to make Europe stronger, then each country first has to ensure that it becomes stronger itself. This applies to Italy and France, and it applies to Germany as well. Subsequently, we in Europe need to discuss how we can improve the community. That is the correct order.

It has been clear for some time now that we have to do more for domestic and external security. I am prepared for that.

Treaties exist so that they will be adhered to. It only serves to strengthen euroskepticism when we constantly make promises and reach agreements that we do not adhere to.

If there are possibilities for strengthening investments, they will not fail because of us. Emmanuel Macron is right when he says that we need to do more and talk less.

By preventing new conflicts, we avert the causes of radicalization and the risk of terrorist attacks in Europe, including in Germany.

Britain is economically very closely integrated with its European partner countries. Were these ties to be cut, it would be a huge step backwards for the country and would weaken it considerably. In the era of globalisation, "splendid isolation" is not a smart option.

We will not be able to meet the challenges of integration and the threats posed by international terrorism. If we want to prevent attacks, we'll need more information and better integration.

Our balanced budget has an important psychological function. It is a signal that we can't continue to constantly take on debt.

You cannot form a community of countries of different strength without a certain amount of equilibrium. That is reflected in, for example, the EU budget and the bailout programs. That is why there are net payers and net recipients in Europe. A community cannot exist if the stronger do not take responsibility for the weaker.

As a wheelchair user, you cant move about freely. Thats the only thing that bothers me a little. When Im in the Euro Group in Brussels, colleagues who want to talk to me have to come to me. But I hope they know that this has nothing to do with arrogance.

Reliability is the precondition for trust.

For Martin Schulz, the chancellor candidate for the center-left Social Democrats, friendly wishes don't go far enough. He would like to see much more enthusiastic support for Emmanuel Macron than that shown by Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose comments so far have tended to be reserved. As she put it, she doesn't see a need to change her policies because of Macron.

The significant collapse of oil prices shows that it was previously way too high.

If you live beyond your means and have to restructure as a result, you pay a price.

Emmanuel Macron wants to see changes in France and we support him in that. Macron has proven his courage by leading an election campaign friendly to Europe and reform against the majority opinion of the Socialist Party.

We in Germany could, for example, lower taxes. And who is against that? The Social Democrats. We could also mobilize more private investments for public infrastructure projects liken the construction of highways. But the Social Democrats also reject this, even though they are at times similar to others abroad in their carping about the surplus. Incidentally, some of the consequences of the good economic situation are strong increases in wages, rising pensions and a strong labor market.

My job is not to predict everything that might happen in the future, but to address what we can do today.

If the Schengen system (of border-free travel) is destroyed, Europe will be seriously endangered politically and economically. That is why we Europeans have to invest billions in Turkey, Libya, Jordan and other countries in the region as quickly as possible everybody as much as they can.

The goal of European unification can only be achieved if everyone participates, perhaps with exceptions in some areas. Not all countries are part of monetary union, and not all are in the Schengen area. But the fundamental goal should be to keep everyone on board.

We need more personnel within our security agencies.

It is clear to us that we will have to become more involved in our neighboring regions so that the migration pressures aren't so high there. Of course the budget negotiations will be difficult, as they always are.

During the centuries-long process of Reformation and Enlightenment, Christian churches had to accept some things they didn't like. Islam will have to do the same; otherwise it isn't part of Europe.

You can lead a happy life if you recognize that it's limited and completely unpredictable from one moment to the next.

At the moment we are facing a whole collection of difficult to forecast developments from the situation in China and the oil-price crash to the worrying news from some banks in Europe and the US. All of that is linked: Worldwide company debt is high and there is a lot of money in circulation. That is why necessary structural reforms are not being made.

Emmanuel Macron wants a stronger Europe, just as the chancellor and I do. I was impressed that the new president climbed onto the stage in front of the Louvre to the sound of the European anthem after his election victory. That was a very powerful symbol. It is very clear: Macron is our ally.

Europe has grown through crises. Each crisis also presents opportunities, and Europe has emerged stronger from each one. That is the way history unfolds. Europe is sometimes slow, and it reacts sluggishly, but it is capable of finding solutions.

I don't know how many resolutions from the IMF or G-20 we have already written saying that such [financial] reforms are necessary for new growth.

I don't want to interpret the pope's words, especially as I am one of those horrible people who fell away from the Roman church after Martin Luther.

I'm a firm believer in the monetary union.

We in Europe need to discuss how we can improve the community. That is the correct order.

Most of the mosques were built in our cities in recent years because Turkish citizens in those neighborhoods feel a growing need for places to pray.

I think we will have to spend more on defense, for infrastructure, for extension of the broadband network and also for domestic security.

I suggested that countries with tighter finances think about such a [fuel] tax. We don't have the time at the moment for months of discussion.

If we want to avoid a clash of cultures - and the jury is still out on whether we can - we'll have to make different cultures and religions compatible with the universal nature of human rights and tolerance. But I can promise you this: Anyone who calls me an infidel at the conference will be in for a fight.