During the EP plenary session in Strasbourg, Jean-Claude JUNCKER, President of the EC replies to the MEPs' questions on the State of the Union.

Strasbourg

debate

plenary session

JUNCKER, Jean-Claude (LU)

state of the Union 2015 (T)

State of the Union: extracts from the replies by Jean-Claude JUNCKER, President of the EC to the MEPs

External view of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. (1 shot)

SOUNDBITE (German), Jean-Claude JUNCKER, President of the European Commission, "Turkey has definitely something to do with what we are talking about here. The presence of Tusk in Turkey is more important than his attendance of the president of the Council to a debate between the Commission and the Parliament..., yes, yes that's the way it is".  

SOUNDBITE (French), Jean-Claude JUNCKER, President of the European Commission, "I'm not saying that the programme that was negotiated was an aesthetic example we should re-produce, but at least, as I had promised to the European parliament, we have conducted a social impact asessment of the Greek programme. It was not mentioned one single time. Hadn't the Commission conducted it, you would certainly have criticised us with good reason, but we have done it".

SOUNDBITE (French), Jean-Claude JUNCKER, President of the European Commission, "You should know this, because you don't, because you are never told, the president of the European Commission has led the elementary claim to reduce the defense budget of Greece, the Greek government hadn't come up with that. I have offered, in the name of the Commission, to tax in a correct equitable way, the sector of shipowners, they hadn't suggested that. I - a reactionary, christian-democrat, conservative - I was surprised to have to deploy my arguments to the Greek Primer Minister, to have to impose to Greece a correct taxation of those who are richer than the victims of the crisis. It was me, it was not Mr. Tsipras!"

SOUNDBITE (French), Jean-Claude JUNCKER, President of the European Commission, "Hadn't the Commission not been there, the adjustment programme would have been harder to take than the one than seems to be the most nuanced programme so far, thanks to the work of the Commission".

SOUNDBITE (German), Jean-Claude JUNCKER, President of the European Commission, "The position that we say 'we don't need this free trade agreement, I can't agree with that. We should negotiate properperly, even re-negotiate but we need this treaty and we will have it".

SOUNDBITE (German), Jean-Claude JUNCKER, President of the European Commission, "I always belonged - also as a primer minister and finance minister - to those who defended the Common Agricultural Policy, because a Europe without farmers, without winegrowers, without forest rangers wouldn't be the Europe in which we now live. We shouldn't let farmers down."