I think the political class in Berlin doesn't need to be supervised and monitored by intelligence services in order to find out what they're thinking. Just go to lunch with them, go to dinner with them, or read the papers.

Whenever you have political conflict, such as the one that we have now between Russia and Ukraine, but also in many other conflicts around the world, it has always proved to be right to try again and again to solve such a conflict.

This inclination to hoard is deeply ingrained in me because in the past, in times of scarcity, you took what you could get.

Having led many negotiations with countries outside the E.U. in the past, we would never enter the same compromises and reach the same good outcomes with states that don't shoulder the responsibilities and costs of the common market.

I still believe that a fight between two brothers should not destroy peace and harmony and bring trouble to the common man.

When I first began learning yoga, I found it really hard because I couldn't clear my mind for the meditative part of it, but then after a few weeks it became easier and I could see how it began to change my body. I became more flexible and more relaxed and at peace with my environment. I love yoga and I encourage all my friends to practise it.

In any event, it's not exactly a secret to regular readers what my views on the war are.

Poverty is the absence of all human rights. The frustrations, hostility and anger generated by abject poverty cannot sustain peace in any society.