Sebastian Kurz Quotes

I want the European Union to be a success. And I want a relationship between Britain and the EU that keeps us in it.

I don't just want a better deal for Britain. I want a better deal for Europe too. So I speak as British prime minister with a positive vision for the future of the European Union. A future in which Britain wants, and should want, to play a committed and active part.

Europe needs an engine, and the Franco-German motor has provided that when the two nations have converged on important topics during critical periods. But that partnership shouldn't be a directorate for other EU members.

I declare myself an Austrian and a European. A united Europe will be a peaceful Europe.

We should not make the mistake of equating the E.U. with Europe. Outside the E.U., we wouldn't cease to be Europeans. But, an exit would definitely risk losing those opportunities for our children while growing no similar opportunities elsewhere.

We are a European nation - must stay one.

I think that the Brexit negotiations have to be a big thing that determines the democratic fight-back and galvanizes democratic Europe again against this rising tide of nationalism.

Just as I believe that Britain should want to remain in the EU so the EU should want us to stay.

France has a special position: We are Continental Europe's nuclear power and a permanent member of the UN Security Council. This special role, though, only makes sense if France fills it as a member state of the European Union. France cannot play this role alone, it must be seen as a part of Europe. I have always insisted on that.

There is no future for the people of Europe other than in union.

I am not anti-European.

We cannot turn our backs on Europe. We are part of Europe.

I think us leaving would have an enormous and bad effect on the rest of the EU. The EU would respond by deepening integration and becoming more of a 'political project'. It would not only be damaging ourselves but also the kind of Europe we want.

If someone complains about Europe from Monday to Saturday, then nobody is going to believe him on Sunday when he says he is a convinced European.

We need Britain not only to stay in the E.U. but to be very active in it.

To make Europe more effective is a worthwhile objective. To make Europe less important in your calculations is a big mistake.

I am absolutely convinced that the E.U. will still be around. I am convinced the U.K. will be sitting at that table and not negotiating an exit, but being there to stay.

You go to Paris, or you go to Portugal, you go to Poland, and you ask, 'Who are you people?' They'll tell you, we're Portuguese, we're Spanish, we're Polish. Who are the people that are really European? The people in Brussels, in the E.U. bureaucracy. Europe has not been able to move to the level of patriotic identification with the concept.

Our biggest threat is not too much Europe, but too little.

I will defend Europe; it is our civilisation which is at stake... I will work to rebuild ties between Europe and its citizens.

As much as I believe in the Franco-German partnership, I question the idea of a duopoly. European construction is based on a well-balanced and respectful partnership between France and Germany.

Anything that keeps the U.K. close to the E.U. and best of all, in the E.U., would make me personally very happy.

With every wish to take Europe forward with a German-French nucleus, the proposals must always fit with German interests.

The strength of Europe at the end of the day has always been that we stuck together and that demands a great amount - probably even more so than in the past - of discussions, of balancing, of bringing along individual countries.

What every generation must do is try to make Europe better than it was in the past.