Romano Prodi quotes:

Moreover, resolving the mother of all problems - the Israeli-Palestinian question - requires cooperation between Europe and the U.S.

The problem of Italy is not really a question of age. Japan has an older population, and it is now in full economic recovery. The problem is that Italy is old in the structure of the society.

Italy is divided between us and them, rich and poor, north and south, young and old, employed and unemployed.

Berlusconi is no longer fit to lead our country.

We must now face the difficult task of moving towards a single economy, a single political entity .. For the first time since the fall of the Roman Empire we have the opportunity to unite Europe.

Foreign policy can mean several things, not only foreign policy in the narrow sense. It can cover foreign policy, relations with the developing world, and enlargement as well.

Democracies must have equilibrium... and the entanglement of politics and information must be minimized.

The extremist, isolationist policies of Jean-Marie Le Pen have been rejected and crushed

The Italian economy is certainly the weakest of the big European countries.

I am not a newcomer, you know, so I want to be judged for what I did when I was prime minister last time in Italy and president of the European Commission for more than five years.

But Italy can only have any real influence on world affairs if it carries weight in Europe.

If you don't want to call it a European army, don't call it a European army. You can call it 'Margaret', you can call it 'Mary-Anne', you can find any name, but it is a joint effort for peace-keeping missions - the first time you have a joint, not bilateral, effort at European level.

I don't want to pass a punitive law, or use politics as a vendetta.

European government is a clear expression I still use, you need time, but step by step, as in the Austrian case, the European Commission takes a political decision and behaves like a growing government.

The EU must take on new responsibilities. And these new responsibilities call for intensifying the integration process.

There are terrible living conditions and unhappiness, (even) where everybody is Italian.

We are involved in a constitution-building process of historic importance. The Convention should mark a new stage in European integration.

It is becoming more widely acknowledged that it is better to have a good constitution than not having a perfect one.

He uses statistics like a drunk uses lamp-posts, more for support than illumination.

Are we all clear that we want to build something that can aspire to be a world power - not just a trading bloc, but a political entity?

In the darkest days of European history, America stood close by us and today we stand close by America, nothing will ever be the same.

No one wants to lose their job, or cede the power they've acquired.

There are times when the welfare system may appear as an impediment to growth. Yet the drive for growth should always bear in mind the fact that people also need security

I am not overconfident.

Are we all clear that we want to build something that can aspire to be a world power? In other words, not just a trading bloc but a political entity. Do we realise that our nation states, taken individually, would find it far more difficult to assert their existence and their identity on the world stage.

I am sure the euro will oblige us to introduce a new set of economic policy instruments. It is politically impossible to propose that now. But some day there will be a crisis and new instruments will be created.

Nobody can be rich and stupid for more than one generation.

Our continents unification is at hand and we must stand to account.

So when you are faced with a decision on the euro, it is not surprising that many people are confused. They still try to squeeze the euro debate into the old language. But deep down it is a matter of deciding where one's future lies. It is a matter of political will and courage.

Think what a revolution it will be if we manage to get everyone to pay their taxes.

We have to give ourselves a constitution which marks the birth of Europe as a political entity.