Margrethe Vestager

Competition is one of the most important drivers of innovation because you have to stay in the race. You have to think of something new, and if you don't, well, of course you should leave the market.

History shows the power-grab in every religion once it gets organised. And then it's people making you do things that you don't agree with and setting the rules. But it does mean something to me to believe that we are not alone - the human animal is quite a scary thing, left on its own.

No government can give a selective advantage to a specific company, because that would make competition unfair.

I think any company should compete on the quality of their products, their prices, the novelty they can produce, their services, because that would be fair competition.

Consumers depend on us to make sure that competition is fair and open, and it's my responsibility to make that happen.

In Europe, we have three tools when it comes to fair competition. One is antitrust, one is merger control, and the third is state aid control. And the third you don't have in the States.

I think it is one of the fundamentals, not only of the European Union but also of free trade, that competition is fair.

A woman who wants to go places needs to bring her own ladder.

Elephants are social, thoughtful animals. They live in communities and - I have to say it - in matriarchal societies. They bear no grudge, but they remember well.

We have to take our democracy back. We cannot leave it to Facebook or Snapchat or anyone else. We have to take democracy back and renew it. Society is about people and not about technology.

We want a free market, but we know that the paradox of a 'free' market is that sometimes you have to intervene. You have to make sure it's not the law of the jungle but the laws of democracy that works.

I'm quite enthusiastic about any kind of gadget and app and feature and things that enable me to have a very convenient lifestyle. We buy our groceries on the Internet; I buy furniture, clothes for myself and my kids.