This is Paul Adamson and I'm in conversation with Martin Salmeyer.

Martin Selmay is the chef de Cabernet, the chief of staff of the president of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker.

Martin, there's so much we could talk about, but I would like to try and frame this podcast around the related themes of the priorities of the new commission, which, as you know, took office just over 18 months ago.

The restructuring that took place as part of that new commission, and what you do is the new commission to communicate, not just the media, but the outside world more generally about what you're at.

Now, as you know much better than I do, because you know Mr. Younger can better than I do,

when he took office he made this statement about this is the kind of last chance commission.

I presumably meant that against the backdrop of the EU as a whole, not just the European commissions,

being seen as rather distant, a lot of disillusionment with Europe, apathy towards Europe.

But why do you think he said that?

President Juncker said that because it's his perception of the reality.

We are, when President Juncker became president of the commission,

we were in year number eight since the beginning of the financial crisis.

Across Europe this has cost not only a lot of money, but many people lost their job.

Economic growth has not returned to the pre-crisis levels yet.

We have a lack of investment, and we have in many countries in Europe a lack of hope.

Not really in those countries we have a lack of hope, notably in those

countries we have a high degree of youth unemployment.

And President Juncker is, after many, many decades in European politics, very much aware

that if the situation doesn't improve, we don't overcome these many crises that we are facing

at the same time, then it would be very difficult

to re-invigorate the European project or keep people with the European project. And we see that,

since he has called the Commission the Last Chance Commission, his Commission, the Last Chance

...