A former Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt is the chair of the Group of Liberals and Democrats in the European Parliament. He calls himself a federalist and believes European countries must further integrate if they want to play a role in today's globalised world.

Guy Verhofstadt says he is "very disappointed" by the outcome of the EU’s emergency summit on migration. The EU leaders “did nothing substantial”, he regrets, explaining that "they did not change the mandate of Triton and Frontex" to allow European ships to actually save the lives of would-be migrants. "The first thing to do if people are in difficulty is to save them", he says.
The former Belgian Prime Minister also expresses regret at the lack of an EU-wide asylum system. “Why is it not possible to ask for asylum in the countries of origin?” he asks. “We still have no European asylum system as a whole”, he says. For him, this "very bad system" means that “there is no burden sharing between the countries” and that effectively “we push people to come to Europe”.
Guy Verhofstadt also expresses concern at the possibility of Britain leaving the European Union. British Prime Minister David Cameron has promised a referendum on the issue if he is re-elected in a week's time. “If a majority of people in Britain wants to have a second-class or an associated membership, that’s their wish”, he concedes. However, he believes that a so-called Brexit would be a "very bad thing for Britain, for the British economy and for British citizens”.
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