Last May in a speech he summed up his feelings about Europe: "I must say that, whenever I leave Europe and then return, I always have a profound feeling of gratitude to be back in Europe, because there is no other continent with as much diversity – including cultural diversity – as the continent of Europe and the European Union".
H. G. Poterings vadīs Parlamenta darbību Eiropas Savienībai nozīmīgā laika posmā, kad tiks izšķirti tādi jautājumi kā enerģētika, Eiropas nākotne un tālāka paplašināšanās.