Varhelyi claims that he did not call the MEPs idiots, Sokol demands an apology

Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi said that his statement "how many more idiots are here" was "taken out of context", which he uttered after answering a question from Croatian MP Tomislav Sokol in the debate on the EU's enlargement policy to the Western Balkans.

Croatian MEP Tomislav Sokol (EPP/HDZ) asked the commissioner two questions on Tuesday - what the EU intends to do to prevent "the spread of the hegemonic concept of the Serbian world in Montenegro" and what mechanisms the EU has available to force Serbia to join the European sanctions against Russia.

After answering his questions and taking his seat with his microphone still on, Varhelyi said in Hungarian "how many more idiots are here".

Hungarian MEP, Social Democrat Sandor Ronai, posted the moment from Tuesday night's debate on Twitter.

The commissioner for enlargement made a statement today. He did not deny the content of the statement, but said that it was not addressed to the MEPs.

“It was related to a private conversation in Hungarian between me and my chief of staff on a completely different topic, which was taken out of context. I apologize for the possible misunderstanding,” Varhelyi said.

“I fully respect all EU institutions, including the European Parliament and its distinguished representatives,” added Varhelyi.

European People’s Party representative Tomislav Sokol said that the commissioner's explanation was not convincing.

“It was not an apology, but a justification. That doesn't sound very convincing to me considering that if you look at the recording, you can see that he hardly started talking about something completely unrelated within that discussion,” Sokol told Croatian journalists in Strasbourg.

He believes that Varhelyi should apologize to all the MEPs.

“The Commissioner should apologize not only to me, but to all members of the European Parliament because he offended everyone. He said practically that all the MEPs who participated in the discussion were idiots,” said Sokol and added that the EU should stand firmer towards Serbia and "not look through its fingers".

Source: HRT