The President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, has admitted that he made a serious mistake in 2016 in not adopting a position during the British referendum campaign on leaving or remaining in the EU.
During a press conference where he reviewed progress ahead of the informal summit in Sibiu (see other news), he admitted that one of his mistakes had been "to listen carefully to David Cameron's British government’s request not to intervene in the campaign”.
But it had been “a mistake not to interfere or intervene”. "I was wrong to remain silent at such an important moment", he added, in the knowledge that, if he had spoken, he could have demolished the Brexit "lies" that had "been circulating".
At the time, in the lead up to the referendum of 23 June 2016, the Commission and its President hid behind their duty of neutrality and respect for matters that were national priorities. President Juncker and the Commission have been criticised for choosing this course of action, unlike in 2015, when Mr Juncker did not hesitate to intervene in Greek affairs, particularly in the referendum on the rescue plan for the country's economy. The Commission was later accused of having double standards, of being strong with the weak and weak with the strong. (Original version in French by Solenn Paulic)