European Commissioner for Enlargement Olivér Várhelyi said on Wednesday 15 February that he “sincerely” regretted his remarks the previous day during a debate in the European Parliament plenary session, during which he wondered how many “idiots” still had to speak.
Mr Várhelyi said there had been a “misunderstanding” over what he said was a “private conversation” in Hungarian with his chief of staff on “a completely different subject” from those discussed in the debate.
These comments have sparked outrage among many MEPs, while Parliament has already called for an investigation by the European Commission into Mr Várhelyi’s behaviour towards certain EU candidate countries (see EUROPE 13102/5).
Mrs von der Leyen expects EU Commissioners to show the utmost respect for representatives of the other EU institutions and the Commission does not plan to investigate Mr Várhelyi, said Commission spokesman Eric Mamer. (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)