BRUSSELS: New European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker stoked a bitter row between London and Brussels yesterday, accusing Prime Minister David Cameron of having a “problem” with other EU leaders.
Juncker opened his first press conference as head of the EU’s powerful executive arm with an attack on “unjustified criticisms” by both Cameron and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi at a summit in October.
But he reserved his harshest words for Cameron, who is fighting Brussels over a budget backpayment demand for ¤2.1bn
($2.6bn) against the backdrop of a possible referendum on Britain’s EU membership in 2017.
“I am not the type who trembles, in front of prime ministers or at any other time,” said former Luxembourg prime minister Juncker.
“I don’t have a particular problem with Mr Renzi, whom I have great respect for.
“I don’t have a problem with Mr Cameron, Mr Cameron has a problem with the other prime ministers.”
Juncker is known for his blunt way with words but his remarks still raised eyebrows in Brussels where his predecessor Jose Manuel Barroso was more guarded, stressing the importance of keeping Britain in the EU.
But in recent months, there have been signs of a growing impatience with Cameron, a feeling that enough may be enough given that his EU-bashing seems driven by domestic political concerns.
Cameron had strongly opposed Juncker’s appointment earlier this year, seeing him as an insider and federalist who would not adopt the EU reforms Britain demands before the referendum, and the budget row has deepened the rift.
But the stridently eurosceptic UK Independence Party is set to steal another parliamentary seat from Cameron’s Conservative Party later this month, putting the prime minister under huge pressure from restive supporters attracted by UKIP’s anti-immigration stance. AFP
