Jean-Claude Juncker already wasn’t a popular politician among Hungarians and his recent speech definitely didn’t improve that reputation.

Jean-Claude Juncker, President of the European Commission, told Romanian President Klaus Iohannis that he considers the Romanian national holiday commemorating the unification with Transylvania to also be a European celebration.

During a speech given to the European Parliament Juncker said:

Romania will celebrate on December 1 of the current year its centenary, the centenary of the great union, as our Romanian friends say. I wanted to say to the President that it is a Romanian feast, but also a European feast, because all that concerns Romania concerns Europe. All that is peculiar to Romania is not foreign to the European Union. That day we will celebrate together a great moment in Romanian history and a great moment in European history.

His worlds caused a public outcry in Hungary. Due to the consequences of World War I, Hungary lost two-thirds of its territory including Transylvania. Romania annexed the region despite the fact that Romanians made up just 53 percent of the population. The Hungarian public still remembers the anniversary as a historic tragedy.

This isn’t the first time the Commissioner has ignored the historical grievances of Eastern Europeans. He delivered a speech at an event in Trier, Germany, at which a statue of the left-wing revolutionary donated by the Chinese government was unveiled. Jean-Claude Juncker received criticism from across the globe, but the heaviest attacks came from Eastern Europe.

Government spokesperson Zoltán Kovács stated that Juncker had “spoken in line with his state” and that “his lack of historical facts confirms his being unfit for his position.”

Via: Mandiner

Written: Gábor Sarnyai

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