A Lega Nord MEP furiously stamped a top EU official’s papers with his own shoe he proudly said was made in Italy. The stunt, he said, was directed at Brussels’ rejection of Italy’s debt-laden budget.

Angelo Ciocca, a Lega Nord member of the European Parliament, was caught on camera while approaching Pierre Moscovici, the EU commissioner for economic and financial affairs, after a press conference in Strasbourg. Moments later, Ciocca is seen grabbing Moscovici’s notes before stamping them with a shoe he had just taken off.

“At Strasbourg, with my Made in Italy shoe, I stepped on the mountain of lies that Moscovici created against our country,” Ciocca explained on Twitter, uploading the footage of the bizarre episode. Slamming “the Euroimbeciles,” the right-wing MEP said “Italy deserves respect.”

A #Strasburgo, HO CALPESTATO (con una suola Made in Italy!!!) la montagna di BUGIE che #Moscovici ha scritto CONTRO il #NostroPaese !!! L’Italia merita RISPETTO e questi #EuroImbecilli lo devono capire, non ABBASSIAMO PIÙ LA TESTA !!! Ho fatto bene ??? pic.twitter.com/Dx5OeM0RMs — Angelo Ciocca (@AngeloCiocca) October 23, 2018

It did not go down well with Moscovici, who later offered his assessment of what happened. He said Ciocca’s stunt was “grotesque” and urged people to stand up to this type of conduct.

“At first we smile… because it is ridiculous, then we get used to the symbolic violence, and one day we wake up with fascism,” the EU official wrote, adding, “Let’s stay vigilant! Democracy is a fragile treasure.”

L’épisode de la « chaussure 👞 made in Italy » est grotesque. Au début on sourit et on banalise parce que c’est ridicule, puis on s’habitue à une sourde violence symbolique, et un jour on se réveille avec le fascisme. Restons vigilants! La démocratie est un trésor fragile — Pierre Moscovici (@pierremoscovici) October 24, 2018

He previously engaged in a verbal exchange with Italian Deputy PM Matteo Salvini, hinting that the right-wing government in Rome resembles “little Mussolinis.”

Salvini, himself a hardline Eurosceptic politician, fired back, telling Moscovici to “wash his mouth out before insulting Italy, the Italians and their legitimate government.”

READ MORE: ‘Wash your mouth out’: Italy’s Salvini hits out at top EU official over ‘little Mussolinis’ remark

It all comes amid a tense standoff between Rome and Brussels over Italy’s budget deficit. For the first time, the European Commission has rejected the Italian budget proposal, giving a three-week deadline to rewrite it. The bloc is concerned that markets could lose trust in debt-laden Italy, potentially stirring up a new Eurozone crisis. The Italian government says it wants to spend more on welfare, render financial support for the poor, and lower the retirement age.

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