Outgoing President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker has railed against populists and nationalists for being patriotic.

During an interview with CNN on Brexit and the European Parliament elections, Mr Juncker criticised “stupid” people who prefer their own countries over a progressive supranational project like the EU and its pro-open borders policies.

“These populist, nationalists, stupid nationalists, they are in love with their own countries and they don’t like the others,” President Juncker told CNN in his Brussels office.

In comments likely alluding to eastern European nations like Hungary and Poland, which reject mass migration from the third world, the Luxembourger continued: “In some countries in the European Union, some governments, some parliaments, the major part of society don’t like those coming from far away.

“I do like those coming from far away because the main guiding principle of the European Union should be solidarity.

“We have to act in solidarity with those who are in a worse situation than we are in,” he said, using the word “solidarity” often invoked by EU leaders when Brussels attempts to force mass migration on its members.

Leading Eurocrat Guy Verhofstadt Admits EU Wants an ‘Empire’ https://t.co/lPIPcOX6mH — Breitbart London (@BreitbartLondon) May 22, 2019

The Eurocrat’s candor in expressing his true feelings towards those who do not share his vision for a globalist European superstate comes after a leading ‘liberal’ figure in the European Parliament, Guy Verhofstadt, also opened up to the leftist American network and admitted to wanting a European “empire” to rival the United States and China.

Mr Verhofstadt said on Tuesday that unless sovereign nations submit to greater federalisation, the European Project would “die inside”.

“The world is developing into one not of nation states, but of empires. China is an empire. India is an empire. The US is an empire. We need to create a European Union that is capable of defending our interests,” the Belgian politician told CNN.