Officials in Brussels have demanded they are not referred to as ‘bureaucrats’ but as ‘European civil servants’.

In a bizarre outburst, Jean-Claude Juncker’s chief spokesman reacted furiously after a journalist used the term ‘euro-bureaucrat’ in a press conference.

Margaritis Schinas, who leads the European Commission’s spokesman service, said he did ‘not like’ the term bureaucrat and would not accept being described as one.

Margaritis Schinas, Jean-Claude Juncker's chief spokesman, got furious with a journalist in Brussels today after he was described as a 'bureaucrat' during a press conference

At the briefing in Brussels, Mr Schinas, a former Greek MEP, said: 'Thank you for repeating that we are bureaucrats in our faces.

‘I have told you repeatedly that we do not like that term for the European civil service, for the many thousands of colleagues who work for the institutions. We do not think bureaucrat is the way to describe our job.

'Each time you will use the term bureaucrat, I will answer back that we are civil servants working for the interests of all 28 member states.'

Mr Schinas became angry after he was asked by an Italian reporter about the behaviour of Mr Juncker’s chief of staff Martin Selmayr, who officials in Rome have accused of briefing against them.

The journalist had questioned whether Mr Selmayr’s alleged conduct was ‘in line with the duties of euro-bureaucrats’ whose ‘salaries are paid by European taxpayers’.

Officials in Brussels have denied any wrongdoing on Mr Selmayr’s part.

The row comes after a senior EU official admitted that he had misled journalists at a briefing on the British renegotiation last week.

After confessing that he had not told the truth, he said: ‘That was a tactic. I have tactics, when I speak to journalists I don’t speak because I’m a nice guy. I want to achieve something.

‘You write it, somebody reads it. I instrumentalise you.’

Around 33,000 people are employed by the European Commission, which is the EU’s civil service.

Jean-Claude Junker, the chief bureaucrat who is president of the European Commission, played a key role in helping David Cameron secure last week's deal