Oettinger under fire for flags remark

THE German commissioner who talked about flying the national flags of debt crisis countries at half mast was accused of ducking and diving rather than recanting the idea.

More than 100 members of the European Parliament, including many Irish MEPs, signed a letter to commission president Jose Manuel Barroso calling for him to fire Gunter Oettinger or have him issue an apology and retract his statements.

The Energy Commissioner’s spokesperson made a statement saying the idea was not his personal view, that he did not propose it and that people’s reading of it was misleading.