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.

He said he had hinted at some ideas in the interview with the German mass circulation newspaper, Bild. The issue of the flags came from the journalist conducting the interview, which he described as an unconventional idea, “and I would admit probably misleading”.

“I did not propose this idea or support it. I did not refer to any particular country. In the difficult economic and budgetary situation we are facing, serious efforts are required on all sides,” his statement said.

But Labour MEP Phil Prendergast did not accept this statement, saying it rings hollow.

“He described the idea as a big deterrent, plainly showing he saw merit in it. Ducking and diving on this is not going to restore public confidence in the commission and the EU project. The commission needs to ensure restrained and collegiate communications at such a critical juncture in EU history, rather than reckless thinking aloud for the benefit of local populism,” she said.

Ms Prendergast said she did not accept he had retracted and called on him to issue a personal statement recanting in plain language.