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A SPOKESMAN for the European Commission has apologised for a comment posted by its Facebook account which appeared to belittle Germany’s controversial EU commissioner Gunther Oettinger.
The official Facebook page for the Commission’s offices in Ireland this morning posted a clarification from Oettinger, who had been reported as favouring a proposal to have Ireland’s flags fly at half-mast at EU buildings.
“In the interview I did not propose this idea, nor did I support it,” Oettinger’s statement said. “Moreover, I did not refer to any particular country.”
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A number of comments – criticial of Oettinger’s comments in spite of the clarification – were posted afterwards, to which the Commission’s account replied:
Apparently the Commissioner has ‘form’ in the foot in mouth department.
The comment was removed shortly after TheJournal.ie called to seek clarification on the comment.
Facebook joke about EU commissioner’s flag gaffe ‘not an official remark’
A spokesman for the commission’s offices said the comment was “not an official remark from the commission” – and explained that someone from the office had “got a bit excited”.
Oettinger’s reported remarks are set to be discussed in the Dáil later today when it holds its first-ever discussion on ‘topical issues’.
Wednesday 27 November, 2024
Wednesday 27 November, 2024
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Facebook joke about EU commissioner’s flag gaffe ‘not an official remark’
A SPOKESMAN for the European Commission has apologised for a comment posted by its Facebook account which appeared to belittle Germany’s controversial EU commissioner Gunther Oettinger.
The official Facebook page for the Commission’s offices in Ireland this morning posted a clarification from Oettinger, who had been reported as favouring a proposal to have Ireland’s flags fly at half-mast at EU buildings.
“In the interview I did not propose this idea, nor did I support it,” Oettinger’s statement said. “Moreover, I did not refer to any particular country.”
A number of comments – criticial of Oettinger’s comments in spite of the clarification – were posted afterwards, to which the Commission’s account replied:
The comment was removed shortly after TheJournal.ie called to seek clarification on the comment.
European Commission's Facebook page (1)
European Commission's Facebook page (2)
A spokesman for the commission’s offices said the comment was “not an official remark from the commission” – and explained that someone from the office had “got a bit excited”.
Oettinger’s reported remarks are set to be discussed in the Dáil later today when it holds its first-ever discussion on ‘topical issues’.
Read: German commissioner insists he doesn’t support ‘half-mast’ idea >
Yesterday: Germany’s EU commissioner wants Irish flag flown at half-mast >
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