European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker has said Italians need to work harder, be less corrupt and stop blaming the EU for the problems of the country’s poor south. The controversial comments were immediately followed by a demand by European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, an Italian, for a denial from Juncker, warning on Twitter that his words would be “unacceptable” if true. Tajani did not specify which comments he was referring to but Juncker said only a few sentences about Italy on Thursday during a question-and-answer session at a conference on the future of Europe in Brussels. That means more work, less corruption, seriousness,” he said. A European commission spokeswoman told AFP that “the words attributed to President Juncker on Italy have been taken out of context”.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer June 01, 2018 04:30 UTC