Juncker known for informal style, spox says on greeting Orbán as “dictator”

Brussels, May 26 (MTI) – President of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker is known for his very informal style, his spokesman Margaritis Schinas told a Tuesday press briefing, in response to a question about why he greeted Prime Minister Viktor Orbán by saying “welcome dictator” at last week’s EU summit in Riga.

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“President Juncker has been in politics for 33 years, he’s been prime minister for 19 years, he knows all members of the European Council extremely well. He has strong relations with mutual trust and confidence with all of them; he’s known for his very informal and often laid-back style, so I wouldn’t make anything else out of this,” Schinas said.

“I was there, I don’t sense that there was any real story behind this,” he added.

“I think it’s pretty obvious that this was a fun part of the very long and boring welcome process and I may also inform you that Prime Minister Orbán called Mr Juncker Grand Duke. So this was an exchange,” he said.

Photo: MTI

Source: http://mtva.hu/hu/hungary-matters