The EU Commission had distanced itself from Selmeyer’s “regrettable and inappropriate statements”. A spokesman for the Commission underlined that EU representatives in member states have an important role and must “choose every word carefully”. He described Selmeyer’s tone of voice as “inappropriate”. The Commission is also in contact with the Austrian Government on this issue.
After Brussels, Selmeier will now visit Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg (OVP) in Vienna, where he is expected to arrive in the coming days. A panel discussion has been announced for Wednesday morning at the House of the European Union in Vienna, in which Selmeyer will also take part.
Selmeyer’s statement was also understood by individual Austrian politicians. For example, the Vice-Presidents of the European Union Parliament Othmar Karas (OVP) and Evelyn Regner (SPO) said that the choice of words was inappropriate, but that the subject matter was important.
