Nigel Farage accuses Jean-Claude Juncker of trying to 'bully the Brits'
The former UKIP leader attacks Mr Juncker in the European Parliament, accusing him of 'bloody rude' behaviour towards Theresa May.
Wednesday 17 May 2017 20:03, UK
Nigel Farage has accused Jean-Claude Juncker of attempting to "bully the Brits" over Brexit negotiations.
The former UKIP leader said such behaviour could force Britain to walk away from Brexit talks before the end of the year, if the EU failed to start making more "grown-up, reasonable" demands.
Mr Farage also called Mr Juncker's behaviour following a "bloody rude".
Mr Juncker reportedly commented that he was "10 times more sceptical" of the likelihood of a successful Brexit after the Downing Street meeting with the Prime Minister.
Speaking in the European Parliament, Mr Farage asked his fellow MEPs to imagine that within hours of hosting a dinner party a "very important guest" had told others you were "living in a different galaxy".
"I don't know, Mr Juncker, whether this is how you carry on in Luxembourg," he said.
"I doubt it, because in any part of the civilised world, frankly, that behaviour would be considered to be bloody rude."
Mr Farage also claimed Mr Juncker looked "a bit silly" for given that 90% of the songs performed in the Eurovision Song Contest on Saturday were sung in English.
Mr Farage was speaking as the European Parliament met to discuss last month's Special European Council at which the EU's Brexit negotiating strategy was formally approved by EU 27 leaders.
Responding to Mr Farage, President of the European Parliament Donald Tusk, said: "What was and remains most important for me, is that our conduct in these talks will show the European Union at its best: in terms of unity, political solidarity and fairness towards the United Kingdom,"
His sentiment was echoed by the European Union's chief Brexit negotiator Michael Barner, who said the EU wanted to reach a deal "with the United Kingdom, not against it".
Mr Barnier said the difficulties of Brexit should not be underestimated and that people speaking of "no deal" being reached needed to explain what that would mean for EU and UK citizens.
The European Parliament's Brexit spokesman Guy Verhofstadt said that Brexit had shocked voters in other EU countries into saying "no bloody way" to leaving the Union.
"Three times in a row now the nationalists and the populists have been beaten: in Austria, in the Netherlands and in France", he said.
"And I think that it didn't happen by accident. I think that Brexit played an important role in this."
"The Austrians didn't want an 'Auxit'. The Dutch didn't want a 'Nexit'. And the French didn't want a 'Frexit'," he said.
"They say we formed the European Union, yes. Leave the European Union? No bloody way."