The European Union's executive distanced itself today from comments by its trade chief Karel De Gucht that a European Jewish group called an incitement to anti-Semitism.
Mr De Gucht (56) said in a Belgian radio interview yesterday that a "Jewish lobby" wielded much power over politics in the United States and should not be underestimated.
"For the Commission, these are personal comments" that do not reflect the European Union's views, a European Commission spokesman told the daily Commission briefing. The European Jewish Congress (EJC) called on Mr De Gucht to apologise.
"This is part of a dangerous trend of incitement against Jews and Israel in Europe that needs to be stamped out," EJC president Moshe Kantor said in a statement.
Mr De Gucht issued a statement today, saying he regretted his comments were misinterpreted.
"I did not mean in any possible way to cause offence or to stigmatise the Jewish community. I want tomake clear that anti-Semitism has no place in today's world and is fundamentally against our European values," he said.
Yesterday, the German central bank voted to dismiss board member Thilo Sarrazin after he made disparaging remarks about Muslims and said all Jews shared "a particular gene", outraging Holocaust survivors and dividing German public opinion.
The Bundesbank said it had asked the German president to remove Mr Sarrazin, who has denied he was stirring racism. Jewish groups have in the past expressed concern about what they see as a rise in anti-Semitism in some European countries and have called for more education about the Holocaust in which some six million Jews were murdered.
Mr De Gucht has faced criticism in the last two years for comments about corruption in the Democratic Republic of Congo that led to a diplomatic spat with Belgium.
Reuters