'Called me a complete idiot': Fico complains that European Commission president scolded him

According to the Slovak prime minister, he discussed tariffs with Trump that the US president plans to impose on Europe. For this, Ursula von der Leyen scolded him for half an hour, calling him a "complete idiot."

"Today, I had a phone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. We discussed two topics. The first was the tariffs imposed against us. She scolded me terribly: 'Robert, what have you done? Why on earth did you hold such talks with Trump? Are you normal?' She berated me for half an hour, saying I was a complete idiot," Fico said.

Later, the Slovak prime minister claimed he was joking about Ursula von der Leyen "scolding him terribly" and that Slovak media and the opposition supposedly misunderstood it.

"I believe that the President of the European Commission understood the joke from today's press conference when I told journalists that she severely reproached me for not doing anything to prevent the US from imposing new tariffs on the whole world (as the Slovak opposition claims). I'm afraid that Slovak media and the opposition did not get the joke," he wrote on Facebook.

Trump threatens to impose tariffs on the EU

In February, US President Donald Trump threatened to introduce 25% tariffs against the European Union. The American leader claimed that the bloc of 27 countries was "created to rob the United States."

Trump also raised tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to a fixed 25% for all countries worldwide without exceptions.

Meanwhile, media reports indicate that the EU is already preparing to retaliate against the new tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, which are set to take effect on April 2. Brussels is considering using its "full arsenal" of measures, including restricting access for American companies to the European market and public tenders.