British Labor Minister Amber Rudd sharply criticizes EU Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker for his dealings with women. His behavior was "horrible" and "grotesque," said Rudd in an interview with "The Telegraph". His behavior should be officially investigated for evidence of sexual harassment, she quotes the newspaper.

During the EU summit last week, Juncker had greeted the head of protocol of the European Commission, Pernilla Sjölin, in the hair. In social networks Juncker was therefore heavily criticized.

In the video: Juncker welcomes Sjölin

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"That's grotesque," says Rudd. "If this had happened in our parliament, I would hope that there is an official investigation." She also criticized Juncker's dealings with Prime Minister Theresa May. The two had fought hard during the EU summit. Juncker had described the Brexit talks with Britain as "nebulous" and "imprecise." In October, he also parodyed May with a dance performance.

Cold feigned to avoid embraces

Juncker's behavior was "terrible," Rudd told the Telegraph. She herself often faked a cold at EU meetings to avoid embraces. "All EU Commissioners love their big hugs," she said.

It is not the first allegation of this kind. There were numerous reports of sexual harassment in the European Parliament during the Weinstein Affair. MEP Udo Bullmann (SPD) spoke of a "culture of admissibility of assaults" that always had something to do with "silly dominance behavior". European Parliament President Antonio Tajani announced tough sanctions at that time.

Rudd has been Minister of Labor and Pensions since November. Previously, she served as Minister of the Interior. However, she resigned in April for making false statements to the British Parliament on controversial immigration quotas.

She had claimed that there were no requirements for deportation. In a letter to Prime Minister Theresa May in January 2017, however, she wrote that she wanted to increase the number of deportations by ten percent. In her letter of resignation, the Minister stated that she "misinformed Parliament" and should have known about the quotas. Read more about the scandal and the background here.

British Home Secretary Theresa May loses her companions

Rudd is considered pro-European. She spoke in favor of Britain's stay in the EU during the Brexit referendum in 2016. She had recently suggested that she vote again on Brexit. May rejects a second referendum, however.