"This call on [President of the European Commission Jean-Claude] Juncker by [President of the European Court of Justice Vassilios] Skouris is an act of desperation on their part because they see the rise of UKIP and the rise of various anti-European parties and that is a shock to their system," UKIP member David Coburn told Sputnik Thursday.
The parliament member's comments followed the former Greek law Professor's address to Juncker at a formal oath of independence ceremony on Wednesday. "Your key task is to prevent the fruits of European integration being trampled in the dust," Skouris told the EC President.
"Juncker with his past accusations made against him of helping companies in Luxembourg to pay minimal or no taxation is hardly a fine example of European cooperation and furthermore Herr Juncker is deeply flawed in many other ways," Coburn told Sputnik.
Documents known as LuxLeaks revealed practices early November during Juncker's premiership in Luxembourg that allowed more than 300 foreign companies to enjoy lower taxation for over a decade. Revelations of the country's ultra-competitive tax regime caused an uproar among its EU neighbors and led to infringement procedures launched by the European Commission that Juncker now heads.
UKIP swept to victory in the European elections on an anti-immigration and anti-EU platform in May. French and Danish eurosceptic parties also gained seats, and an estimated quarter of the European Parliament's 751 seats went to those parties that held euroscpetic views.
