Europe

EU chief calls Boris Johnson's EU-Nazi comparison 'absurd'

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, right, and European Council President Donald Tusk walk together as they meet in Copenhagen Tuesday, May 17, 2016. The two had talks concerning the migrant crisis, the economical situation in Europe and the Russian/Ukrainian conflict. (Jens Dresling/POLFOTO via AP) DENMARK OUT (The Associated Press)

Danish Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, right, and European Council President Donald Tusk talk during their meeting in Copenhagen Tuesday, May 17, 2016. The two had talks concerning the migrant crisis, the economical situation in Europe and the Russian/Ukrainian conflict. (Jens Dresling/POLFOTO via AP) DENMARK OUT (The Associated Press)

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 22, 2016 file photo, Boris Johnson arrives for a meeting at Downing Street in London. Ex-London Mayor Boris Johnson has compared the European Union’s aims to those of Adolf Hitler, arguing that the 28-nation bloc is creating a superstate that mirrors the attempt of the Nazi leader to dominate the European continent. Johnson’s remarks in The Sunday Telegraph on Sunday, May 15 elicited outrage on the part of those campaigning to remain in the EU ahead of a June 23 vote on whether to stay or go. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, file) (The Associated Press)

European Union President Donald Tusk is wading into the British debate on EU membership by deriding ex-London Mayor Boris Johnson for comparing the bloc's aims to those of Adolf Hitler.

Tusk said Tuesday that even though the EU had stayed on the sidelines of the British debate on whether to leave the EU, "when I hear the EU being compared to the plans and projects of Adolf Hitler I cannot remain silent."

Johnson argued over the weekend that the 28-nation bloc is creating a superstate that mirrors the attempt of the Nazi leader to dominate the European continent.

Tusk said in Copenhagen that "such absurd arguments should be completely ignored if they hadn't been formulated by one of the most influential politicians of the ruling party."