Fico revealed that the head of the European Commission scolded him for communicating with Trump

Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico revealed that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen scolded him for speaking with U.S. President Donald Trump about tariffs on the European Union — and even called him an “idiot.”

The Slovak leader shared this during a press conference.

“Today, I had a phone call with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. We discussed two topics. The first was the tariffs imposed against us [Europe]. She scolded me terribly: ‘Robert, what have you done? Why on earth were you negotiating with Trump? Are you sane?’ She scolded me for half an hour… said I was a complete idiot,” Fico said.

He expressed surprise that French President Emmanuel Macron is allowed to speak with Trump, but he is not.

The Slovak Prime Minister also promised to remain active in addressing the tariff issue, which is expected to hit Slovakia’s automotive industry particularly hard.

“There will soon be a meeting with manufacturers. We’ll carefully listen to their proposed measures and professionally present them again to the European Commission, so the European Union can negotiate and respond collectively,” Fico added.

As a reminder, starting April 2, the United States will impose reciprocal tariffs on products from all countries that maintain tariffs on American goods.

Meanwhile, according to media reports, the European Commission is preparing retaliatory trade measures against the U.S. The EU is even considering completely closing its market to certain American goods or services. American companies could be banned from participating in public tenders or projects funded by the EU budget.