The European Union called the “Fourth Reich”. EC: Musk's statements are simply nonsense

The European Commission condemned Elon Musk's statements, comparing, among others, European Union to the Fourth Reich, considering them “simply nonsense”. On Friday, the European Commission imposed a fine of EUR 120 million on website X, owned by Musk. In response, the platform suspended the Commission's advertising account.

Musk retweeted a user's post comparing the European Union with the Fourth Reich and showing the EU flag combined with the flag of Nazi Germany, and commented: “Actually, yes.” In another entry, he stated that the EU should be abolished. In yet another case, Brussels imposed a penalty not on X, but on him personally.

The European Commission's spokesman for digitalization, Thomas Regnier, assessed the American billionaire's statements as “simply nonsense” in Brussels on Monday. – It doesn't make sense. The Commission does not impose penalties on individual persons, Regnier reminded. He added that when deciding on the penalty for the company's annual turnover. The decision to impose a penalty was not addressed to Elon Musk, but to the management board of the company headed by the billionaire.

EC spokeswoman Paula Pinho added that the fact that Musk could compare the EU to the Fourth Reich only shows that there is freedom of speech, because even the craziest comments can be published. She also admitted that the EU probably did not win the sympathy of the American entrepreneur by imposing a fine on platform X.

Spokesmen also responded to US Vice President JD Vance's allegations that the fight against X is an attack on American society. – We want to make it very clear: EU rules, whether on services (DSA) or digital markets (DMA), apply equally to all online platforms in the EU. This applies to Asian, European and American platforms alike, Regnier said, calling Vance's accusations “crazy.” – Two sentences are enough to polarize the world and escalate tensions. And hundreds or thousands of sentences are needed to limit these tensions diplomatically, the spokesman said.

In response to the fine imposed on X, the platform blocked the European Commission's advertising account on the website over the weekend.

An EC spokesman admitted on Monday that the account had indeed been blocked, but added that the EC had not used it since 2023 because it did not want to publish paid advertisements on the website. Regnier noted, however, that the European Commission's corporate account on X continues to operate without any problems. – The European Commission uses accounts on 15 social media platforms. In this way, we want to reach citizens and our partners, as well as inform about the work we carry out, he said.

From Brussels Jowita Kiwnik Pargana (PAP)

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