Jean-Claude Juncker was stumbling, walking awkwardly, swaying and losing his balance as he made his way to a gala dinner in Brussels on Wednesday.
The European Commission President was attending the dinner at the NATO summit in Brussels, attended by US President Donald Trump and other world leaders.
Portugal’s PM, António Costa, was at Juncker’s side to help steady the tottering president as he swayed. The presidents of Finland and Ukraine also helped to keep the 63-year-old in an upright position, as did the Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte.
Footage from the summit shows Juncker struggling to make it up some steps and being held by the arm, sometimes by two people, nearly falling backwards at one point.
Juncker looked worryingly precarious as he made his way off a podium and nearly falling over backwards as he is led away by the arm.
Juncker, renowned for his excessive alcohol consumption, previously has stated that he suffers from sciatica that sometimes affects his movements.
Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, said that Juncker had complained of back pain.
'He doesn't have a serious health problem as far as I am aware of but he does have a back problem for some time,' said the Dutch PM, 'It is a problem in a sense that he sometimes has these pain attacks.'
Concerningly, Juncker's office declined to comment on the state of the EC President’s health, citing privacy issues when it is plain to see that Juncker either was suffering from a surfeit of hospitality, or indeed has a back problem that impeded his movement and balance.
Krystyna Pawlowicz, a Polish MP from the ruling Eurosceptic PiS party, wrote a letter in March 2017 to Jean-Claude Juncker, accusing him of “alcohol dependency”.
She also called “distasteful” the fact that Juncker apparently took a nap in the Vatican during the celebration of the EU’s 60th anniversary.
The MP claims that the Commission president’s behaviour “discredits the citizens of the EU member states” and “offends them”.
In light of current media speculation that the EC President was drunk on duty, European Commission spokesman Margaritis Schinas decided to clarify the situation even though Juncker's office had earlier declined to comment on the incident,
“The president on Wednesday night suffered from a very particularly painful attack of sciatica accompanied by cramps. The president has himself publicly stated that this sciatica affects his ability to walk. That was unfortunately the case on Wednesday night. The president wishes to thank publicly Prime Ministers Mark Rutte and António Costa for assisting him during this painful moment. He is taking medication and feels better,” Schinas told a daily briefing of journalists.
