EU Commissioner Guenther Oettinger on Thursday apologised for derogatory remarks about Chinese  -- whom he reportedly said had "slitty eyes" -- and Belgian politicians which may have caused offence.

"I can now see that the words I used have created bad feelings and may even have hurt people. This was not my intention and I would like to apologise for any remark that was not as respectful as it should have been," Oettinger said in a statement.