After struggling with what EU representatives said were sciatic nerve issues at the NATO summit last week, EU commission president Jean-Claude Juncker asked Wednesday that the public stop speculating.

In a video, the 63 year-old Luxembourger could be seen struggling to walk during last week's summit in Brussels. He later even had to be transported in a wheelchair.

The footage drew a lot of attention across the globe, with some suggesting that Juncker was drunk.

"I had issues with my sciatic nerves last Wednesday", Juncker explained in front of the press. "In addition to this, I had heavy cramps in my legs", he continued. "I have health problems, but they concern no one but me", Juncker stated unequivocally. He expressed his amazement at how many people took such a keen interest in his well-being.

After the incident, the right-wing populist Freedom Party (FPÖ) in Austria, who form part of the current coalition government there, demanded Juncker's resignation. Juncker responded by saying that he expects "more respect".

Jean-Claude Juncker's sciatic nerve issue

The international press has expressed concern about Juncker's apparent health problems.

After Juncker's behaviour during the NATO summit last week, the European news platform "Politico" recently released an image of himsitting in a wheelchair, taken just moments after he needed to be helped off the stage.

The image, released on Wednesday, shows Juncker being brought to the NATO summit dinner through a side-entrance of the building.

The same Politico article cited Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte, who told Belgian news outlets that he is not aware of any grave illnesses that Juncker might suffer from, but that he has had painful back-aches for a long time.

Juncker himself stated during a visit to the Irish parliament last month that he had problems with the sciatic nerves in his legs. He pointed out that the issues were a result of a severe car accident he was involved in in 1989, after which he was in a coma for a while.

Last week was not the first time that Juncker had to be supported while climbing or descending stairs.

The EU commission's explanation

After footage of the commission president's apparent malaise made the rounds on the internet, EU commission spokesperson Margaritis Schinas explained the situation during a press conference on Friday.

He denied any allegations of drunkenness and told the press that Juncker had had an acute sciatic nerve crisis during the NATO summit. Schinas also explained that it wasn't the first time that Juncker had suffered from this affliction.

Schinas also thanked the Dutch and Portuguese prime ministers for helping and supporting the unstable Juncker. After the incident, Juncker took some medicine and was soon feeling better again.

When a journalist asked Schinas whether Juncker could have been mixing pain killers and alcohol, he replied that he did not know the answer to the question. However, Schinas reassured people that Juncker would be working hard again this week, as he has done since he started out in politics as a young man.