Court dismisses Farage appeal over Van Rompuy fine

(BRUSSELS) - A European court announced on Monday that eurosceptic MEP Nigel Farage had lost an appeal against a fine imposed by the European Parliament for calling EU President Herman Van Rompuy a "damp rag."

The European Union's General Court ruled that Farage was too late in lodging his appeal over the 2,980-euro fine ($3,910) imposed when he said during a parliamentary debate that then newly-installed Van Rompuy had all the charisma of a "damp rag" or a "low-grade bank clerk."

UK Independence Party standard-bearer Farage's March 2010 tirade became an Internet hit with more than a million views on YouTube.

In a legal notice posted online on Monday, the Luxembourg-based court said the action was dismissed and ordered Farage "to bear his own costs and to pay those of the European Parliament."

"I shall now weigh up my options of appeal," Farage said in a statement, maintaining that there should be "freedom of speech of all elected members" in the parliament and "not just for supporters of the EU's political union."

Farage stirred EU controversy again in February with Nazi jibe over German policy towards bailed-out Greece.

A former metals trader in London and now a popular political pundit on British television, Farage's party secured a million votes in Britain's last general election.