A right-wing Polish politician, Janusz Korwin-Mikke, 74 representing the region of Silesia has said that women must earn less than men because they are “smaller, weaker and less intelligent”.

He made this known during plenary at the European Parliament during a debate on gender pay gap on Wednesday:

“Do you know which was the place in the Polish theoretical Physics Olympiad, the first place of women, of girls? I can tell you: 800th. Do you know how many women are in the first 100 chess players? I can tell you: not one. Of course women must earn less than men because they are weaker, they are smaller, they are less intelligent, and they must earn less. That is all,” Korwin-Mikke said.

Korwin-Mikke’s comments sparked outrage during the session and prompted the European Parliament to begin an investigation “which could result in sanctions such as a reprimand, penalty or a temporary suspension.”

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Korwin-Mikke is well known for his controversial and sexist views. According toReuters:

He previously denied women the right to vote, claiming they “want to be led by men.” 

In July 2015, he was suspended from parliament after giving a Nazi salute and saying “ein volk, ein Reich, ein ticket,” while mocking the idea to produce a uniform EU transport ticket.

Korwin-Mikke was also harshly criticized by his colleagues and ultimately suspended for 10 days from parliamentary activities and fined €3,062 ($3200) after giving a speech on migrants, describing them as “human garbage,” unwilling to work and only interested in receiving welfare.