Jacek Protasiewicz. Photo: wikipedia
Protasiewicz, who is still technically deputy president of the EU parliament, already confirmed last weekend that he will not stand as an MEP in the forthcoming EU elections as a result of the incident.
However, the use of the expression 'Heil Hitler' can result in a three-year prison sentence in Germany.
German prosecutors are investigating the matter after an official complaint was filed by a customs official, who has declared that he was insulted by the MEP.
“I'm generally not afraid of these charges,” Protasiewicz told Poland's TVN24 news channel.
“I didn't propagate Nazism, I didn't make the Nazi salute,” he said.
Protasiewicz, who admitted a fortnight ago that he was under the influence of alcohol after the late February flight from Warsaw to Frankfurt, stressed again on Thursday that the customs official was “an unpleasant type.”
The MEP says he was provoked after the customs official used the command 'Raus' (Out).
Protasiewicz said that the use of the word was “inelegant.”
However, he acknowledged that “as a politician, as a Polish MEP, I should not have let myself be provoked by anyone, even the most unpleasant type, in whatever uniform.”
According to German tabloid Bild, he is also supposed to have asked the customs official whether he had been to Auschwitz.
At present, Protasiewicz still heads Prime Minister Donald Tusk's Civic Platform in the Lower Silesia region.
However, he said on Thursday that he will step down if a majority of Civic Platform members wish him to do so.
“I respect democracy,” he said. (nh)