The commissioner's hearing, lasting three hours, showcased his thorough preparation and experience.Continue reading
Hungarian EU Commissioner-designate Olivér Várhelyi has received the approval of the European Parliament’s committee to become a member of the next European Commission, Fidesz MEP Csaba Dömötör announced in Brussels.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday evening after the coordinators of the relevant committees of the European Parliament voted in favor of the Hungarian Commissioner-designate, Csaba Dömötör said that Olivér Várhelyi is an experienced, competent, and committed member of the European Commission. “He has proven this in the past five years as Enlargement Commissioner, and he proved it when he spent hours answering MEPs’ often personal questions. Olivér Várhelyi was not taken in hand. It was one of his best, if not his strongest performances,” he explained.
Fidesz MEP Csaba Dömötör holding a press conference on the outcome of the hearing of the European Commissioners’ candidates. Photo: MTI/Purger Tamás
The Fidesz MEP believes that there were political reasons behind the attempts to block the approval of Olivér Várhelyi’s mandate. “Since they could not get hold of him with questions, they did it with a political deal,” said Csaba Dömötör. He explained the details:
The European People’s Party (EPP) had already made a deal with the left-wing groups before the hearing that the Hungarian Commissioner-designate should not be allowed to pass in the first round. This was part of the pressure against Hungary.”
Dömötör said it was telling that while the MEPs in the political pact “obliged” Várhelyi to answer extra questions, they did not even bother to consider the answers that the Hungarian Commissioner-designate had sent them within 24 hours. “This also shows that contrary to the rules and expectations, they did not look at the suitability and the task to be solved, but at the possibility of exerting pressure,” he pointed out.
If all the commissioner-designates receive the support of the EP’s committees, the European Parliament could approve the whole College of Commissioners at next week’s Strasbourg session, he informed the press.
Várhelyi has been responsible for enlargement and neighborhood policy for the past five years as Hungarian EU Commissioner. If approved by the European Commission, he will head the portfolio for health and animal welfare.
Kinga Gál, Fidesz MEP, congratulated Várhelyi via social media. “The decision not to approve him already in the 1st round was clearly a politically motivated decision, subjecting the whole process to political pressuring,” she wrote, adding, “Várhelyi is a well-prepared, experienced and competent candidate, proved by his performance in the last 5 years and during his hearing.”
After several weeks of circus, Olivér Várhelyi has been approved to become a member of the next @EU_Commission
The decision not to approve him already in the 1st round was clearly a politically motivated decision, subjecting the whole process to political pressuring.…
— Kinga Gál (@kingagalMEP) November 20, 2024
Via MTI, Featured image: MTI/Purger Tamás