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Jul 29, 2024 · Várhelyi's stint in Brussels has been marred by a string of controversies, which are set to resurface when he faces the Parliament's scrutiny. His checkered history includes: January 2023:...
- Jorge Liboreiro
A controversial mandate. Varhelyi's position in Brussels has been marred by a series of controversies, which will resurface when he faces parliamentary scrutiny. January 2023: Parliament demands an "independent and impartial investigation" to determine whether Varhelyi breached the Commission's code of conduct.
- From EU Matters to EU Matters
- Orbán's Apologist Has Been Replaced by A Mediator of His Will
- As A Former Member, He criticised The Commission, Where He Became A Leader
- Orbán Put A Target on His Back Even Before His Appointment
- Politico: Várhelyi and His Cabinet Softened The Report on Serbia
- They Asked For An Investigation in Vain
- He Regrets – Not The Statement, But The Misunderstanding
- Removing Him Could Backfire
- The Commission Accepted Várhelyi's Explanation
According to his CV, Olivér Várhelyi has been working with EU issues in the Hungarian administration or in the European Commission itself for practically his entire career, starting as a trainee in 1995 at the Ministry of Industry and Trade and gradually working his way up the ranks. In 2001, before Hungary joined the EU, he became a legal adviser ...
He switched to the Hungarian representation to the EU in 2011, first as its second-in-command and then in 2015 as its head. The role of an "EU embassy" is to represent the member state in the EU Council. Officially, it's the relevant ministers who vote in different configurations depending on the subject, but the preparation of the country's positi...
Staff at the Permanent Representation of Hungary complained to Politicoabout his crude management style, which included shouting, yelling and swearing. One of them said he was "incredibly rude to his subordinates", while another cited swearing, shouting and "emotional terror". "He's not an easy man to deal with," one official described him, althoug...
But Várhelyi was in trouble before he was even made commissioner – and not through any fault of his own. Orbán promised Turkey and Azerbaijan at the 2019 meeting of the Turkic Council that if Várhelyi won the seat in charge of enlargement and neighbourhood policy, "we would be happy to be at your disposal to help your ambitions". Viktor Orbán's all...
This suspicion did not die during his work as Commissioner. In 2021, in an interview to Politico, an EU diplomat called Várhelyi who follows the script of his bosses in Budapest, "keeps in with authoritarian leaders" and does not deal with rule of law issues. Several MEPs voiced similar criticism to the newspaper, which quoted Commission sources as...
The European Parliament finally called for an inquiry into the Hungarian commissioner in January this year (the motion for an inquiry was passed with 357 votes in favour, 180 against and 95 abstentions) because, according to the body, he "deliberately seeks to circumvent and undermine the central importance of democratic and rule of law reforms in ...
It was in this situation that Várhelyi's remark on idiots exploded. He was taking part in a routine debate in the European Parliament, where he was answering Croatian MEP Tomislav Sokol on what he was doing about Serbia interfering in the internal affairs of other Balkan countries and being on good terms with the Russians. Immediately after his rep...
The threat is not entirely empty. The European Parliament can ask the Commission President to have a commissioner resign,who must consider this and, if he or she refuses, an explanation must be given to the MEPs. But the EP cannot directly force a single member to resign. Ultimately, he or she could even have the entire European Commission resign, ...
European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer stressed on Wednesday that the Commission President expects the Commissioners to show the utmost respect for the EU institutions and their members and that the Commissioners should refrain from any comments that could be interpreted as insulting. Commission President Ursula von der Leyen acknowledged Várhely...
Sep 17, 2024 · Olivér Várhelyi, Tuesday's surprise pick for the health and animal welfare portfolio, is a sharp but “incredibly rude” loyal supporter of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, known to terrorize staff, according to one former Hungarian official.
- Rory O’Neill
Sep 17, 2024 · In the wake of the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023, Várhelyi unilaterally announced that "all payments" to the Palestinian authorities would be immediately stopped by the EU. The EC...
- Darragh Murphy
Jan 18, 2023 · One of the points in the draft text, already approved by the EP's foreign affairs committee, is a serious attack on the European Commission's commissioner for neighbourhood policy and enlargement, Olivér Várhelyi.
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Oct 3, 2019 · Várhelyi would face the challenge of convincing legislators that he could be a credible judge of democratic standards in the western Balkans and a neutral interlocutor with countries that have difficult ties with Russia.
