The European Union’s Enlargement Commissioner, Olivér Várhelyi (from Hungary’s Fidesz), was caught in the middle of the latest parliamentary uproar after accidentally calling MEPs “idiots,” while defending Belgrade’s EU aspirations in a heated plenary session, Euronews reports. According to his statement, however, it was just a “misunderstanding.”
“I sincerely regret the misunderstanding around my remark,” Várhelyi’s official statement, published on Wednesday, February 15th reads. The document also explains that the sentence, picked up by an open microphone, was simply taken out of context. “This was linked to a private and ongoing conversation in Hungarian between me and my head of cabinet on a completely different matter,” the statement says.
This is not the first time the conservative commissioner came under fire by liberal MEPs. Last month, several—mainly Socialist—MEPs called for the European Commission to launch an investigation into whether Várhelyi’s policy positions were in breach of the EU executive’s code of conduct. The MEPs who called for Várhelyi’s removal accused him of “deliberately evading and weakening the centrality of democratic reforms and the rule of law in the countries on the way to joining the European Union.”
Várhelyi, however, sees these allegations as part of a wider witch hunt in the EU, aimed against anyone close to Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán. “Accusing me of downplaying the rule of law … How should I put it?” the commissioner said last month, “sounds more like a political game than a real and founded criticism.”
Nonetheless, the liberal MEPs’ mistrust of Várhelyi’s intentions did not change, and set the tone for Tuesday’s plenary session, where the unfortunate incident took place. The debate about whether Serbia was ready for EU accession was part of a Q&A session with MEPs, who asked the commissioner about issues regarding the Western Balkans’ enlargement process, where most countries have already obtained official candidate status to the EU.
Towards the end of the session, Croatian MEP Tomislav Sokol accused Serbia—the largest among the EU aspirants in the Western Balkans—of “meddling” in Montenegro’s internal affairs. Most importantly, he condemned Belgrade’s position on the Russo-Ukrainian war, particularly their decision not to join the EU’s sanctions against Russia.
Serbia’s foreign policy toward Russia has been a thorny issue in Brussels lately, and was mentioned in a Commission report released a few months ago. According to the report, Belgrade’s alignment with the EU’s foreign policy has dropped more than twenty points (from 64% to 45%) since the Russian invasion began.
Serbia’s historically close cultural ties to Russia cast a shadow on its EU accession process, at least in the eyes of MEPs who would want to pressure Belgrade into adopting a foreign policy approach more in line with EU’s. According to the commissioner responsible for enlargement, however, this should not necessarily be the case.
During the debate, Várhelyi told the MEPs that lack of alignment with the foreign policy was not part of the criteria “on the basis of which you can suspend accession negotiations.”
After the debate ended, however, Várhelyi apparently forgot his mic was still on and purportedly called his opponents “idiots,” prompting some MEPs, including Renew Europe’s Guy Verhofstadt, to call for the commissioner’s resignation.
Várhelyi’s statement on Wednesday, however, not only clears up the misunderstanding concerning the remark, but implies that the commissioner does not plan to resign any time soon. “I fully respect all EU institutions, including the European Parliament and its Honorable Members,” Várhelyi said in the document. “I remain available also in the future to exchange with the European Parliament the developments in my portfolio areas in full respect of my inter-institutional obligations and on the principle of sincere cooperation.” It is strategically important that Várhelyi remain active in his position; EU enlargement in the Western Balkans works in Budapest’s best interest since it may significantly reduce illegal migration through the Balkan route.
Even though he apologized, we can expect the scandal around Commissioner Várhelyi to continue in the coming weeks. Hungary itself is the target of constant accusations of violating the rule-of-law, and of criticism for having a neutral position towards the war in Ukraine, which permeates the relationship of Hungarian officials to EU institutions.
