Hungarian Oliver Varhelji failed to convince the deputies that he is a good candidate for the new enlargement commissioner at the hearing in the European Parliament (EP) committee.
The deputies rejected Varhelji at the first hearing, which means that he will have to answer additional questions in writing in the following days, and a second hearing is possible next week.
Although he repeated several times that as a commissioner he would work independently of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the deputies voted against his approval, with 30 in favor and 36 against.
The decision followed a three-hour hearing in the EP's Foreign Policy Committee on Thursday, when MPs "rebuked" Varhelji regarding his independence from the Hungarian government and Orbán's policies.
The EP statement noted that some have expressed concern about how Varhelji will be able to promote the rule of law and fundamental rights in potential new members if his country has passed several laws in recent years that violate EU treaties.
"Varhelji talks in vain that he will work independently of Orban, nobody in Europe believes Viktor Orban's man." That is why the second candidate for the Hungarian Prime Minister did not pass," said Ronaj Sándor, a representative of the Socialists and Democrats group.
The previous Hungarian candidate, László Tročanji, was rejected by the EP Legal Affairs Committee due to a conflict of interest.
In his address, Varhelji advocated the opening of accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania. "At the same time, we need a more efficient access process and preparations that are focused on faster achievement of tangible results for people in their daily lives," said Varhelji.
Varhelji's rejection calls into question the chances of the new Commission taking office on December 1, a deadline that has already been pushed back by 30 days once.
The candidates of Romania and France for the departments of transport, i.e. the internal market, Adina Valean and Thierry Breton, passed the hearings in the EP committees.
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