Hungary names EU ambassador as new Commission nominee

The country’s first candidate was rejected by the European Parliament.

The Hungarian government announced late on Monday that it has nominated career diplomat Olivér Várhelyi as its next commissioner after the European Parliament rejected the country’s first candidate.

“It is a great honor and privilege to be nominated as Hungarian member of the Commission!” Várhelyi, currently Hungary’s ambassador to the EU, tweeted.

Speaking with reporters on Monday night, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán said he decided to select a technocrat after his previous candidate, current MEP and former Justice Minister László Trócsányi, was rejected.

“I did not reject Madam President’s request,” Orbán said, referring to incoming Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s demand that Hungary and Romania come up with new names after the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs Committee blocked their original nominees.

Explaining his decision, Orbán said that he could not agree to a scenario where “anyone else, for example the EP, selects among Hungarian politicians instead of the Hungarian people.”

The European Parliament does not have the power to pick commissioners, only to confirm or reject their candidacies.

Várhelyi has worked as a Hungarian civil servant since the mid-1990s, but is considered highly loyal to Orbán. Both Várhelyi and rejected Hungarian candidate Trócsányi have no formal party affiliation.

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