With the American elections and the triumphant return of Donald Trump to the White House, the parliamentary hearings of the future European commissioners, which have been held since Monday, November 4 in Brussels, have gone completely unnoticed. However, MEPs have already heard and confirmed fifteen of the twenty-six commissioners who will constitute the college of the second Commission chaired by Ursula von der Leyen.
Hungarian Oliver Varhelyi did not immediately get the green light from deputies on Wednesday afternoon, November 6. Appointed by the Hungarian nationalist prime minister, Viktor Orban, a member of the far-right group Patriots for Europe – chaired by Jordan Bardella, leader of the National Rally -, he did not gather two-thirds of the votes of the members of the health commissions. and agriculture from Parliament, which needs to be confirmed. However, his opponents also failed to muster two-thirds of the votes to eliminate him. He will therefore have to answer written questions before MPs re-examine his candidacy from Monday 11 November.
On the eve of the meeting of the European Political Community, then informal European Council, organized in Budapest by the Hungarian Prime Minister on Thursday 7 and Friday 8 November, liberal, socialist, environmentalist and radical left groups wanted to send a clear political signal to Viktor Orban, Donald Trump’s first European supporter. They do not want this candidate to serve as Commissioner of Animal Health and Welfare. And this even if this portfolio remains relatively modest and has a very low budget, although it has held, since 2019, a much more important position of commissioner in charge of neighborhood policy and enlargement.
Women’s and LGBT rights
Being familiar with Parliament, the commissioner-designate had prepared himself professionally and knew his new files like the back of his hand. However, politically, it took him more than three hours and the interrogation of one of the youngest members of the assembly, Emma Fourreau (La France insoumise, La Gauche group), to apologize to the MEPs after having treated them like idiots. . during a parliamentary session in February 2023. He reported that he had already apologized at that time, but assured that he was « happy to present again [s]My apologies here today.”
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