The EU enlargement policy bids farewell to Olivér Várhelyi with no regrets

Brussels – Opposed by MEPs, unpopular with many of the 27 Member States, and unwelcome even within the Directorate-General he has been supervising sing 2019, the European Union’s enlargement policy bids farewell to Hungarian Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi with no regrets. There is hope that his successor will place the EU interests above national issues.

For the moment, Várhelyi is still on Brussels’ radar, following his reappointment as commissioner by the Hungarian government under Viktor Orbán. Awaiting his hearing in the European Parliament, the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen has already taken him away enlargement portfolio. He has been reassigned to oversee Health and Animal Welfare, an area that, at this historical juncture, is hardly one of the EU’s most pressing political priorities.

In his place, Slovenian Marta Kos has been appointed. While she too will face a challenging hearing in Parliament, the transfer of the EU’s enlargement portfolio from Hungary to Slovenia marks a significant shift in Brussels. The urgency of advancing the enlargement process—especially for countries in the Western Balkans, which have long been waiting to join—is now clear. Von der Leyen seeks reliability and impartiality in dealings with candidate countries, qualities that were notably absent during Várhelyi’s mandate.

Who is Olivér Várhelyi?

A 52-year-old Hungarian lawyer and diplomat, Várhelyi worked at Hungary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs before the country joined the EU, focusing on aligning Hungary with EU law. He later moved to Hungary’s mission to the EU in Brussels. In 2015, he became Hungary’s Ambassador to the EU before being appointed European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement in 2019. Although he was never formally affiliated with Fidesz, the party of Prime Minister Orbán, Várhelyi has always been seen as one of his most loyal allies, both as Ambassador and as European Commissioner.

This controversial alignment with Orbán has angered EU institutions in recent years, given the Commission’s duty to operate independently and impartially, as stipulated by the EU’s founding treaties. For example, Várhelyi has long been suspected of acting as Orbán’s proxy within the European Commission, particularly when it comes to blocking sanctions against Milorad Dodik, the Bosnian Serb leader and close Orbán ally, who is responsible for the ongoing crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Even more troubling, in January 2022, a group of MEPs called for an independent investigation into Várhelyi’s alleged support for the secessionist agenda of the Republika Srpska, which Dodik leads. They accused Várhelyi of “openly colluding with Dodik in the potential breakup of Bosnia and Herzegovina.”

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and Kyiv’s request for EU membership, it became clear that placing the sensitive task of EU enlargement in the hands of Hungary—a country led by a prime minister with a controversial stance on Europe and Russia—could backfire. The EU is now facing the challenge of enlarging to include 10 more countries while also reforming internally. In the past two and a half years, the Hungarian government has tried to block Ukraine’s accession talks, threatened EU unity on sanctions against Russia, and repeatedly obstructed measures aimed at dealing with Dodik’s Republika Srpska and Serbia’s Aleksandar Vučić. This is due to the close ties between the three illiberal regimes, which are destabilising the Western Balkans and beyond.

Tensions with the EU institutions

These concerns were raised again by the European Parliament. In January 2023, the Annual Report on Foreign and Security Policy expressed concerns about “reports that the Commissioner for Enlargement has deliberately sought to undermine the centrality of democratic reforms and the rule of law in EU accession countries.” Just a month later, on 14 February, Várhelyi was caught on a live microphone, unaware that it was still on after his intervention at a plenary session. He was heard commenting: “How many idiots are still left?”—referring to MEPs who had questioned him about strengthening the EU enlargement policy in the Western Balkans. Várhelyi later claimed it was a “misunderstanding,” but the call for his resignation came swiftly.

Várhelyi’s behaviour did not just create friction with the European Parliament. Several internal sources from the Directorate-General for Neighbourhood and Enlargement (DG NEAR) reported discontent with his approach, both in his positions and his working style. The tensions also extended to members of the European Commission. After Hamas’s attack on Israel on 7 October 2023, Várhelyi took the initiative to announce that the European Commission, as the main donor to the Palestinians, was reviewing its entire €691 million development portfolio. This caused irritation within the Commission, with Slovenian Commissioner for Crisis Management Janez Lenarčič having to intervene to clarify that “humanitarian aid to Palestine will continue for as long as necessary.”

Given all these controversies, clashes, and institutional tensions, von der Leyen has decided to strip Hungary of the enlargement portfolio. As Várhelyi bids farewell to his role—whether or not he is confirmed in his new position—few will miss the Hungarian Commissioner who led the EU’s relations with candidate countries. He was, without a doubt, the most disliked, opposed, and unwelcome member of von der Leyen’s Commission.