Várhelyi obtained a Master of European Legal Studies at Aalborg University, Denmark, in 1994, and a Law degree at the University of Szeged, in 1996. In 2005 he passed the bar exam.[1]
Careeredit
Várhelyi started his career in the Hungarian public administration in 1996 at the Ministry for Industry and Trade. He then moved to the Foreign Affairs Ministry, where he was tasked with alignment with the EU acquis. From 1998 to 2001 he was chief of cabinet of the head of the legal unit of the ministry. He then moved to Brussels at the Hungarian mission to the EU, as legal counselor and then head of legal service until 2006, after Hungary's EU accession.[2]
For two years Várhelyi then served as head of the EU law department at the Hungarian Ministry of Justice. From 2008 to 2011 he briefly served as head of unit at the European Commission, in charge of industrial property rights at the Directorate General Internal Market and Services.[2]
He then moved back to the Hungarian foreign service, service from 2011 onward as deputy head and then from 2015 head of the Permanent Representation in Brussels, with the rank of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.[1] In his role as Ambassador to the EU, he was considered highly loyal to Orbán, despite having no formal party affiliation.[3] Despite being deemed highly intelligent and extremely knowledgeable, his style has been described as "incredibly rude", with "an abrasive leadership style that has included screaming, yelling and swearing at staffers", as well as adopting a more combative approach in ambassadors' meetings than other permanent representatives.[4]
In 2019 Várhelyi was appointed by Hungary's PM Viktor Orbán to the post of European Commissioner from Hungary to the von der Leyen Commission, after the European Parliament had rejected his first appointee, László Trócsányi. He was entrusted with the portfolio of European Neighbourhood and Enlargement. [3][2] His appointment was greeted by long-standing Orbán allies, including Serbia's President Aleksandar Vučić and Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik.[4] It was decried by several observers and enlargement experts, among other reasons for him not upholding criteria on democracy and the rule of law with regards to possible EU accessions.[5][6] In his Parliamentary hearing, Várhelyi did not gather two thirds of votes, thus being subject to an additional round of written questions from MEPs.[7]
In his asset declaration, Várhelyi declared ownership of a 5035 m2 farm in Szentendre, a 160 m2 family house in Szeged with a 586 m2 garden, and a 57 m2 apartment in Budapest. He also declared ownership of a BMW from 1992 and a Lexus RX from 2018.[8]
Varhelyi generated controversy on 15 February 2023 for calling fellow MEPs "idiots" during a hearing on the western Balkans.[9] Due to this incident, other MEP's demanded Varhelyi's resignation.[10]
He generated controversy again on 9 October 2023 by announcing via social media that all EU aid to Palestinians had been frozen. Four hours later his colleague Commissioner Janez Lenarcic made a contradictory announcement via social media stating that "EU humanitarian aid to #Palestinians in need will continue as long as needed."[11]
Referencesedit
^ ab"Olivér VÁRHELYI" (PDF). 5 October 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^ abc"Olivér Várhelyi" (PDF). www.commissioners.ec.europa.eu. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
^ ab"Hungary names EU ambassador as new Commission nominee". POLITICO. 1 October 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
^ ab"Hungary's 'incredibly rude' Commission pick". POLITICO. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
^"BiEPAG questions for the EU Commissioner-designate in charge of Enlargement - Olivér Várhelyi". BiEPAG. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^"The Wrong Man in the Wrong Place | Heinrich Böll Stiftung | Brussels office - European Union". eu.boell.org. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^"Hungarian Commission candidate blocked by Parliament committee". POLITICO. 14 November 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
^"CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ANNEX 1 - DECLARATION OF INTERESTS | Olivér Várhelyi" (PDF). 4 November 2019. Retrieved 17 November 2019.
^Liboreiro, Jorge (15 February 2023). "Outrage as Enlargement Commissioner is caught calling MEPs 'idiots'". Euronews.
^"EU commissioner called MEPs 'idiots.' Now they want him fired". POLITICO. 15 February 2023. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
^O'Carroll, Lisa (9 October 2023). "EU freeze of Palestinian funds sparks diplomatic row". The Guardian.
External linksedit
Media related to Olivér Várhelyi at Wikimedia Commons
olivér, várhelyi, native, form, this, personal, name, várhelyi, olivér, this, article, uses, western, name, order, when, mentioning, individuals, born, march, 1972, hungarian, lawyer, diplomat, european, commissioner, neighbourhood, enlargement, from, hungary,. The native form of this personal name is Varhelyi Oliver This article uses Western name order when mentioning individuals Oliver Varhelyi born 22 March 1972 is a Hungarian lawyer and diplomat and European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement from Hungary in the von der Leyen Commission after the rejection of Laszlo Trocsanyi by the European Parliament Oliver VarhelyiVarhelyi in 2023European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and EnlargementIncumbentAssumed office 1 December 2019PresidentUrsula von der LeyenPreceded byJohannes HahnPersonal detailsBorn 1972 03 22 22 March 1972 age 51 Szeged HungaryPolitical partyIndependentFidesz Affiliated Other politicalaffiliationsEuropean People s PartyChildren3EducationAalborg UniversityUniversity of Szeged Contents 1 Biography 1 1 Studies 1 2 Career 2 References 3 External linksBiography editStudies edit Varhelyi obtained a Master of European Legal Studies at Aalborg University Denmark in 1994 and a Law degree at the University of Szeged in 1996 In 2005 he passed the bar exam 1 Career edit Varhelyi started his career in the Hungarian public administration in 1996 at the Ministry for Industry and Trade He then moved to the Foreign Affairs Ministry where he was tasked with alignment with the EU acquis From 1998 to 2001 he was chief of cabinet of the head of the legal unit of the ministry He then moved to Brussels at the Hungarian mission to the EU as legal counselor and then head of legal service until 2006 after Hungary s EU accession 2 For two years Varhelyi then served as head of the EU law department at the Hungarian Ministry of Justice From 2008 to 2011 he briefly served as head of unit at the European Commission in charge of industrial property rights at the Directorate General Internal Market and Services 2 He then moved back to the Hungarian foreign service service from 2011 onward as deputy head and then from 2015 head of the Permanent Representation in Brussels with the rank of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary 1 In his role as Ambassador to the EU he was considered highly loyal to Orban despite having no formal party affiliation 3 Despite being deemed highly intelligent and extremely knowledgeable his style has been described as incredibly rude with an abrasive leadership style that has included screaming yelling and swearing at staffers as well as adopting a more combative approach in ambassadors meetings than other permanent representatives 4 nbsp Varhelyi greeting Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg 16 September 2022In 2019 Varhelyi was appointed by Hungary s PM Viktor Orban to the post of European Commissioner from Hungary to the von der Leyen Commission after the European Parliament had rejected his first appointee Laszlo Trocsanyi He was entrusted with the portfolio of European Neighbourhood and Enlargement 3 2 His appointment was greeted by long standing Orban allies including Serbia s President Aleksandar Vucic and Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik 4 It was decried by several observers and enlargement experts among other reasons for him not upholding criteria on democracy and the rule of law with regards to possible EU accessions 5 6 In his Parliamentary hearing Varhelyi did not gather two thirds of votes thus being subject to an additional round of written questions from MEPs 7 In his asset declaration Varhelyi declared ownership of a 5035 m2 farm in Szentendre a 160 m2 family house in Szeged with a 586 m2 garden and a 57 m2 apartment in Budapest He also declared ownership of a BMW from 1992 and a Lexus RX from 2018 8 Varhelyi generated controversy on 15 February 2023 for calling fellow MEPs idiots during a hearing on the western Balkans 9 Due to this incident other MEP s demanded Varhelyi s resignation 10 He generated controversy again on 9 October 2023 by announcing via social media that all EU aid to Palestinians had been frozen Four hours later his colleague Commissioner Janez Lenarcic made a contradictory announcement via social media stating that EU humanitarian aid to Palestinians in need will continue as long as needed 11 References edit a b Oliver VARHELYI PDF 5 October 2015 Retrieved 17 November 2019 a b c Oliver Varhelyi PDF www commissioners ec europa eu Retrieved 15 May 2023 a b Hungary names EU ambassador as new Commission nominee POLITICO 1 October 2019 Retrieved 15 May 2023 a b Hungary s incredibly rude Commission pick POLITICO 3 October 2019 Retrieved 15 May 2023 BiEPAG questions for the EU Commissioner designate in charge of Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi BiEPAG Retrieved 17 November 2019 The Wrong Man in the Wrong Place Heinrich Boll Stiftung Brussels office European Union eu boell org Retrieved 17 November 2019 Hungarian Commission candidate blocked by Parliament committee POLITICO 14 November 2019 Retrieved 15 May 2023 CODE OF CONDUCT FOR MEMBERS OF THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION ANNEX 1 DECLARATION OF INTERESTS Oliver Varhelyi PDF 4 November 2019 Retrieved 17 November 2019 Liboreiro Jorge 15 February 2023 Outrage as Enlargement Commissioner is caught calling MEPs idiots Euronews EU commissioner called MEPs idiots Now they want him fired POLITICO 15 February 2023 Retrieved 16 February 2023 O Carroll Lisa 9 October 2023 EU freeze of Palestinian funds sparks diplomatic row The Guardian External links edit nbsp Media related to Oliver Varhelyi at Wikimedia Commons Political officesPreceded byTibor Navracsics European Commissioner from Hungary2019 present IncumbentPreceded byJohannes Hahn European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement2019 present Incumbent Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Oliver Varhelyi amp oldid 1179911816, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
