MEPs delay confirmation of Orban's commission pick citing concerns over women's health

euronews (in English)

It’s not over yet for Orbán’s pick as EU Commissioner: His confirmation has been postponed as he failed to impress MEPs, slipping on reproductive and sexual rights.

Transcript

00:00The Hungarian Commissioner-designate, Oliver Varhely, did not pass his first hearing at

00:06the European Parliament.

00:08He failed to convince the Social Democrat, Green and Liberal lawmakers.

00:13But rather than having to sit through another hearing, he will be tested with new written

00:17questions.

00:18Among other issues, the Commissioner-designate for Health and Animal Welfare was asked to

00:23take a position on abortion, but he evaded the question.

00:27Abortion is a question that is more of a constitutional and human rights question than

00:33a medical question.

00:35And not only that, but it is also more of a question for member states.

00:40There is no EU competence when it comes to abortion.

00:46But the sharpest attacks on the candidate came in relation to the policies of the Orbán

00:50government.

00:51As a member of the governing party, many MEPs do not trust him.

00:55And he was reminded that he once called the whole Parliament idiots, for which he later

00:59apologized.

01:01Not a Commissioner-designate who calls MEPs idiots, as you did, perhaps because you did not

01:06support that the European Parliament qualifies Hungary as an electoral autocracy, because

01:11your regime sits on the independence of justice and slanders public freedoms.

01:15The very possibility of your nomination must sound like an alarm in all of Europe, even

01:19more so after your morning congratulations to Donald Trump.

01:22My question is simple.

01:23Do you intend to manage women's health and animal welfare as Viktor Orbán manages

01:27human rights in Hungary?

01:28Oliver Varhely has until Monday to answer the written questions.

01:31And his candidacy will then be decided by the Committees for Agriculture and for the

01:36Environment.

01:37So far, the Hungarian candidate is the only one who did not receive the green light from

01:42the Committee after his hearing.

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