Why Orbán’s man in Brussels is here to stay — for now

The EU is eager to move on from Viktor Orbán, but there is one part of his legacy that’s likely to continue: his European commissioner.

Health and Animal Welfare Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi is a bona fide Fidesz loyalist who’s been accused of having a spy ring run out of the Hungarian embassy back when he was Budapest’s top envoy to the EU.

But he’s also earned a reputation as a hard-working policy wonk in a town where technocrats run the show — and where the EU executive operates on the principle that commissioners work for the union, not for the capital that sent them.

“He is one of the commissioners who actually reads up on the stuff,” said a European Parliament official, granted anonymity to speak candidly.

There’s also the boomerang factor. A “change of regime,” as Péter Magyar described his landslide victory in Hungary, could also sweep through France next year. The Berlaymont is wary of giving Marine Le Pen any leverage to swap out Executive Vice President Stéphane Séjourné with a far-right National Rally pick.

Four high-ranking Commission officials told POLITICO there had been no internal discussion about removing or sidelining Várhelyi either before or after Sunday’s election.

Hard to fire …

In the wake of his blowout win, Magyar has signaled an intention to clean house, inviting Orbán appointees throughout the Hungarian state to resign or be removed. Still, he has given no indication that he plans a move against Várhelyi. Normally, such interference from a national government would be unthinkable.

During the campaign, however, Magyar publicly accused the commissioner of withholding information about the alleged spy ring run out of Várhelyi’s office during his spell as Hungary’s Brussels envoy between 2015 and 2019. He and Magyar overlapped at the embassy from 2011 to 2015, also counting Várhelyi’s spell as deputy ambassador.

Commission spokesperson Balazs Ujvari told reporters Tuesday “progress had been made” in the spying investigation and said the executive would inform the Parliament of the outcome “once all administrative steps” had been made.

Legally, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has the power to remove Várhelyi. But there is no precedent for sacking an individual commissioner, and it would likely take explosive findings against Várhelyi — of which there is no evidence at this stage — from the investigation to force her hand.

Várhelyi told von der Leyen he was “not aware” of alleged efforts by Orbán to recruit spies in Brussels after the allegations first broke in October.

Várhelyi doubled down when he faced MEPs in January. “Have I been approached by the Hungarian or any other services? No, I have not,” he said in a European Parliament committee meeting. “I had no knowledge of this claim which was made in the press,” he added.

Péter Magyar speaks during a press conference a day after the parliamentary election in Budapest on April 13, 2026. | Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

But Magyar has claimed his former boss “did not reveal the whole truth when he denied this during the official investigation.”

Várhelyi has his enemies in the European Parliament, which has no formal power to fire him but could pile on pressure for him to leave. Daniel Freund, the Green MEP who has been one of Orbán’s most vocal critics in Brussels, said Várhelyi was part of the outgoing leader’s “inner circle” and should have gone “long ago.”

Pressed on whether he would push lawmakers to call formally for his resignation, Freund declined to comment.

… easier to freeze out

Ultimately, whether Várhelyi continues to hold sway in the Berlaymont is largely in his own hands.

According to a commissioner who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, commissioners cannot be removed, but if they start working against their country of origin — in the event, for example, that the government direction changes back home — they can become sidelined and will lose credibility with the rest of the college.

Indeed, if Brussels has learned anything over the years, it’s that a commissioner doesn’t need to be removed to become irrelevant.

Former European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski presents new proposals for farmers during a briefing at the European Parliament Office in Warsaw on March 15, 2024. | Sergei Gapon/AFP via Getty Images

Take Janusz Wojciechowski, Poland’s agriculture commissioner, nominated in 2019 by the nationalist Law and Justice government. When Donald Tusk’s pro-EU coalition took power in late 2023, Warsaw changed course, but Wojciechowski stayed in place and served out his mandate until November 2024.

He had already been cut out of the Commission’s biggest policy battles. From early in von der Leyen’s first mandate, key files, including the Green Deal’s agricultural dimension, were steered elsewhere.

By the end, his role had shrunk to the margins. Meetings happened without him. Decisions moved ahead without his input. What remained was the long tail of the job. He focused on doling out EU subsidies, often with an eye on farmers in his native Poland, and citing farm statistics. He also posted — a lot — on social media, including on topics like road safety that had little to do with his portfolio.

One key difference between Wojciechowski and Várhelyi is that the Hungarian commissioner has been extremely busy. In fact, a lot of people think he’s good at his job.

Várhelyi has moved at a rapid pace, introducing a slew of files aimed at beefing up Europe’s self-sufficiency in medicines production and making the region more attractive to pharma investors.

His efforts to boost European industry have earned him admirers, notwithstanding those on the left who think he’s too friendly to business.

In the end, though, it won’t be his policy record that decides his fate, but whether he can transcend his identity as Orbán’s man.

Clea Caulcutt contributed to this report from Paris.