Following the failure of his previous candidate, Hungary has proposed a new candidate for the future EU Commission by Ursula von der Leyen: the country's current EU ambassador, Olivér Várhelyi. The confirmed Jens Flosdorff the SPIEGEL, spokesman for the future Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.
It is not yet certain that Leyen Várhelyi will also propose to the Parliament and the Council of the Member States. This can only be said after a job interview. According to Flosdorff, an appointment for this is not yet certain, but should take place soon. The Romanian government has already brought alternative names into play. Further details did not mention Flosdorff.
The legal committee in the European Parliament had on Monday for the second time the Hungarian candidate László Trócsányi and the Romanian contender Rovana Plumb rejected because of conflicts of interest. (Read more about the Hearing in the European Parliament here.)
Already after the first rejection at the end of last week, Leyen had phoned Hungary's head of government Viktor Orbán and his Romanian counterpart Viorica Dancila and asked for new candidates, Flosdorff said. It is now expected that both countries will nominate candidates whose integrity and professional competence are guaranteed. The Commission's transition team did not have the resources to carry out in-depth background checks on the candidates - this was the responsibility of the Member States.
It was also claimed by Commissioners that concerns were raised against Plumb and Trócsányi at an early stage. However, the governments of Hungary and Romania insisted on the nominations. The refusals would not be surprising, but would have cost valuable time.
Should there be problems with the new candidates from Hungary and Romania or with the candidates from other countries, this could jeopardize the timetable for handing over the von der Leyen. It will take over the business of the current Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on 1 November.