The fate of the European Commissioner-designate for Health and Animal Welfare, Olivér Várhelyi, will depend first of all on how he responded on Friday 8 November to the written questions submitted two days earlier by the European Parliament’s Committees on Environment and Agriculture.
This series of written questions for the Hungarian candidate for the post of Commissioner covers the subjects where what he said during the hearing did not convince a majority of MEPs (see EUROPE 13520/6).
Women’s health and equality. In his answers, he seems to have toned it down a bit concerning ways to improve women’s health, although he remains silent on the right to abortion, which he considers to be a competence not of the EU, but of European countries.
“If I am confirmed as Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare, I will promote women’s rights across my work”, he says, before adding that sexual and reproductive health plays a key role in gender equality and women’s rights. He intends to work with the Commissioner for Equality on the post-2025 Gender Equality Strategy on health issues, including sexual and reproductive health. He pledges as well to support the work of the Commissioner for Equality to promote women’s rights, particularly with regard to their access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, no matter where they live in the EU.
Vaccines. The Hungarian government approved the Russian vaccine Sputnik and the Chinese vaccine during Covid-19. MEPs are asking the Commissioner-designate what he intends to do to “promote the use of EMA-approved vaccines” and combat disinformation in all Member States. He replied that he would be working closely with the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the national authorities to strengthen public confidence in vaccines, in particular by guaranteeing full transparency on new authorisations and post-authorisation monitoring processes.
Valencia. In response to a question on measures to help Spain after the floods, Olivér Várhelyi stressed that the Commission could help the Spanish authorities to access a “supply of medical countermeasures to respond to the rise of infectious diseases resulting from the floods”. The EU stockpile contains tetanus vaccines and other relevant medical countermeasures.
Antimicrobials. In addition, he says that the EU’s objective of reducing the use of antimicrobials by 2030 is attainable, “even if Member States are at different stages and have each adopted targets that reflect their current usage levels”. He also intends to ensure that rules on imports from third countries contribute to reduced use of animal antimicrobials.
Food labelling. Nutrition labelling on the front of packaging is one of the many tools used to inform consumers about the nutritional content of food, says the Commissioner-designate regarding labelling. He stresses that he is committed to consulting all stakeholders “to find solutions to facilitate healthier food choices”.
If he is confirmed in his post, one of his priorities will be to respond to consumer demands for more information on the origin of food, while ensuring that the internal market functions properly.
Animal welfare. Olivér Várhelyi says that he wants to present a proposal to modernise existing European animal welfare standards and, in particular, to follow up on the European Citizens’ Initiative ‘End the Cage Age’. His first step will be to initiate discussions with all the parties concerned, including farmers, to examine various solutions and issues such as transition periods and financial support.
Votes on Monday. On Monday 11 November, the Coordinators of the political groups on these European Parliament committees will assess the responses received and may either decide to validate his candidacy, organise a second hearing, reject his nomination after a vote or restrict the scope of his portfolio.
The MEPs will decide once again to approve or reject his appointment, by a two-thirds majority. If this majority is not reached, the vote could be taken in the relevant European Parliament committees by a simple majority. All MEPs on the European Parliament’s Committees on Environment and Agriculture would be able to vote. In a simple majority vote, the candidacy could be validated, thanks to the votes of the EPP, ECR, Patriots for Europe and Europe of Sovereign Nations.
Link to questions and answers: https://aeur.eu/f/e90
Transcript from the hearing: https://aeur.eu/f/e8a (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)