Olivér Várhelyi is the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement. This means that he oversees a) relations with states that border the EU and b) the accession process of prospective new member states. Yesterday, the Prime Minister of Georgia stated that he was called by an EC Commissioner, who had communicated a death threat to him. Last night, Varhelyi claimed that his warning to the Prime Minister of Georgia—that an assassination attempt might be made on his life, along the lines of what happened to Slovakia’s Prime Minister Robert Fico—was taken out of context. Varhleyi’s explanation can be evaluated on its own; however he stands out, amongst officious bureaucrats, as one who appreciates the fine art of bullying and threatening. Georgia’s Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze would have been well aware of who he was dealing with.
Varhelyi’s known reputation for thuggery and intimidation buttresses Kobakhidze’s report that he had been threatened. Three different Hungarian officials provide similar descriptions. One former colleague reported on Varhelyi’s history of creating an atmosphere of “emotional terror” of his subordinates. Another says that he, “depending on his mood swings, can get very nasty.” A third says that he is a “ruthless” diplomat with a reputation for “looking’ for conflict,” even thriving on it.
This hunt for “conflict” in a field of rather tame diplomats, may uniquely suit Varhelyi for a job that puts him at the frontlines of grabbing countries on Russia’s border into the fold of the EU. One infamous example of willingness to go aggressively “out of the box,” was his pre-emptive drive to cut off Gaza from aid. On Oct. 9, 2023, in the tense situation after Hamas’ terrorist assault, and Israel’s lockdown of Gaza, Varhelyi announced, in a Monday afternoon post on X, that “all payments” from the EU to the Palestinian Authority were “immediately suspended” and “all [EU] projects” for Palestinians were “put under review. There can be no basis for business as usual. As the biggest donor of the Palestinians, the European Commission is putting its full development portfolio under review, worth a total of €691m.”