'How many more idiots are there?' – Hungarian EU Commissioner at the EP

Hungarian EU Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi's microphone was left on during Tuesday's session of the European Parliament, so after one of his answers, everyone could hear him say in Hungarian: “How many more idiots are there?”

The EU Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement was answering MEPs' questions on the EU's enlargement into the Western Balkans. Várhelyi was responding to a question posed by Croatian MEP Tomislav Sokol, and after taking his seat, he forgot to switch off his microphone and said "How many more idiots are there?", presumably referring to the other MEPs.

After the meeting, Hungarian opposition party Demokratikus Koalíció (Democratic Coalition) issued a statement calling for Várhelyi's resignation, stressing that his comment is completely alien from the functioning of the European Parliament. "The Democratic Coalition calls for the immediate resignation of Olivér Várhelyi, and if he refuses to resign of his own accord, we expect the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, to fire him immediately," they wrote. They added that the case will be reported to the European Parliament and the President of the European Commission.

Update: The Commissioner apologized

We contacted Olivér Várhelyi's chief of staff regarding the case and while we didn't receive a response, the Commissioner has since issued a statement of apology, in which he says that he “sincerely regrets” the misunderstanding around his remark at the EP’s 14 February 2023 plenary session. He explains:

“This was linked to a private and ongoing conversation in Hungarian between me and my Head of Cabinet on a completely different matter, which was taken out of context. I apologize for any possible misunderstanding around that.”

He also reiterated that he fully respects “all the EU institutions, including the European Parliament and its Honourable Members”, and “remains available in the future for exchange with the European Parliament” on the developments in his portfolio areas in full respect of his inter-institutional obligations and of the principle of sincere cooperation.

An investigation against Várhelyi has already been initiated

On 18 January, the European Parliament voted on an evaluation of the implementation of the European Union's foreign and security policy for the past year, one of the points of which was that Várhelyi was deliberately seeking to "circumvent and undermine the central importance of democratic and rule of law reforms in the countries looking to join the EU", and therefore the Parliament has launched an inquiry against the Hungarian Commissioner with the European Commission.

At the time, Fidesz MEP Kinga Gál called the "political attack" on the Hungarian commissioner "undignified", saying that Várhelyi's professional record is outstanding and that his statements represent the official position of the EU. Commenting on the adopted document, Gál said that "activist-style reports from the EU Parliament, typical of NGOs, are detrimental to the EU's foreign policy as a whole".