SARAJEVO, (Patria) - After requesting an investigation last January against European Enlargement Commissioner Oliver Varhelyi over alleged support for Milorad Dodik and his separatist aspirations, members of the European Parliament repeated that request at this week's session, during which they also asked Brussels institutions to impose sanctions on the President of the Republika Srpska entity.
“To regain trust in the Balkans, a credible and impartial enlargement commissioner is of key importance,” said European Parliament member Tineke Strik on this occasion, commenting that the silence of the European Commission, to which the request was addressed, has been “deafening.”
The initial request by parliamentarians in January 2022 was based on a document that leaked to the public in late 2021, according to which Varhelyi and Milorad Dodik, then a member of the BiH Presidency, allegedly agreed on a roadmap for the withdrawal of Republika Srpska from key institutions at the state level of BiH, following conclusions adopted in the National Assembly of RS on December 10, 2021.
The Commission was asked to assess the alleged moves of Commissioner Varhelyi, in accordance with the obligations and code of conduct applicable to members of the European Commission.
At yesterday's session, the European Parliament, in its adopted Report on EU foreign policy, again called on the Commission “to launch an independent and impartial investigation into whether the conduct and policies of the Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement constitute a breach of the Code of Conduct for Commissioners and the Commissioner's obligations under the Treaties.”
As EUObserver writes, Varhelyi, a Hungarian diplomat, is accused of close cooperation with “troublemakers,” including Milorad Dodik and Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic “in a way that is contrary to EU interests but in line with Hungarian national policy and hard-right values.”
The Brussels media outlet also notes that Dodik has taken an even “more toxic” stance towards the EU, awarding Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this month.
“But in the meantime, Hungarian Prime Minister and head of Varhelyi's political party in his home country, Viktor Orban, has been trying to deepen ties with pro-Russian leaders in the region. Orban last year donated 35 million euros of Hungarian taxpayers' money for an economic development program in BiH to help Dodik get re-elected,” Agnes Vadai, shadow defence minister in the Hungarian opposition party Democratic Coalition, told EUobserver.
The EU Enlargement Commissioner is also credited with cooperating with “Orban's friends” in Turkey and Israel.
“After three years of work, there is serious reason to believe that the Commissioner (Varhelyi) is following Mr. Orban's plan,” Thijs Reuten, a Dutch member of the European Parliament, said on Tuesday, as reported by EUObserver, adding that a commissioner who supports secessionists cannot be allowed to rage in candidate countries.
More than 400 MEPs supported the report this week, and over 300 voted for an amendment by the Socialist group calling for an investigation into Varhelyi.
As EUObserver reports, the Commission has so far not commented on the request, and Varhelyi's spokesperson did not respond to an inquiry.
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