Throughout his listening to Wednesday, Várhelyi confronted a number of crucial questions on his stance on ladies’s rights and abortion. He repeatedly stated he’s an “ally” of ladies, however that abortion lays outdoors of EU competencies.
“I’m deeply nervous to listen to a possible well being commissioner say that abortion isn’t a medical query,” Greens MEP Matthieu stated. “He seems unaware or unbothered that numerous ladies are dying for being denied entry to reproductive and sexual well being providers.”
Simply earlier than the listening to, Fee President von der Leyen met with the chair of the Socialists and Democrats, Iratxe García, the chief of center-right European Folks’s Get together (EPP) Manfred Weber, and Renew Europe’s boss Valérie Hayer, an EU official confirmed.
The official stated it was to take inventory “of the hearings in progress.”
Additionally previous to the listening to, Renew floated the concept of stripping again Várhelyi’s powers as well being commissioner. “Várhelyi going simply by means of with competences over vaccines or reproductive rights gained’t be supported by Renew,” a senior Renew official stated.
This concept was not mentioned through the assembly, in keeping with an MEP and a parliamentary assistant current within the room.
MEPs would wish to demand a change of powers within the analysis letter they ship to von der Leyen after assessing Várhelyi’s solutions to the extra questions and making a closing choice on his candidacy.
Extra reporting by Barbara Moens.
