Hungary's commissioner-to-be grilled over loyalty to Orban

"As a commissioner from the day I am elected, I will be acting in a completely independent way, take no instruction from any government or institutions, […] and I will be pursuing the EU line and only the EU line," he said.

Several MEPs called on Varhelyi to distance himself from Orban, who has close ties to Russian president Vladimir Putin. Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has raised concerns if Varhelyi would follow EU interests in neighbourhood policies.

Hungary is also under an EU probe over the rule of law and democratic backsliding, provoking questions whether a Hungarian commissioner for enlargement could credibly demand judicial independence and fight against corruption in EU-membership hopeful countries.

During the hearing, Varhelyi defended his independence, arguing he had worked as an EU civil servant in the commission - before Orban came to power - when he had acted on behalf of EU interests without interference.

"I have already been working in an independent way as a EU civil servant I intend to deliver the same approach," he said.

Varhelyi also said he would defend the EU position against any government.

Responding to centre-left MEP Tonino Picula (S&D), Varhelyi said the EU has clear rule of law criteria that accession countries in the Western Balkans need to meet, and he does not intend to change those.

Green MEP Ernest Urtasun called on Varhelyi to specifically distance himself from Orban's recent comments that he would help Turkey and others in their relations with Europe if Hungary gets the enlargement portfolio.

Varhelyi repeated his line on working for the EU and the EU alone, adding that he will not "not accept any interference" from any government.

Lawmakers also asked about how he could stand up to Russian influence in the region given Hungary's close ties to Moscow, but Varhelyi stuck to his line on working for the EU.

Austrian MEP Andreas Schieder asked Varhelyi about North Macedonian's former prime minister Nikola Gruevski, who had been convicted of corruption and fled his country with the help of Hungarian diplomats and was then given asylum by Budapest, evading justice.

Varhelyi did not address the issue, saying the decision to grant asylum belongs to member states' competence and it is not part of his portfolio.

Balkans, Turkey, Ukraine

On Turkey, Varhelyi said the EU needs to have a "full reflection" in relations, despite clear interests on migration and customs.

He said that the bloc needs to address "negative developments in rule of law and human rights, provocative and illegal drilling in Mediterranean sea, and military intervention in Syria". He said Turkey was clearly moving away from EU values and norms.

On Ukraine, Varhelyi said he wished to do everything to integrate the country into as many EU policies as possible, including investments and infrastructure, pledging support for the country's sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.

"Our goal should be to create stability and security in [the] eastern neighbourhood," he said.

Varhelyi said he would continue to defend the proposal to open accession talks with North Macedonia and Albania, which was prevented by France and others at the EU leaders' summit in October.

"I don't think the whole enlargement framework needs to revise," he said, referring to France's wish to reform the entire process before starting talks with new countries. "There is no binary choice between going deeper and wider," he said.

He added that as commissioner he would intensify work on judicial independence, fight against corruption in those countries to alleviate the member states' concerns.

Varhelyi said if the EU does not assume its responsibility in the Western Balkans region "others will take our place", without going into specifics.

"The Western Balkan accession prospective must be credible, it is in our geopolitical interest," he said.

He said that in five years, he want to see peace between Kosovo and Serbia, full visa liberalisation for Kosovo, "very much advanced" accession negotiations with North Macedonia and Albania, and Serbia very much ready to join the EU.

The political parties' representatives in the committee will decide on Varhelyi's confirmation, who is the second Hungarian commissioner-designate, after Laszlo Trocsanyi was earlier rejected by MEPs for a conflict of interests.