Welcoming Commissioner Olivér Várhelyi

Tell us about yourself and your background.

I am a Hungarian lawyer and diplomat by trade, with long-standing experience in the EU arena. I come from a Hungarian city steeped in history – Szeged. Szeged is home to two Nobel Prize winners in medical sciences - Szent-Györgyi Albert, winner in 1937 for discovering vitamin C, and Katalin Karikó, who discovered and invented the mRNA vaccine, with which we have managed to get through the COVID crisis. So, from my roots, I have always had an interest in health.

My studies and work brought me across the continent, before settling in Brussels in the early 2000s. I am fortunate to have seen the Brussels policymaking sphere from many angles. I worked as Hungary’s Deputy Permanent Representative and then Permanent Representative to the EU for 8 years altogether and I was the European Commissioner for Neighbourhood and Enlargement in the previous mandate. I have also worked at the European Commission at service-level, as the Head of Unit for Industrial Property Rights in the then DG MARKT. Through these roles, I have worked on politically, economically, and financially sensitive files related to SANTE’s portfolio, such as medical products, pesticides or GMOs.

These experiences, coupled with my extensive career in the Hungarian civil service, give me a unique perspective on things – a perspective I intend to use in my new role. I am proud and honoured that I was designated by President von der Leyen as Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare. I very much look forward to advancing policy in the areas under my portfolio over the next five years. 

As the new Commissioner, what are your main priorities for EU health policy? 

I am a firm believer that the health sector is one where Europe has a competitive edge over other regions of the world. We do not want this to disappear, quite the opposite – we have to strengthen it. We therefore need to step up our game and bolster the European health industry with new technologies. Europe's pharmaceutical and biotech sectors should be at the heart of our competitive European economy. That is why a proposal for a European Biotech Act and completing the revision of the Pharmaceutical legislation are big priorities for me. We need to cut the red tape, to shorten procedures, to diminish costs and to unleash the full potential of our industries. And, most importantly, we need to serve our citizens by creating a strong health ecosystem for the future, bringing the best available treatments to all much faster.

As an immediate priority, I intend to propose a Critical Medicines Act within the first 100 days of this new mandate. I see this – as the title suggests – as critical to boosting the EU's economic security and to ensuring European citizens’ health. The Act can also support innovative manufacturing technologies and can be a useful tool to create market incentives, for example by procurement measures to address market failures in order to ensure higher level of access and security of supply of medicines. 

Preventive health will be another priority in this mandate. We have a very strong Beating Cancer Plan, that has already delivered very good results. But now we need to tackle the biggest killer in the EU –cardiovascular disease. I intend to create a European Cardiovascular Health Plan, similar to the Cancer Plan but even more operational. Cardiovascular diseases have major advantage over most cancers – they are usually preventable and we have more research available. So, we need better and more diagnosis and treatment, including personalised treatments. The European Health Data Space will have a key role to play in this respect.  

These are just a couple of examples of my priorities on health as Commissioner. Ultimately, I want to complete the European Health Union, and lay the foundations of a modernised, competitive, innovative and resilient EU health ecosystem that delivers for citizens.

You are the first Commissioner to have Animal Welfare in your title - what does this mean for you? And what are your priorities in the area of food safety?

I am proud to be the first European Commissioner with Animal Welfare explicitly mentioned in the title – although this is by no means a new topic for the European Commission. We already have a comprehensive set of rules in this policy area. At the same time, I am fully aware of our citizens’ calls that we do more on this topic. I will be focused on finding solutions which respond to citizens' expectations, and which are also economically and financially viable for farmers. It is my strong conviction that Europe must embrace our farmers to produce enough food and guarantee us high-quality local products that are deeply rooted in our culture. We need to have a balanced approach that would include accompanying measures to support stakeholders. 

Regarding food safety, I want to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of our world leading food safety standards, including for imported foods. Food safety standards are a trademark of Europe. They ensure that EU citizens have access to nutritious, safe and high quality food products. My priority is to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of these world leading rules during the coming mandate.

As regards pesticides, I am acutely aware that it is an essential part of the toolbox for farmers to protect their crops, while increasing the availability of viable alternatives is vital to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. In this regard, I would like to carefully consider the availability of alternatives in the context of the decision-making process on the renewal of approval of pesticides.

Finally, on food waste, I intend to work to make food production and consumption more sustainable for our citizens.

I count on the commitment and support of DG SANTE’s team in taking forward the ambitious agenda across the whole portfolio.