… easier to freeze out
Ultimately, whether Várhelyi continues to hold sway in the Berlaymont is largely in his own hands.
According to a commissioner who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, commissioners cannot be removed, but if they start working against their country of origin — in the event, for example, that the government direction changes back home — they can become sidelined and will lose credibility with the rest of the college.
Indeed, if Brussels has learned anything over the years, it’s that a commissioner doesn’t need to be removed to become irrelevant.
Take Janusz Wojciechowski, Poland’s agriculture commissioner, nominated in 2019 by the nationalist Law and Justice government. When Donald Tusk’s pro-EU coalition took power in late 2023, Warsaw changed course, but Wojciechowski stayed in place and served out his mandate until November 2024.
He had already been cut out of the Commission’s biggest policy battles. From early in von der Leyen’s first mandate, key files, including the Green Deal’s agricultural dimension, were steered elsewhere.
By the end, his role had shrunk to the margins. Meetings happened without him. Decisions moved ahead without his input. What remained was the long tail of the job. He focused on doling out EU subsidies, often with an eye on farmers in his native Poland, and citing farm statistics. He also posted — a lot — on social media, including on topics like road safety that had little to do with his portfolio.