Hungary Navracsics Selected EU Commissioner for Education, Culture

Brussels, September 10 (MTI) – Tibor Navracsics, Hungary’s foreign minister, has been selected to serve as EU commissioner for education, culture, youth and citizenship, it was announced on the commission’s website today.

Hungary nominated Navracsics to serve as commissioner in the new European Commission headed by Jean-Claude Juncker in July.

Navracsics, who was appointed as foreign minister of the new Orban government in June, said on Wednesday he found the role picked for him “well-suited”. He said although he had expected a portfolio close to his current ministerial charge — foreign affairs or international relations — this area is close to him, too, given his experience as a university professor and earlier role as justice minister. He said for instance he had launched measures promoting a child-friendly justice system and set up a Hungarian public administration scholarship.

Navracsics announced his candidacy online for one of the European posts on July 30, saying “Difficult job. Great honour.”

As a new commissioner Navracsics can draw on the work of the commission’s culture and education directorate as well as the employment, social affairs and social cohesion directorates and the statistical office Eurostat, the commission’s statement said.

He will also be in charge of liaising with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, the European Centre for the Development of Vocational Training, and the foundation helping to improve work and living standards and the European Foundation for Training.

The ruling Fidesz-KDNP parties welcomed Navracsics’s nomination to the “outstanding post” and said in a statement that his activities would be crucial for the future of young people in Europe. The statement noted that tens of millions of young people in the community were unemployed, whose lives could be changed through targeted schemes.

Government spokesperson Eva Kurucz called the nomination a great success, and added that issues around youth, education and culture were of strategic importance. The spokeswoman called high youth unemployment and low efficiency of education issues among Europe’s gravest problems.