Hungary’s candidate to become the next neighbourhood and enlargement commissioner made a renewed push Monday to alleviate concerns about his independence from Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

“I will neither be bound nor influenced by any statement or position of any Prime Minister of any country or any other representatives of any government,” Olivér Várhelyi wrote in answers to members of the European Parliament’s committee on foreign affairs, which were obtained by POLITICO.

Besides the U.K., Hungary is the last country to not have a Commission candidate approved yet by legislators. For the European Commission to be voted into office during the European Parliament’s plenary on November 27, a Hungarian candidate will first need to win the body’s support.

MEPs from the committee last week refused to give Várhelyi a green light, instead asking the longtime diplomat, who currently serves as Hungary’s ambassador to the EU, to answer additional questions in writing.

The decision came after some MEPs, particularly from the Socialists and Democrats group, raised concerns about the candidate’s independence. Critics accuse Orbán of meddling in the Balkans and maintaining an overly close relationship to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Some members of Parliament said they were particularly concerned about a speech made by Orbán in Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, last month, where he appeared to pledge Várhelyi’s assistance to the Hungarian government’s Turkish and Azerbaijani allies.

“Hungary is currently fighting to ensure that, in this European government, Hungarians are given the portfolio of enlargement and neighbourhood policy,” the prime minister said. “If we manage to secure this portfolio, we will have close cooperation with Azerbaijan on the issue of Eastern partnership, and with Turkey on the issue of membership talks. If we manage to secure this portfolio, we will gladly assist you in furthering your endeavours.”

In his written answers, Várhelyi distanced himself from the Hungarian leadership’s foreign policy positions.

“The EU is a key trade partner of Azerbaijan, provides support to economic diversification and promotes reforms to improve the business climate. We also have a mutual interest in energy cooperation. However, I will not shy away from clearly addressing the human rights situation in Azerbaijan and raise relevant issues, e.g. political prisoners and freedom of assembly and speech, both publicly and directly with the Azerbaijani authorities at the highest levels,” the Hungarian candidate wrote.

“The same applies to Turkey. Turkey is an important partner for the EU and we have a strong interest in cooperating effectively with Turkey. However, this will not prevent me from giving unambiguous messages on issues such as the serious backsliding on rule of law and fundamental freedoms, the illegal drilling in the Mediterranean or the military incursion in Syria,” he wrote.