Tussle in Slovenia over nomination of Marta Kos as EU commissioner. Approval, scheduled for today, is delayed

Brussels – The nomination of Marta Kos as the new candidate for EU commissioner for Slovenia is a no-go in Ljubljana. Amid controversy, the meeting scheduled today (Sept. 13) to give her the green light has been postponed. This puts in doubt the already postponed meeting next Tuesday in Strasbourg, where Ursula von der Leyen should present the structure and portfolios of the new College of Commissioners to the European Parliament group leaders.

According to local media reports, the president of Slovenia’s Parliamentary Commission for European Affairs, Franc Breznik, did not convene the meeting of the body that is to rule on Kos’s nomination because he wanted to see the reasons for the withdrawal of the first candidate indicated by the government, Tomaz Vesel. Breznik reportedly asked for access to the official statement on the withdrawal of his candidacy and sent a letter to the president of the European Commission asking for further explanations.

It is a problem for von der Leyen, who will have to justify the pressure on the Slovenian government to replace Vesel’s candidacy because of divergent views that emerged during a conversation with the candidate and, more importantly, to reduce the significant gender gap in the incoming College. Before the government in Ljubljana can officially notify Brussels of a new candidate for European commissioner, Breznik’s parliamentary committee must give a non-binding opinion on the candidacy. But the deputy from the Slovenian Democratic Party, of which former Prime Minister Janez Janša is leader, is threatening a stalemate that would cause embarrassment in Brussels.

Paradoxically, a party affiliated with the European People’s Party, von der Leyen’s political family, is blocking Kos’s nomination. Janša’s party seized the opportunity to embarrass liberal Prime Minister Robert Golob, accusing him of succumbing too quickly to the will of the European Commission president. At this point, in Strasbourg, the EU leader could limit herself to presenting the structure of the College and the various portfolios but without being able to award the names of the candidates.