Marta Kos confirmed as the next EU Commissioner for Enlargement

The hearing of the Slovenian candidate for European Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos has concluded in Brussels. Her absolute priority, as she stated, is to support Ukraine and resist Russian aggression. She highlighted a larger and reformed EU as a strategic necessity.

The hearing ended with applause from the MEPs. It proceeded smoothly. Marta Kos successfully defended herself. She will now first appear with the committee chairman David McAllister before the media representatives. Political groups in the committee will prepare their assessments. Then their coordinators will meet to decide whether the candidate meets the requirements.

The EPP supported Marta Kos, said Matej Tonin, who comes from the strongest center-right EPP group and participated in the meeting where the candidate's performance was evaluated. He is also satisfied with Marta Kos's substantive answers on enlargement. However, he pointed out her unresolved past.

»EU enlargement is like a red thread in my life. I want to bring focus and energy to the enlargement process,« was the opening sentence of the Slovenian candidate. Right at the beginning of her presentation, she emphasized that it is the EU's duty to be a close ally of Ukraine. »Resisting Russian aggression is my priority,« added Marta Kos, thus rejecting all previous criticisms of her alleged Russophilia. »Enlargement is today a historic opportunity to achieve peace and prosperity across the continent,« concluded Marta Kos in her introductory presentation, addressing the Foreign Affairs Committee in three languages – Slovenian, German, and English.

In her opening speech at the hearing, Kos also used sports terminology: »EU enlargement is a marathon, not a sprint.« The candidate's steps should be based on achievements and progress without shortcuts. She emphasized that special importance will be given to judicial reforms and the rule of law. She quoted the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, who said that enlargement is a catalyst for EU reform. This is a major issue, as without adjusting the functioning of EU institutions and decision-making processes, a larger enlargement will be difficult to implement.

The biggest challenges on the way to the prestigious position in the European nomenclature will be posed to Marta Kos by European MPs from the opposition SDS and some political allies from the sovereigntist political group Patriots for Europe and the far-right European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR).

But the candidate is currently responding confidently. The coordinator of the center-right EPP Michael Gahler asked her about the geopolitical dilemmas of enlargement and their gradual integration into the EU, including the specific inclusion of candidates in the mobile network roaming system or the SEPA payment system. Marta Kos reiterated that enlargement will be based on the merits of the candidates. However, she said she would address the areas where candidates could gradually integrate into the EU.

The coordinator of the second-largest political group S&D Nacha Sancheza Amorja was interested in whether she would defend all EU democratic standards in the enlargement processes. »This is at the core of all my efforts. European values are important; it's not just about the economy or geographical proximity. It's about the question of what kind of Europe we want. The entire process of EU integration is based on values. Without values, it all makes no sense, as we are the only region in the world that still defends fundamental values such as freedom and equality,« she replied.

European Parliament PHOTO: Johanna Geron/Reuters

Kinga Gál from Hungary's Fidesz (Patriots for Europe) asked the candidate how she would continue the work of Commissioner Olivér Várhely when the Western Balkans advanced on the path to the EU. Marta Kos assessed that in the next term, one or two candidates could complete the process. She specifically mentioned Albania and Montenegro. The Hungarian also wanted to know how she would reconcile her advocacy for more decision-making by qualified majority with the EU's contractual basis, which requires consensus. The candidate for commissioner replied that consensus should be maintained at the beginning and end of the accession process, but it is not most practical to keep it in the intermediate stages.

Polish Adam Bielan, coordinator of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) political group, asked the candidate how she envisions Ukraine's integration process in the coming years and what the main obstacles are on its path to the EU. »Ukraine has introduced new dynamics into the entire enlargement process. Enlargement is now an EU priority because of Ukraine, which is the first candidate country at war. The EU has so far invested 118 billion euros in Ukraine's accession to the EU. Additionally, I will strive to attract the private sector to invest in Ukraine's reconstruction.« To Georgia, another country in Russia's immediate neighborhood, she sends a message not to lose hope in the integration process.

»I will not accept that a candidate country that meets all the conditions gets stuck at the end of the path,« Marta Kos replied to a question from MEP Ilhan Kyuchyuk. She explained that she would work a lot with member states. This should prevent blockages from arising.

»I was never an informant for the UDBA«

Kos sharply denied ever being an informant for the UDBA, which was – predictably – one of the questions, but it came earlier than expected: »It is very important to clear this up once and for all. If I am confirmed as a commissioner, let me tell you that integrity is extremely important to me.« Ilhan Kyuchyuk from the Renew political family, to which Marta Kos also belongs, somewhat surprisingly asked about the accusation against the Slovenian candidate that she collaborated with the Yugoslav intelligence service. This tactically preempted and partially disarmed MEP Milan Zver, who was expected to raise the question later in the hearing.

»These are false information. Since my nomination, I have read many false things about myself. I take them seriously. I never collaborated, I was never an informant for the former Yugoslav intelligence service. Thousands of people are on these lists. Integrity is very important to me, so I do not want to be accused of things based on lies.«

Zver's attack on Kos through Kučan

The first Slovenian MEP to ask the candidate a question was Milan Zver (SDS) from the EPP, which was expectedly sharp and strongly domestically politically intoned. He avoided the direct question about collaboration with the UDBA. Zver reiterated that the SDS party does not support her, not only because of her political past but also because of her political present.

He accused her of coming from the extreme part of the Slovenian left-wing politics, which includes Milan Kučan and Zoran Janković, both supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin. From this, Milan Zver derived the question of how the Slovenian candidate could fully support Ukraine on its path to the EU.

»I belong to no one, just a little to my husband, who is accompanying me today. I am confident that I will be able to perform the duties of a commissioner excellently. I have 35 years of work behind me, serving the Slovenian state and advocating for Slovenian interests. My integrity is evidenced by the fact that I received one of the highest state awards in Germany. I am confident that I will be a good commissioner. The fact that Slovenia got the enlargement portfolio is one of the best things that could have happened to us,« Marta Kos replied.

Former Croatian Foreign Minister Davor Ivo Stier, who comes from the EPP, asked the candidate a substantive question about whether she would use the levers available to her on Serbia's path to the EU to reward pro-European forces and stop those from the so-called Serbian world, which is a copy of the »Russian world« in destabilizing the Western Balkans. The answer was quite general; Marta Kos reiterated that the EU must insist on respecting European values in the enlargement process.

Marta Kos is the candidate of the Robert Golob government for European Commissioner for Enlargement. PHOTO: Jože Suhadolnik/Delo

Kos protected by McAllister

Hungarian András László, a member of the Patriots political group and an MEP from Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's Fidesz party, accused Marta Kos of being a disguised autocrat who collaborated with the UDBA in the previous regime and transformed into an ostensibly democratic politician during the transition.

After this accusation, the chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee David McAllister (EPP) intervened, protecting Marta Kos from personal disqualifications. Kos again denied the insinuations that she was an informant for the former SDV. This was already the fifth parliamentary question on this topic.

Even Matej Tonin could not resist asking about the UDBA and the undemocratic nature of the previous regime. He was interested in the consequences of the fact that lustration was not carried out in Slovenia. Matej Tonin (NSi/EPP) also asked Marta Kos how she would specifically design a campaign to prepare the French and Dutch public to support enlargement. She replied that they would first determine the state of affairs with the services of the European Commission, member states, and candidates.

The fourth Slovenian MEP to ask a question to the likely future Commissioner for Enlargement was Vladimir Prebilič (Vesna/European Greens). He focused on relations between Serbia and Kosovo in light of statements by the new American President Donald Trump regarding the potential exchange of territories between the two countries. »What will happen in January, we will see. But it is time to rely on what Europe can and should do, not on what others will do. The exchange of territory is not an option!« the candidate was resolute. Some messages should be general, others specific to individual countries. The enlargement campaign should also involve well-known voices, influencers.

MEP Marjan Šarec pointed out that the accusations about the UDBA were brought into the discussion by the president of the largest opposition party Janez Janša. He added that Janša is the only party president who was a member of the (communist) party. He asked the candidate how she would ensure that member states do not exploit the accession of candidates to pressure them. Marta Kos pointed out that during her time as commissioner, bilateralization, the introduction of bilateral issues into the accession process, would not happen.

Constructive Nemec

The last Slovenian MEP to speak was Matjaž Nemec (SD/S&D), who has strongly supported Marta Kos's candidacy since her nomination, at some points even more than in the Freedom Movement party that proposed her. He asked four questions, all substantively constructive. »We expect Bosnia and Herzegovina's leadership to fulfill the last conditions to move from Dayton to Brussels and start accession negotiations,« Marta Kos emphasized in her response.

»She didn't convince me,« assessed Romana Tomc (SDS) after Marta Kos's hearing. She said many questions remained unanswered. She assessed that political groups are maneuvering and that the main battle will be next week when decisions will be made about the executive vice-presidents of the European Commission.

However, Prime Minister Robert Golob congratulated Kos for what he called an excellent presentation at the hearing. »The area of EU enlargement entrusted to her will be one of the key policies of the new European Commission composition,« he added.

For Marta Kos to pass the hearing, she will need the support of the coordinators of the groups in the European Parliament, who together have at least two-thirds or 51 out of a total of 79 members. If they are not satisfied with her performance, they can also send her additional written questions or invite her to an additional hearing. However, observers of the events and previous hearings of candidates for European Commissioners do not expect this scenario.

From Marta Kos's circle, it is heard that in recent weeks she has managed to change the perception of her candidacy within the Brussels bubble. After being assigned the enlargement portfolio, the Brussels bubble bulletin Politico wrote that Marta Kos is among the five candidates who could fail the hearing.