There is an ongoing political dispute in Slovenia that could further obstruct the division of responsibilities among new EU commissioners, such as Ireland’s proposed appointee, Michael McGrath. Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, is in the midst of determining the roles she will designate to the commissioners representing each EU nation, ahead of a supposed disclosure this Tuesday.
An MEP has expressed concerns that the attempts of the opposing Slovenian party to stall Dr. von der Leyen’s decision-making regarding her team of commissioners could harm the nation’s credibility. The commission president was supposed to outline the duties of each commissioner this week, but Slovenia’s replacement of its proposed nominee delayed the procedure.
Tomaz Vesel, Slovenia’s former court of auditors’ president was initially nominated to serve as the nation’s next commissioner. However, Vesel bowed out at the last moment, prompting the government to nominate Marta Kos, a past diplomat and liberal politician at the start of the week.
This alteration has sparked internal political drama in Slovenia. The opposition party has alleged that there was pressure to replace Vesel with a woman. In seeking to compose a gender-balanced board of 26 commissioners, Dr von der Leyen requested member nations to submit two names, with at least one being female. But in majority of the cases, nations submitted only a single nominee. Only nine nations nominated a woman, prompting the German politician to discreetly request those countries who nominated male candidates to propose a second, female nominee.
On Tuesday, in Strasbourg, Dr von der Leyen plans to inform all European Parliament political group leaders about the makeup of her team of commissioners. Yet the formal nod to Ms Kos as Slovenia’s choice is yet to be confirmed by a parliamentary panel, possibly postponing the declaration of the commissioner positions.
The Slovenian Democratic Party (SDS), a conservative party which heads the committee, has so far denied to arrange a meeting to confirm the nomination, voicing worries over Mr Vesel’s unfair treatment. Romana Tomc, an MEP of the opposition party, disputed the blame for the delay in the EU commission portfolio announcements.
“The right-wing member of the European Parliament admonished Prime Minister Robert Golob for acceding to the demands of Dr von der Leyen abruptly, replacing the representative of Slovenia. She asserted that such an act tarnished Slovenia’s image and failed to uphold its sovereignty within the Union.
Vladimir Prebilic, a Slovenian MEP allied with the Greens group, blamed the SDS for exploiting its brief time under the limelight trying to hinder the EU’s progress over a domestic politic dispute. He firmly disapproved of this behaviour.
He called out the opposition party to view the situation in a broader context and not risk tainting Slovenia’s standing on the European platform by engaging in political skirmishes. He further added that the government had self-sabotaged by mishandling the process of commission nominee selection.”