Marta Kos, a former diplomat and presidential candidate, has been confirmed as Slovenia's new candidate for European Commissioner. She received unanimous endorsement by the government on 9 September after the original candidate, former Court of Audit president Tomaž Vesel, withdrew his candidacy last week.

"I personally think she is a very good candidate with the necessary competences. She knows the Slovenian political arena and has been a successful diplomat," Minister for Slovenians Abroad Matej Arčon, the government's spokesman, said after the cabinet session.

Kos, 59, said she was honoured and happy to have been endorsed by the government for the post. Being a "staunch European", she feels a great responsibility towards Slovenia and the EU, she added.

She had been rumoured to be among the top contenders after Vesel announced he was abandoning his bid arguing that based on talks with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen at the end of August he had concluded they had divergent views on the new Commission.

Several media have reported that Slovenia has been strongly pressured by von der Leyen to replace Vesel, partially because he was not to the Commission president's liking, and partially because von der Leyen wants more women on the Commission.

While not directly answering a question as to whether this was demeaning for Slovenia, Arčon said Vesel had "identified the circumstances ... and made it possible for Slovenia to put forward a candidate in due time."

As to which portfolio Kos might get, Arčon said Slovenia expected "a good portfolio" but would not speculate what she might get. Brussels media have reported that Slovenia has been offered enlargement and Arčon said if that was indeed the case "we will be satisfied".

Asked whether there were any assurances that von der Leyen will accept Kos as candidate, Arčon said Prime Minister Robert Golob, who personally took charge of the nomination process, was in regular contact with von der Leyen and was confident that "the candidate will get the green light".

Journalist, diplomat, politician

Kos used to work as a TV journalist, including as foreign correspondent from Germany, before she led the Government Communication Office under the Janez Drnovšek government in 1997-1999. She then worked for the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GZS) and then as a business coach.

In 2013 she was named ambassador to Germany and in 2017 she became ambassador to Switzerland, a post from which she resigned in 2020 due to differences in views with the centre-right Janez Janša government. She then returned to work as a business coach in Switzerland.

Kos returned to the political scene in 2022, when she became a vice-president of Golob's Freedom Movement. She was also the party's candidate for the country's president but withdrew from the race.

She subsequently had a falling-out with Golob and left the party in December 2022 as a sign of support for Tatjana Bobnar, an interior minister who left the government after accusing Golob of meddling in the work of the police.

In this year's EU election, Kos was reported by several media as having been offered to top the Freedom Movement's slate in exchange for a subsequent commissioner post, an offer she turned down.

Asked about that, Arčon said that Kos had "put the interest of Slovenia first" and noted that "you cannot build a future on personal resentment".

The government will now seek a non-binding opinion from the National Assembly's EU Affairs Committee, which is chaired by the opposition. Arčon hopeed the committee would be convened soon enough so that Kos's nomination can formally be submitted to von der Leyen by 11 September, when she was due to unveil the new commission and the distribution of portfolios. But he said Slovenia could also submit the candidate later.

It now seems this will be the case, as the committee chair, Democrat (SDS) MP Franc Breznik, indicated they will likely take a vote on Kos's bid on 13 September. He accused the government of servility, and von der Leyen of "a demeaning attitude towards the Slovenian government".

Echoing the view of his party boss, former PM Janez Janša, Breznik argued that Kos lacked the political and managerial experience required for the post.

The two opposition parties were also critical for not being consulted on the candidate.

Matej Tonin, the newly-appointed MEP and head of New Slovenia (NSi), argued that Slovenia should have nominated two candidates, a man and a woman, from the start if it wanted to contend for an important portfolio.