Slovenia chooses new commissioner nominee as von der Leyen pushes for more women

BRUSSELS — Slovenia confirmed Marta Kos as its next European commissioner nominee after the previous candidate withdrew his candidacy amid Ursula von der Leyen’s search for more women on her top team, its government told POLITICO.

The move comes after Tomaž Vesel, a former top auditor, dropped out of the process Friday, following a disagreement with European Commission President von der Leyen, he said.

“Unfortunately, President von der Leyen and I do not share the same concept of how the European Commission should work and I have therefore decided to withdraw my candidacy for the good of the Republic of Slovenia,” Vesel said Friday via the Slovenian government.

Von der Leyen has increased pressure on certain countries to switch out male candidates for women in the name of gender balance. Currently, out of the 26 total nominees, 10 are women. (Each of the 27 member countries nominates one commissioner, with the exception of Germany as von der Leyen herself is their commissioner and she was approved by the European Parliament in July.).

Kos, a former ambassador and a former vice president of Prime Minister Robert Golob’s liberal Freedom Party, broke with Golob two years ago after a short stint as a presidential candidate for the party. She reportedly refused to be the commissioner candidate earlier this year, when she was also asked to lead his list for the European election. However, she has now accepted the role, and relations between them appear to be mended.

Kos is Slovenia’s former ambassador to Germany and Switzerland. She resigned as ambassador to Switzerland in 2020 in the wake of complaints by employees at the embassy about inappropriate management there.

She is married to Henri Gétaz, the former secretary general of EFTA, the European Free Trade Association, and is a former champion swimmer.

Nominees for the next European Commission must be vetted by the European Parliament in hearings expected to take place in October. The European Commission is expected to take office on December 1.

Stuart Lau contributed reporting.