President of the European Commission Ursula von der Lajen expects from the future commissioner for enlargement Marta Kos to focus especially on supporting candidate countries in building resilience and readiness on their way to the EU.
This was stated by Ursula von der Leyen in a mandate letter to the Slovenian Marta Kos published on the EC website.
"I would like to entrust you with the role of commissioner for enlargement. Completing our Union is a geostrategic, economic and moral imperative," she said.
Yesterday, the President of the EC presented the future European Commissioners, 40 percent of whom are women, in the European Parliament. Candidates for commissioners will be heard by European Parliament committees in the coming weeks and will need to get the green light from the European Parliament to be elected to office.
Kos is a former Slovenian ambassador to Germany and Switzerland. She started her career as a journalist, and was also the director of the Government's information office and spokeswoman for the Government. She was the vice-president of the Liberal Movement for Freedom, which was led by the Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, and ran for president of Slovenia in 2022, but withdrew from the campaign. Recently, she has been working as a consultant for companies and international organizations.
Slovenia confirmed last week that Kos will be the country's candidate for European Commissioner. It is previous Tomaž Vasel gave up the candidacy.
"You will be responsible for leading the enlargement process in the next key years, building on the recent renewed momentum and developing our relations with countries in the region," said Ursula von der Leyen.
She said that the enlargement process is and will remain entirely merit-based, with each candidate having to be evaluated according to their own progress in meeting all criteria.
"You will work with countries that have the perspective of EU membership to prepare them for accession, encouraging and supporting the necessary structural reforms. You will work with candidates and potential candidates to ensure that this process is accompanied by a stronger and more sustainable political commitment from all participating countries," said Ursula von der Leyen.
Von der Leyen expects Kos to pay special attention to the rule of law and fundamental values, which will remain the cornerstone of EU enlargement policy.
"You will continue to work on the reconstruction of Ukraine... In a broader sense, you will encourage regional integration, good neighborly relations, reconciliation and the resolution of bilateral disputes," said Ursula von der Leyen.
Kos will replace Magar in the position of commissioner for enlargement Oliver Varhelji who is a candidate for Commissioner of Animal Health and Welfare.
The new EC, after the green light of the European Parliament, was supposed to take office on December 1, a month later than planned.
Von der Leyen, in addition to the 20 commissioners, proposed six executive vice-presidents: Teresa Ribera (Spain), Hena Virkunen (Finland), Stefan Sejurne (France), Kaja Kalas, Roksana Minzata (Romania) and Rafael Fito (Italy).
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