Tomaž Vesel, former President of the Court of Audit, has withdrawn as a candidate for European Commissioner. Vesel’s withdrawal was accepted by Prime Minister Golob, who said it was due to differences of opinion between him and Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the future functioning of the European Commission.
“I ran with sincere intentions for the benefit of Slovenia. Unfortunately, President von der Leyen and I do not share the same views on the functioning of the European Commission, and I have therefore decided to withdraw my candidacy for the good of the Republic of Slovenia. I wish Slovenia a good and influential portfolio at last, because I believe that among the candidates, we were and will be the most competent individuals for the job,” Vesel believes.
“The Slovenian government’s decision to bow to pressure from Brussels and to withdraw at the last minute an already confirmed candidate for EU Commissioner is only proof that the Golob government is not capable of sovereign decision-making. Appointing candidates according to Brussels’ dictates bodes ill for the future protection of Slovenia’s interests,” MEP Romana Tomc commented on the withdrawal.
Jelka Godec, leader of the Slovenian Democratic Party (Slovenska demokratska stranka – SDS) parliamentary group, wrote: “Vesel has been dismissed. Like Bešič Loredan. Thrown over the shoulder.”
We recently wrote about Tomaž Vesel’s difficult path to the post of European Commissioner. As you now know, the President of the European Commission did not favour him because of the sexual combinatorics and appetites of the European Socialists.
Today, we have received exclusive information, and Vesel (according to our source) had his “arms twisted” and told to resign. He could be replaced by Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, who fits both the gender and the political orientation criteria. But look out, a new name has emerged – Marta Kos.
Marta Kos would satisfy the gender criterion, but not the political criterion. Namely, at the European level, the Freedom Movement party (Gibanje Svoboda) is part of a liberal, not a socialist, political family. As our source reveals, Fajon does not enjoy full support in the Freedom Movement, which is why Marta Kos’s name has started to appear.
Kos had already left the Freedom Movement party some time ago, saying that it was “no longer her party.” She explained her resignation to the media as a direct support for former Interior Minister Tatjana Bobnar.
SDS President Janez Janša also commented on the recent developments: “Since the European People’s Party has decided not to reject the European Commission candidates in the European Parliament, the European Commission President is now formally requesting the government to send her a female candidate now. The coalition is already in session. Marta Kos is also competing with Tanja Fajon.”
The final decision will likely be made early next week. The government is expected to decide on a replacement or an additional candidate if Vesel does not resign as early as Monday, and the Committee on EU Affairs will be deciding on the issue on the following day, Tuesday.
Interference in national sovereignty
But there is a wider political background to the whole story. Commissioners-designate are appointed by the Member States, not by the President of the European Commission. Her initial call to the Heads of State to appoint two candidates, a man and a woman, as well as the story we are uncovering in this article, and, of course, Commissioner Věra Jourová‘s visit to the Constitutional Court, point to the European Commission’s increasingly brazen encroachment on the competencies of the Member States.
Ž. K.
