What Europe’s new enlargement czar, Marta Kos, means for Ukraine

BRUSSELS — Europe’s commissioner nominee set to take charge of the enlargement portfolio is a left-leaning Slovene who is generally supportive of Ukraine. But Marta Kos has also made statements striking a conciliatory tone toward Moscow.

“We must be critical toward Russia, but we must not close our doors toward Russia,” the former diplomat-turned-PR specialist told Zurnal24 in March 2022.

“Slovenia has always had a good relationship with Russia, but under the government of [Prime Minister] Janez Janša we saw a drift away from Russia toward the USA.”

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Tuesday that Kos would be in charge of the membership applications of Ukraine and Moldova, among other candidate nations to the European Union. Given the sensitivity of her job, Kos’s statements about Ukraine are sure to come under scrutiny when the European Parliament grills each nominee in four-hour sessions later this year.

The comments are sure to get close attention in Kyiv and Chișinău, where officials are concerned their applications could languish for years or decades.

The 27-member country EU has opened formal accession talks with both countries and many steps remain before they can become fully-fledged members — and the process is fraught with tricky politics.

While von der Leyen has spoken favorably of Ukraine and Moldova joining, several EU member states are quietly pushing back against plans for enlargement.

Further complicating matters is if the EU grows beyond its current members, internal reforms are in order that are likely to meet resistance because they will touch upon the bloc’s sacrosanct agricultural policy and the structure of the European Commission.

The 720-seat European Parliament will have the ability to put Kos through or reject her after hearing her responses on the matter.

Kos might also find it tough to answer questions about her professional past, including recent allegations of a link to the former Yugoslavia’s secret police more than three decades ago.

More recently, Kos was Slovenia’s ambassador to Germany and Switzerland between 2013 and 2020 and resigned in the wake of complaints by employees at the embassy about inappropriate management.

The ex-diplomat is a “close ally” of Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob, whose party “supports Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression in their country,” according to Slovenian political scientist Alem Maksuti.

A spokesperson for Ukraine’s foreign ministry declined to comment on Kos specifically and added Kyiv would focus on the actions of officials rather than their words.

“We always look at what people do, not what they say. Of course, when there are sayings contradictory to our interests or disrespectful to Ukraine, we react, but our primary goal is to look at actions, not words,” he said.

A former vice president of Golob’s Slovenian Democratic Party, Kos broke with him in a bid to be the party’s presidential candidate. She reportedly refused to be the commissioner candidate earlier this year, when she was also asked to lead his list for the European election but accepted the role once the previous nominee dropped out.