Marta Kos has been confirmed as the new European Commissioner for Enlargement. The Slovenian official will succeed Hungary’s Oliver Varhelyi. During her hearing last week, Kos indicated a potential shift in the EU’s approach to the Kosovo-Serbia dialogue. The European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee has already approved her nomination, and next week, the prospective EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas, will also go through her hearing.
Kos’s confirmation follows an extensive hearing process in the European Parliament. Kallas, expected to lead EU diplomacy, is set to answer parliamentary questions on her five-year mandate’s portfolio on Tuesday, November 12. The Kosovo-Serbia dialogue issue is anticipated to hold significant weight during Kallas’s hearing.
Kos, set to inherit the role held by Varhelyi over the past five years, has affirmed her commitment to engaging in the normalization process between Kosovo and Serbia. She has also suggested that the EU’s approach to the dialogue may undergo changes, though any formal shifts must ultimately be approved by Kallas, who will head the process.
These hearings mark a critical period for the European Parliament as it assesses each candidate nominated by EU member states. Altogether, 26 nominees must go through this process, ensuring that each incoming commissioner is fit for the responsibilities assigned to them. The commissioners are nominated on a “one country, one commissioner” basis, with Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission President, as the 27th candidate.
Von der Leyen has already received her confirmation from the European Parliament. The hearings are set to conclude by mid-next week, after which the European Parliament will vote to formalize the new Commission lineup, which will serve until 2029.
It is widely expected that the procedures will conclude on schedule, allowing the new European Commission to begin its work on December 1 of this year.
