Will the fate of Kosovo be decided by the content of the hearing or political games in the background?

In the premises of the European Parliament in Brussels, the hearings of the candidates for European Commissioners have begun, which will be held for 26 individuals until next Tuesday. A decisive day for the Slovenian candidate March Kos will be tomorrow, when she will answer questions from MEPs from all political groups for three hours in the morning before the Foreign Affairs Committee. Prime Minister-elect Robert Golob if she passes the hearing successfully, she will become the Commissioner for EU Enlargement and Reconstruction of Ukraine. What pitfalls await her at the hearing and what should she pay attention to?

The role of the political backstage

Marta Kos bi po Janez Potočnik, Violet Bulc in Janez Lenarčič could become the fourth European Commissioner from Slovenia. So far, the hearing has only failed Alenka Bratušekwhich fared very poorly in front of MEPs. They smoothly rejected her at the vote, and then she resigned from the candidacy. In 2014, Slovenia subsequently sent the then Minister of Cohesion, Violeta Bulc, to the game for the position of commissioner, who, after a turnaround, became commissioner for transport. “In principle, commissioner candidates have two months to prepare for the hearing, but I had four days at my disposal. We had to learn very quickly, but I had quality people around me who advised me on the right things. Even before the department was changed, I introduced myself to all heads of parliamentary groups and MPs who have the greatest influence in the field of transport. This was a very important step, because they realized my strengths in competing for the position of Commissioner, which were the result of many years of experience in telecommunications. Preparations for the hearing took place 16 hours a day, with the Directorate of Transport standing by my side. We processed all the chapters, in the meantime I made notes and main points, followed by the hearing, which went well,” remembers Violeta Bulc.

A decade ago, the European Parliament already saw the current Vice-President of the Commission in the position of Transport Commissioner Maroš Šefčovič from Slovakia, but the arrival of Violeta Bulc shuffled the cards. “I had to show a certain amount of knowledge in front of the deputies, they asked me quite demanding questions, but they were not malicious. Everything went correctly, during the intense three and a half hours of questioning, they wanted answers for practically all areas of traffic. It is usually the case at the hearings that it is a test of power in the parliament, which will certainly show its teeth this time as well. Parliament always rejects one or two candidates. In principle, it is known who the weakest candidates are. Not everything depends on the content of the hearing, as the political backstage also plays its role, but if the candidate is sovereign in terms of content and respectful to the parliament, the deputies will generally confirm him as a commissioner,” describes his experience Violeta Bulc and adds that the candidate depends solely on his abilities during the interview and cannot rely on the help of colleagues.

Decisive quality of candidates

Janez Lenarčičwho, as the current commissioner for crisis management, has his hands full with the consequences of natural disasters in Europe, passed the hearing five years ago without complications. At that time, two candidates dropped out due to identified conflicts of interest before the legal affairs committee, and the French candidate failed after the hearing. “However, there were at least three more candidates on the so-called shooting list who had to repeat the hearing or answer additional questions. They were probably saved by an agreement between the main political groups, who reportedly agreed to a ceasefire, and the parliament then approved the entire college of commissioners.”

Lenarčič is convinced that when competing for commissioner positions, substantive knowledge of the topic and the presentation of the individual candidate at the hearing are of decisive importance. “Of course, political games also happen, but you will be hard-pressed to find a case where someone did a very good job at the hearing and then was not successful. A committee hearing is a serious matter. Anyone who takes it with the left hand can quickly be in danger. 20 years ago, hearings were more or less routine, practically all of them passed the parliamentary sieve, but in recent years it has been somewhat different. Even if a candidate does not impress at the hearing, an agreement between the political groups can save him, but I still believe that the quality of the candidate is decisive.” said Lenarčič for Večer, who in 2019 had less than a month to prepare for the hearing before the competent committee.

Olivier Matthys/EPA

Content and political balance

Marta Kos resigned after the turn in the story of the Slovenian commissioner Tomaža Vesel since her candidacy she has been under attack from the opposition SDS and NSi. All five Slovenian MEPs from the People’s Party, the largest political group in the European Parliament, which also includes the president of the commission Ursula von der Leyenopposes her appointment. “Advice for Marta Kos? Above all, it must be respectful of Parliament. It is very important for every candidate to control his ego. The Slovenian candidate should be sincere, original and respectful. He should show knowledge in the field of enlargement and should not avoid answering questions from MPs, because the parliament can quickly become aggressive if MPs think that the commissioner candidate wants to lead them thirsty across water.” says Violeta Bulc.

At the same time, she added that the outcome of Marta Kos’ candidacy will also depend on the dynamics of the preliminary hearings, which take place at the beginning of the week. “It will be necessary to carefully monitor how the parliament will behave towards the candidates of the European People’s Party. It will quickly be seen what the temperature is in the parliament and how the power measurement will take place. At the hearings, the Parliament is always looking for a political balance and the content with which the candidates present themselves. After all, it is a very responsible function, where the essence lies in dialogue and cooperation,” commented the former European Commissioner from Slovenia. Janez Lenarčič added that he believes that Marta Kos will be successful at the hearing: “I know her to be extremely hard-working and I am sure that she will prepare thoroughly and successfully pass the task.”