After her reelection for a second term, von der Leyen also said she wanted “an equal share” of men and women in her top team. Slovenia was one of two countries — the other was Romania — to swap a man for a woman.
“So it was both gender equality — but more than that, the profile of the person for the enlargement portfolio, and this is where the new candidate fits,” Golob said, referring to Slovenia being assigned the enlargement portfolio, which includes steering membership talks with Ukraine and Moldova. That process could take years.
“Since the president of the Commission, for various reasons, decided to entrust a larger portfolio to Slovenia, we needed to look for a more fitting candidate for that particular job,” he added.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has forced the EU to completely change how it thinks about enlargement, Golob said.
But he said it was vital that the EU applies the same standards to Ukraine as to other would-be members, warning that Europe had left its south-eastern flank “vulnerable” to Russian influence over recent years.
“We understand that realistically speaking, full membership [for Ukraine] at this stage is not realistic, and yet we want to give them a chance to get closer to us. It’s not a one-step solution,” Golob said, adding that Slovenia is in line with the European Commission’s incremental approach to enlargement policy.