Between mandate and ambition – Marta Kos as a political factor in Serbia

Marta Kos does not appear to be a politically neutral figure free from personal controversy, writes Prof. Dr Zoran Dragišić.

Prof. Dr Zoran Dragišić is a full professor at the Faculty of Security in Belgrade

EU Commissioner for Enlargement Marta Kos is experiencing a challenging political period. After the parliamentary elections in her home country of Slovenia a month ago, there is a strong possibility that Commissioner Kos’s political opponents will take over the government.

If this happens, it will not necessarily cost her her position, but it will undoubtedly undermine her legitimacy and political credibility.

The “good chemistry” with Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, which outgoing Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob cited as a key reason for nominating Marta Kos as Commissioner, may no longer be enough for her to perform her duties.

In addition to the unfavorable election results in Slovenia, a rather unpleasant episode has resurfaced – one that has followed Commissioner Kos since her candidacy a year and a half ago. She faces accusations, which she denies, that during her career as a journalist she collaborated with the secret service of former communist Yugoslavia, allegedly informing on her colleagues at Slovenian television.

In this context, Marta Kos does not appear to be a politically neutral figure free from personal controversy. The accusations that have followed her since her candidacy, despite her denials, have never been fully resolved politically. For this reason, basic political rationality suggests restraint rather than demonstrative involvement in the political processes of other countries. When someone with such a background chooses to send political signals to candidate countries, the question is no longer what is correct, but why the risk is taken at all and in whose interest.

The ordeal that accompanied her during the European Parliament hearing before her appointment to the Commission resurfaced for Marta Kos in mid-March. Slovenian MEP Romana Tomc (EPP) organized a promotion in Parliament for the book “Commissar” by Slovenian author Igor Omerza, which describes Marta Kos as an active collaborator of the communist Yugoslav secret police. This led to accusations that she lied to MEPs in 2024 when she stated at her hearing that she was never “a collaborator or informant of the secret service of Yugoslavia.”

The Slovenian diplomat and politician can therefore justifiably fear that she is slowly becoming a liability for the European Commission. She will need considerable political skill, as well as luck, to convince President Ursula von der Leyen otherwise.

However, she appears to have misjudged her current position. One of her meetings at the beginning of the week in Brussels, which seemed routine, could become a significant additional political burden for her and for the European Commission.

On Monday, Commissioner Kos met with Vladan Đokić, rector of the University of Belgrade. It was apparently a secondary, protocol meeting, which she documented only with a brief post and a photo on X. However, the meeting was highly political, especially in a field where both the Commission and its members are trying to act with extreme caution.

Commissioner Kos hosted Professor Đokić as a political leader, not as the head of Serbia’s largest university. She certainly knew that, in the eyes of the Serbian public, Rector Đokić has for nearly a year been seen as the leader of a political faction of student street protests for when presidential or parliamentary elections are called in Serbia.

Even if she had not received such reports or had not read the Serbian media – which is part of her responsibility – Đokić himself could have made this clear to her in early April, when he stated he was ready to be a presidential candidate if “students and citizens asked him to do so.” In fact, this public willingness to engage politically was likely his main qualification for securing a meeting with the European Commissioner for Enlargement.

Political wisdom would have dictated the opposite to Ms. Kos. Given Đokić’s clear declaration of entering the political arena, she should have refrained from meeting him. It was especially inappropriate to present the meeting as a discussion with the head of the university, stating that she values his “commitment to defending the autonomy and dignity of the University of Belgrade,” as she posted on X.

With this meeting, Marta Kos strongly supported one political option on the Serbian political scene and sought to invest not only her own credibility but also that of the European Commission. This issue goes beyond the personal political sphere of Commissioner Kos. She involved the authority of the European Commission in the internal political struggles of a candidate country, which is unacceptable.

In doing so, Commissioner Kos further complicated an already sensitive political situation. The core of her role as enlargement commissioner is to remain neutral regarding the internal politics of candidate countries. Only this neutrality allows the Commission to maintain the authority needed to ensure that candidate countries fulfill their obligations in the accession process.

Let us assess the potential damage to the EU from Marta Kos’s recent action and consider the following scenario: In the upcoming parliamentary or presidential elections in Serbia, which will certainly take place within the next year, possibly even sooner, Marta Kos’s guest, Professor Đokić, is defeated, and the current president, Aleksandar Vučić, remains in power. How will Commissioner Kos continue her work and communication with one of the leading candidate countries after having directly promoted the campaign of the unsuccessful candidate? According to research, this outcome is realistic.

Will Marta Kos feel like a loser in the elections in Serbia? In Serbia, a country with which she should have no involvement except to support and help it become a full member of the Union as soon as possible.

Furthermore, how will her public political support for one of the political options, which was also defeated, affect the Commission’s credibility in cooperating with Serbia across various fields?

In this area, the EU already faces communication challenges with Serbia, due to the clearly biased stance of EP rapporteur Tonino Picula toward developments in Serbia and his evident anti-government position.

However, Picula is “only” an MEP, elected by Croatian voters who support his politics, and as long as he is in the EP, he is primarily accountable to them. Serbia ranks low among his priorities, although, given the mandate entrusted to him by the EP, it should not.

Marta Kos does not have that luxury. She was not elected and lacks the legitimacy that comes directly from citizens. She holds office due to the agreement of political elites, which obliges her to remain politically neutral, especially in candidate countries with which she conducts direct business.

The Commissioner for Enlargement is directly harming the European Commission through her political bias in one of the candidate countries. This is especially significant because this Commission has made EU enlargement a key priority and is investing considerable effort and ambition in the process.

There is something almost ironic about how Marta Kos tries to demonstrate political relevance just as that relevance is slipping away. When the domestic political base begins to erode, the temptation to seek authority outside one’s own country becomes apparent. However, Brussels is not a stage for personal compensation.

The role of the Enlargement Commissioner is not to “recognize new leaders” in candidate countries. That responsibility belongs to political parties, voters, and elections. A commissioner who seeks to participate in this process either does not understand their mandate or is knowingly abusing it.

The meeting with Vladan Đokić is not a diplomatic mistake; that would be too mild an explanation. It is a display of political frivolity cloaked in institutional authority. Marta Kos acted as if the European Commission had the right to arbitrate in the internal political processes of a candidate country. It does not. It never has.

It is even more problematic that this is being done without any real political stakes. If Marta Kos were an elected politician with a clear mandate and responsibility to voters, such a move could be seen as a risky but deliberate strategy. As it stands, this is the action of an official who lacks direct democratic legitimacy but tries to produce political effects where there is neither a mandate nor accountability.

This is the most dangerous combination: influence without responsibility.

In Brussels, there is frequent discussion about the “credibility of the enlargement process.” This phrase is often repeated but rarely understood. Credibility depends not on words, but on actions. The actions of Marta Kos demonstrate the opposite of what the Commission aims to project – neutrality, consistency, and institutional discipline.

In a country like Serbia, such incidents are not forgotten; they become points of reference. Every future statement by the Commission about “respect for democratic processes” will be judged against examples like this, and each time it will sound less convincing.

Marta Kos left the role that gave her authority and entered a space where she had none. She tried to act as a political figure when she should have been an institutional guarantor. She started to take sides when she should have remained impartial.

In this context, the problem for Marta Kos is both clear and uncomfortable. The accusations that have followed her for years, which she denies, concern political loyalty and ties to the power structures of the Yugoslav secret police. Today, her own actions raise the same question again, but now without the need for interpretation. When the commissioner begins distributing political capital in a candidate country, it is no longer a matter of perception, but of conduct. And conduct cannot be refuted.

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Caption: European Commissioner for Enlargement, Marta Kos attends a debate on ‘EU enlargement strategy’ at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France, 10 March 2026. The current plenary session runs from 9 until 12 March 2026. EPA/RONALD WITTEK