Slovenia nominates Tomaz Vesel for European Commissioner

Ljubljana: The Slovenian centre-left government on Friday nominated Tomaz Vesel, a former head of the national Court of Audit, as its candidate for European Commissioner.

Head of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen is expected to begin talks with candidates from all European Union (EU) member states next month, after which she will assign their areas of responsibility. The commissioners, who serve a five-year term, must also receive approval from the European Parliament.

Vesel, 57, served as president of the Slovenian Court of Audit from 2013 to 2022 and was a supervisor for the International Football Association (FIFA) from 2016 to 2021, Xinhua news agency reported.

Despite von der Leyen's request for EU members to each nominate two candidates, including one woman, Slovenia has chosen to put forward only one candidate.

Slovenia's outgoing European Commissioner, Janez Lenarcic, is currently in charge of crisis management.