Of the 17 EU capitals that have so far appointed their commissioners, only five (29%) have nominated a woman.
The list of candidates to the next College of Commissioners of Ursula von der Leyen It is predominantly male: only five of the 17 countries that have presented candidates so far propose a woman.
This means that only the 29% of candidates to date are womenwhich represents a first challenge for the president of the Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in her attempt to ensure gender parityduring his second term.
The College is the cabinet that directs the work of the executive arm of the EU and is made up of a commissioner who represents each of the 27 member states of the bloc. Von der Leyen, representative of Germany, had asked the capitals to propose two candidates – a man and a woman– to have room for maneuver when appointing a College balanced between men and women. No Member State has yet responded to that request.
“I want to choose the better prepared candidates who share the European commitment. Once again, my goal will be to have the same number of men and women at the College table,” he declared before the plenary session of the European Parliament in Strasbourg after his re-election in July.
Spain, one of the few countries to present a woman candidate
EU governments have until August 30 to submit the names of their candidates to Von der Leyen, who will begin interviewing candidates this week. He is expected to allocate political portfolios to candidates in time for appointment votes in the relevant European Parliament committees in September and October.
With Von der Leyen herself elected president and the former Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kalla on her way to becoming the head of EU Foreign Policy and one of the vice-presidents of the Commission, the most prestigious positions in the European Executive They are called to be occupied by women.
The other three women candidates come from Croatia, Spain and Sweden. The current Croatian Commissioner, Dubravka Šuica, has been proposed for a new mandate, Spain has presented the Minister of the Environment, Teresa Riberain a bid to secure a high-profile climate or energy portfolio, while Sweden has also fielded a heavyweight in the form of EU Affairs Minister Jessika Roswall.
There is a shortage of candidates
However, the Men dominate the race for commissioner positions remaining. Of the nine Member States that have not yet announced their candidatures, there are few women. According to EU diplomats, Dan Jørgensen, Danish Minister of Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy, is the main candidate proposed by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Miguel Poiares Maduro, former Minister of Regional Development, is also emerging as Portuguese candidate. The Luxembourg Government, for its part, is torn between two male candidates: the current Commissioner Nicolas Schmit, a socialist, and MEP Christophe Hansen, from the centre-right ruling party.
In the six remaining countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Italy, Lithuania and Romania) there are few candidates.
Von der Leyen, on the tightrope
Von der Leyen is the first woman to preside over the executive arm of the EUand has committed to developing a “road map for women’s rights” during her second term, in order to end pay and pension differences between men and womencombat the gender and conciliar violence family and professional life.
But her credibility as an advocate for women’s rights is at stake unless she is able to find a balance on your own team. His outgoing commission was the most equal to date, made up of 14 men and 13 women. In previous legislatures, women have been greatly underrepresentedrepresenting only a third of former president Jean-Claude Juncker’s cabinet between 2014 and 2019.
However, its demand for two candidates representing both sexes not required by lawso it depends on the goodwill of EU leaders.
When asked by ‘Euronews’ about the measures that Von der Leyen could take, a spokesperson for the European Commission responded in a statement: “A couple of weeks ago, the Commission sent the president’s letter to the Member States asking them for the names of the candidates for the position of Commissioner. deadline for the response of the Member States is August 30″.
“We will not comment on individual announcements from Member States in this context,” the spokesperson added. The countries have tried to justify the failure to comply with Von der Leyen’s demand of two names saying that they are selecting the best candidate for the position.
The head of the Irish Government, Simon Harris, declared in July that he would only present former finance minister Michael McGrath, despite take gender parity “very seriously”. Harris said Dublin “does not send its finance minister to Brussels lightly,” meaning the government may be reluctant to put forward another candidate to compete with McGrath, a heavyweight.
