Last Updated on 03/09/2024 by Arun jain
BRUSSELS – Ursula von der Leyen is pushing EU countries to nominate women for the next European Commission to avoid the potential humiliation of fielding a male-dominated team.
Two highly placed sources in the European institutions have highlighted the risk of “embarrassment” for an institution that publicly promotes equality between men and women and holds the position of “equality commissioner”, if Ursula von der Leyen does not reach equality.
They say such a failure overshadows the fact that three of the EU’s most important positions will be held by women: von der Leyen as president of the European Commission, Estonia’s appointment of Kaja Kallas as head of the EU diplomatic service, and Roberta Metsola, president of the European Parliament.
During her first term as head of the Brussels executive, Ursula von der Leyen faced numerous crises, including the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Now Europe’s most powerful female politician faces an unexpected challenge, as she does It forms a team of 26 commissioners From the Member States of the European Union: Achieving Gender Equality. Currently, nine women have been nominated by national capitals, not including von der Leyen herself.
Experts and politicians who agree with German’s request say her commission could prove less collegial and, ultimately, less effective due to the absence of a sufficient number of women around the table.
“Unfortunately, equality between women and men is still considered optional, or something disposable,” laments Jeromine Andolfatto, policy and campaigns manager at the European Women’s Lobby.
A sign that von der Leyen is striving to get as close to equality as possible Belgium said on Monday That he would send the Women’s Commissioner, when Romania accepted to replace its male candidate with a female one.
Three diplomats who spoke to POLITICO said Ursula von der Leyen was pressuring at least five smaller EU countries, including Slovenia and Malta, to nominate women instead of their male candidates. These diplomats, as well as others quoted in this article, were guaranteed anonymity so that they could speak freely about confidential discussions between the Commission President’s office and their governments.
Ursula von der Leyen a Requested Malta To propose extending the mandate of its current commissioner, Helena Daly, instead of sending Glenn Micallef, the man appointed by Prime Minister Robert Abella, according to two European diplomats. But Abella will not change his mind about sending Micallef because “it would undermine his authority”, according to a third EU diplomat.
The fact that the change of candidate is motivated by gender “will not be well received by the government and the Maltese in general”.
“It turned out to be very useful to have a balance between men and women in the college and it shows a lot of foresight to ask for that,” said Vera Jorová, the outgoing Czech commissioner who was von der Leyen’s ally during the previous term. .
Name two: Instructions not respected
Other diplomats, senior EU officials and experts also warned that von der Leyen had created a situation in which national capitals defied her authority by ignoring her calls to send more women to Brussels. In a letter addressed to European leaders, German openly asked them to submit two names for each commissioner position, one man and one woman, instead of just one.
This request appears to have backfired, as most countries refused to comply and sent only one name (only Bulgaria publicly designated a man and a woman).
According to a highly placed European source, von der Leyen suffered from the distrust of member states who did not feel the need to follow his request, and from the lack of public opposition from political leaders in Brussels and plain bad luck.
“It’s not a question of trying to make sense of the member states,” explained one European diplomat from a country proposing a male candidate, on condition of anonymity.
Some diplomats have cited a range of other reasons why countries have not done what von der Leyen asked them to do: coalition agreements that strip the leader of the power to appoint commissioners in domestic policy imperatives, through the simple fact that publicly naming the two candidates is a political insult. The position exposes the unattainable.
“It’s hard to put two names on paper because whoever loses, well, loses and in politics, it gives a bad image,” adds the European diplomat.
Sometimes, according to the latter, the choice of a person to send to Brussels arises from very national considerations: from the desire to “liberate” a party figure to the need to reward someone with a golden job in Brussels, average salary. Commissioners in 2023 had more than 25,000 euros in tax per month (the president, executive vice-president and head of foreign affairs all earn more). In Belgium, for example, the position was assigned to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib Because no other political party wanted to vacate the position for the commission seat in the next government.
“Ultimately, a large number of these appointments are made with a national logic in mind and not a Brussels logic,” analyzed the diplomat.
Another European diplomat suggested that Ursula von der Leyen had support in her efforts to achieve gender balance, but achieving it was her problem.
“Ultimately it is up to von der Leyen to solve this conundrum and put pressure on member states to find more women, persuade them or buy them,” sums up a European diplomat.
Lessons from history
When Ursula von der Leyen assembled her first team of commissioners in 2019, she did not face the same equality challenge, when countries sent more women than this time.
Although the European treaties do not require a gender-balanced team, the issue is increasingly seen as a priority for incoming Commission presidents, since José Manuel Barroso and his ten-year mandate began in 2004.
German was the first to achieve a balance between men and women in the Brussels executive. His predecessor Jean-Claude Juncker had nine women out of a total of 27 commissioners.
A growing risk for von der Leyen is that despite her appeal to capitals and the symbolism of her own re-election, she could preside over the most male-dominated commission since the Juncker era.
“Although I have never considered gender as the sole qualifying criterion, I would find it regrettable [sic] That the next commission will have fewer women than the Juncker commission,” Jorova said.
As pressure mounts on Ursula von der Leyen to finalize her choices, it looks like she’s doing exactly that: tightening the screws on EU member states to offer candidates or feminize their initial masculine proposals. Replaces with proposal.
If she fails, Ursula von der Leyen may have the humiliating task of telling parliament that she has failed to achieve gender balance, just months after making that promise.
His last resort? The hope is that Parliament also interferes with that score in hearings in which it can veto candidates. Last time, he deleted three names from the list before and during the hearing.
This time, at least according to our very senior source, MEPs could object to further nominations, forcing countries to put forward other candidates and potentially more women.
“The EU has a legal obligation to ensure equality between women and men and to implement a gender mainstreaming approach in EU policies. This objective cannot be achieved without equal representation of women in the highest decision-making positions and it is time for Member States to be fully aware of this. ,” concludes Jeromine Andolfatto of the European Women’s Lobby.
Max Griera, Giovanna Coi and Jacopo Berigazi contributed to this article.
This article was first published in English by POLITICO and edited in French by Jean-Christophe Catalon..
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