BRUSSELS – Ursula von der Leyen is pressing EU countries to nominate women for the next European Commission as she seeks to avoid the potential humiliation of presenting a male-dominated team.
Two EU Officials pointed to the risk of “embarrassment” for an organization that publicly promotes gender equality and the role of “commissioner for equality” if von der Leyen falls significantly short of equality.
They said such a failure risks overshadowing the fact that three of the EU’s most important jobs will be held by women: von der Leyen as president of the European Commission, the nomination of Estonia’s Kaja Kallas as head of the EU’s diplomatic service, and the European Parliament. President Roberta Metsola.
Von der Leyen faced several crises during his first term as head of the European Union’s executive, including dealing with the pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Now Europe’s most powerful politician is facing an unexpected challenge Assembles its team of 26 commissioners From the Member States of the European Union: Achieving Gender Equality. Currently, nine female nominees have been submitted by national capitals, excluding von der Leyen.
Experts and politicians who agree with von der Leyen’s request say her commission could prove less collegial and, ultimately, less effective as a result of not having enough women around the table.
“Unfortunately, equality between women and men is still seen as optional or disposable,” said Jeromine Andolfetto, policy and campaigns officer at the European Women’s Lobby.
In a sign that von der Leyen is pushing hard to get as close to equality as possible, Belgium on Monday When he will send the women commissioner Romania agreed to switch Its proposed male commissioner for female commissioner.
Von der Leyen is pushing at least five smaller EU countries, including Slovenia and Malta, to consider replacing the male candidates they put forward with female replacements, three diplomats who spoke to POLITICO said. The diplomats, like others quoted in this story, were granted anonymity to speak freely about confidential discussions between von der Leyen’s cabinet and their governments.
Von der Leyen has Requested Malta Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abella has proposed extending the mandate of its current EU commissioner, Helena Daly, rather than sending Glenn Micallef, the person proposed, two EU diplomats said. But Abella may not change his mind about sending Micallef because “this would undermine his authority,” a third EU diplomat said.
The fact that the change in candidate would be motivated by gender “will not go down well with the government and the Maltese in general.”
“It has proven to be very useful to have a gender balance in the college and it was very far-sighted to ask for it,” said Vera Jorová, the outgoing Czech commissioner who was von der Leyen’s ally during the previous mandate.
Ignore two name calls
Other diplomats, EU officials and experts also warned that von der Leyen had created a situation in which national capitals appeared to defy her authority by ignoring her pleas to send more women to Brussels. In a letter to EU leaders, von der Leyen openly requested that they submit two names for her consideration, one male and one female, for each commissioner post, instead of just one.
Most countries refused to heed von der Leyen’s request and sent only one name (only Bulgaria publicly nominated one man and one woman).
A high-ranking EU official said von der Leyen suffered from a combination of neglect by member states who did not have to follow her request, a lack of public outcry from politicians in Brussels and plain old bad luck.
“This is not about member states trying to be mean,” said an EU diplomat from the country that proposed the male candidate, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Some diplomats cited a range of other reasons why countries did not do what von der Leyen asked them to do, from coalition deals that take the power to nominate commissioners out of the leader’s hands to domestic political imperatives to the simple fact that public naming Two candidates expose non-jobbers to political insults.
“It’s hard to name two on paper because whoever loses, well, loses and in politics that creates bad optics,” the EU diplomat added.
Sometimes, an EU diplomat said, the choice of who to send to Brussels stems from deeply domestic considerations: from the desire to “get rid” of certain party figures to the need to reward someone with a plum post in Brussels, where the average commissioner’s salary will exceed €25,000 a month in 2023. Higher amounts were tax-free (presidents, executive vice presidents, and heads of foreign affairs all earned more.) In Belgium, for example, the position ended with the minister of foreign affairs. Hadja Lahbib Because no other political party wants to leave the ministerial post for him in the next government.
“Ultimately, many of these appointments are made with a national logic in mind – not a Brussels logic,” the diplomat added.
Another European diplomat added that he supported von der Leyen’s push for gender balance, but that getting there was something she had to solve.
“It is ultimately up to von der Leyen to ‘solve that puzzle’ and convince, persuade or buy member states to come on board with more women,” said a European diplomat.
A history lesson
When von der Leyen assembled her first commission team in 2019, she didn’t face the same challenge because countries sent more women this time around.
While EU treaties do not require Commission presidents to assemble a gender-balanced team, it has increasingly been seen as a priority for incoming presidents dating back to José Manuel Barroso’s 10-year tenure as Commission president, which began in 2004.
Von der Leyen, whose first term began in 2019, was the first president to achieve gender balance in the EU 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 appeals to capitals and the symbolism of her own re-election, she could end up presiding over the most male-dominated European Commission since Juncker.
“Although I have never seen gender as the only qualifying criterion, I would find it regrettable [sic] If there were fewer women than Juncker in the next commission,” Jorova said.
As pressure mounts on von der Leyen to finalize her choices, she appears to be doing exactly that: turning the screw on EU member states to propose female candidates or to replace their initial male proposal for a female candidate.
If she fails, von der Leyen could face the humiliating task of telling parliament she has failed to deliver gender balance, just months after making that promise.
Her last resort? Parliament is expected to reach a score during the hearings on which it can veto the commissioner candidates. Last time, they cut three names from the list both before and during the hearing.
This time, at least, MEPs can claim more scalps, forcing countries to propose alternative candidates and potentially more women, according to a high-ranking official.
“The EU has a legal obligation to ensure equality between women and men and to implement gender mainstreaming in EU policies. This goal cannot be achieved without equal representation of women in top decision-making positions and it is time that Member States fully understand this, ” said Andolfatto of the European Women’s Lobby.
Max Griera, Giovanna Coi and Jacopo Berigazi contributed to the report.
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