Von der Leyen pressures EU countries
to swap women in as commissioner picks.
International news Desk
According to global times news agency Europe,Ursula von der Leyen is piling pressure on EU countries to nominate women for the next European Commission as she seeks to stave off the potential humiliation of presenting a male-dominated team, The global times Europe media informs. Two EU officials pointed to a risk of “embarrassment” for an institution that publicly promotes gender equality and has a “commissioner for equality” role if von der Leyen falls significantly short of parity. Such a failure, they said, risked overshadowing the fact that three of the EU’s most important jobs will be held by women: von der Leyen as European Commission president, Estonia’s nomination of Kaja Kallas as the head of the EU’s diplomatic service, and European Parliament President Roberta Metsola.Von der Leyen stared down multiple crises during her first term as the head of the European Union’s executive, including tackling a pandemic and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Now Europe’s most powerful politician is facing an unexpected challenge as she assembles her team of 26 commissioners from the European Union’s member states: achieving gender parity. Currently, nine female nominees have been submitted by national capitals, excluding von der Leyen herself.Experts and politicians who agree with von der Leyen’s request say her Commission could prove to be 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 as something disposable,” said Jéromine Andolfatto, policy and campaigns officer at the European Women’s Lobby.
In a sign that von der Leyen is pushing hard to get as close as possible to parity, Belgium on Monday said it would send a female commissioner while Romania agreed to switch out its proposed male commissioner for a female one.Three diplomats who spoke to POLITICO said that von der Leyen was pressuring at least five smaller EU countries, including Slovenia and Malta, to consider replacing the male candidates they’ve put forward with female replacements. The diplomats, like others quoted in this story, were granted anonymity to speak freely about confidential deliberations between von der Leyen’s cabinet and their governments.
Von der Leyen has urged Malta to propose extending the mandate of its current EU commissioner, Helena Dalli, rather than sending Glenn Micallef, the man proposed by Malta’s Prime Minister Robert Abela, two EU diplomats said. But Abela would not change his mind about sending Micallef because “this would undermine his authority,” a third EU diplomat said.