Have the article read by OpenAI (Beta). Please note that AI translations may take some time to process.European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s plans for gender balance in her new team of commissioners are in danger of failing due to a lack of cooperation from member states. To achieve gender balance in the Commission, von der Leyen asked the EU’s national governments to nominate both a man and a woman candidate until the end of August. The goal of parity is not new – already during her first term of office five years ago, Ursula von der Leyen was guided by it when selecting commissioners. Back then with more success.
This time several states ignored von der Leyen’s request. Significantly, more than half of the governments had only proposed one male candidate for the College of Commissioners, explaining this, for example, with their nominations in the past.
The final balance reflects that 16 countries have proposed male candidates, ten have proposed women, and only one, Bulgaria, has complied with von der Leyen’s wish and proposed a man and a woman, as the EU Commission President had initially requested. The number of women was bolstered Monday after Romanian media reported that Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu had switched his pick from a male candidate to MEP Roxana Minzatu.
The College of Commissioners will consist of 27 members, with each member state being represented by a commissioner. If there are no further changes to the nominations, around two thirds of the positions could be held by men. The outgoing college was composed of 15 men and twelve women.
EU commissioners conduct the work of around 32,000 employees of the EU Commission and are assigned responsibility for specific policy areas by the president. The EU Commission is responsible for proposing new EU laws and monitoring compliance with the European treaties. The selection of commissioners for the new EU Commission is the last major step in filling top political positions after the European elections in June.
“Old boys’ club” lineup for EU Commission
The European Women’s Lobby (EWL), an umbrella group working toward gender equality in the bloc, said the situation was indicative of an “old boys’ club” mindset and called it “beyond embarrassing”.
“If member states truly believe only men are fit for these roles or that there are no qualified women in their countries, they’re not just out of touch – they’re delusional,” said the group’s spokesperson, Mirta Baselovic.
Lina Gálvez Muñoz, chair of the European Parliament committee on gender equality, said the numbers suggested a clear lack of “political will” from member states that sent a “very bad signal, especially to younger women and girls”.
At the root of the situation is a power play between von der Leyen and European capitals that may well back goals like gender parity on paper but, in practice, resist having their hands tied in any way.
“As member states, we expect von der Leyen to strive for gender parity,” said an EU diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to the French press agency AFP. “At the same time, we also believe that it is up to us to propose the commissioner we prefer. (…) Unfortunately, those two desires don’t seem to align this time around.”
“I believe that this story shows how, unfortunately, gender equality in politics has not yet been assimilated,” a source close to the European Commission President told the Italian press agency ANSA.
Is there a risk of reputational damage?
Italian EU law expert Alberto Alemanno recently warned that a male-dominated college would weaken the authority of the EU Commission’s President.
He called on von der Leyen to make her dissatisfaction clear to the national capitals and ask them to draw up a new list of candidates as quickly as possible in order to limit the damage to her own reputation and that of the EU as a whole.
According to Alemanno, this could also lead to weak male commissioner candidates not receiving the necessary approval in the European Parliament. This would mean that the national governments that nominated them would have to appoint a new candidate.
What’s coming next?
With all the names in hand, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen now has to distribute all the portfolios, both in terms of rank (vice-presidencies) and the subjects for which each commissioner will be responsible, with areas such as the economy, industry and defence among the most desired by the candidates. Giving female candidates more important portfolios and vice-presidencies could be a way to compensate for the numerical gender imbalance.
Ursula von der Leyen has already made her first choices for her top team. German newspaper Die Welt reported on Tuesday that a right-wing populist, Raffaele Fitto, a member of Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s Fratelli d’Italia party, will obtain a top position in the European Commission and is expected to be appointed executive vice-president in charge of the economy and post-pandemic recovery.
France’s Thierry Breton will take charge of industry and strategic autonomy. Spain’s Teresa Ribera has been chosen for a “transition” portfolio that will include ecology and digital affairs. Slovakia’s Maroš Šefčovič will stay on as commissioner for inter-institutional affairs, while Czech industry and trade minister Jozef Síkela will be in charge of energy. Poland’s Piotr Serafin will be responsible for budgetary affairs.
The European Parliament has invited von der Leyen to meet with the heads of the political groups and the President of the institution on September 11 to present to them the final distribution of her team. Although it is not clear whether she will make it public before or after that closed-doors-meeting.
Between the end of September and the beginning of October, all commissioners must pass individual hearings in the parliamentary committee that deals with their portfolio. It is usual for at least one candidate to fail at this stage, where their conflicts of interest are also reviewed, forcing their country of origin to nominate an alternative candidate.
Once all candidates have received the green light from their respective committees, the plenary of the European Parliament votes on the European Commission as a whole, the final step before their new mandate can begin. Although the current Commission is due to conclude its functions on October 31, its work may be extended until the new executive is ready.
Commissioners nominated by the member states:
Women:
Belgium: Hadja Lahbib (Renew)
Bulgaria: Ekaterina Zaharieva (EPP)
Croatia: Dubravka Šuica (EPP)
Germany: Ursula von der Leyen (EPP, President)
Estonia: Kaja Kallas (Renew, High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy)
Finland: Henna Virkkunen (EPP)
Portugal: Maria Luís Albuquerque (EPP)
Romania: Roxana Minzatu (S&D)
Sweden: Jessika Roswall (EPP)
Spain: Teresa Ribera (S&D)
Men:
Bulgaria: Julian Popov (Renew)
Denmark: Dan Jørgensen (S&D)
France: Thierry Breton (Renew)
Greece: Apostolos Tzitzikostas (EPP)
Ireland: Michael McGrath (Renew)
Italy: Raffaele Fitto (EKR)
Latvia: Valdis Dombrovskis (EPP)
Lithuania: Andrius Kubilius (EPP)
Luxembourg: Christophe Hansen (EPP)
Malta: Glenn Micallef (S&D)
Netherlands: Wopke Hoekstra (EPP)
Austria: Magnus Brunner (EPP)
Poland: Piotr Serafin (EPP)
Slovakia: Maroš Šefčovič (S&D)
Slovenia: Tomaž Vesel (non-party)
Czech Republic: Jozef Síkela (EPP)
Hungary: Olivér Várhelyi (Patriots)
Cyprus: Costas Kadis (non-party)
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