The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, is stepping up pressure on EU countries to nominate women to the EC. In this way, she is still trying to form a team without “male dominance,” according to Komersant ukrainskyi
citing Politico.
Thus, two EU officials pointed to the likely “embarrassment” for the institution, which publicly promotes gender equality and serves as “equality commissioners” if von der Leyen does not achieve the desired parity.
Such a failure, they argue, could overshadow the fact that three of the most important positions in the EU will be held by women: von der Leyen as president of the European Commission, Kaja Kallas as head of the EU’s diplomatic service, and Roberta Mecola as president of the European Parliament.
Experts and politicians who agree with von der Leyen’s demands say that her Commission could be less collegial and even less effective without enough women at the table.
In a sign that von der Leyen is working hard to get as close to parity as possible, Belgium on Monday said it would send a female commissioner, and Romania agreed to replace its proposed male commissioner with a woman.
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Three diplomats who spoke to Politico said von der Leyen had pressured at least five smaller EU countries, including Slovenia and Malta, to consider replacing their male nominees with women.
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 Maltese Prime Minister Robert Abela, two EU diplomats said. But Abela will not change his mind about sending Micallef because “it would undermine his credibility,” a third EU diplomat said.
Other diplomats, EU officials and experts also argue that von der Leyen has created a situation in which national capitals appear to be challenging her authority by ignoring her requests to send more women to Brussels. In a letter to EU leaders, von der Leyen openly asked for two names for each commissioner position, one male and one female, to be submitted to her for consideration.
It seems that this request backfired, as most countries refused to heed von der Leyen’s request and sent only one name. Only Bulgaria publicly nominated a man and a woman.
Thus, von der Leyen may end up leading the European Commission, which has been most dominated by men since the Juncker era (2014-2019).