- Von der Leyen is encountering challenges in achieving her gender goal.
The EU Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, faces potential setbacks in her pursuit of a 50-50 gender balance in her new team due to insufficient cooperation from member states. With the deadline for nominations approaching on Friday, more than half of the countries have put forward exclusively male candidates for the 27-member Council of Commissioners, which includes von der Leyen and the designated High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Kaja Kallas. If this trend persists, the new commission could end up being around 2/3 male, as 12 of the current 27 commissioners are women.
The 32,000-strong EU Commission staff plays a significant role in proposing new EU laws and monitoring the implementation of European treaties.
Bypassing German expectations
Upon her reelection, President von der Leyen urged the leaders of the EU nations to propose both a man and a woman for the commission, excluding only those nominating incumbent commissioners. France, Hungary, and Latvia have complied with this request by sending Thierry Breton, Oliver Varhelyi, and Valdis Dombrovskis respectively.
Denmark, on the other hand, announced that it will send its Minister of Development Cooperation, Dan Jørgensen, as its EU Commissioner despite criticism for failing to nominate a female candidate. Denmark has been represented in the commission by Margrethe Vestager for several years.
Enforcing gender balance is a challenge
Von der Leyen expresses disappointment in the actions of the member states, but she is legally prohibited from enforcing her request for gender balance. The EU Treaty only obliges the commission to represent "the demographic and geographic diversity of the Union as a whole", without explicit mentions of gender parity.
The selection of the new EU Commission members marks the conclusion of the process to fill major political positions following the European elections in June. Von der Leyen was re-nominated by the leaders of EU nations for a second term as president and subsequently elected by the European Parliament. She now awaits the nominations of the government for commissioner posts and will later assign portfolios to them.
Despite her limitations, von der Leyen could still influence the process by pressuring member states to nominate female candidates. Although commissioners must act independently of their home countries' politics, governments typically have an interest in securing prominent positions for their nominees. The commissioners in charge of finance, economy, and competition hold significant influence.
"Times of Malta" reported this week that von der Leyen proposed re-nominating Maltese commissioner Helena Dalli instead of the former prime minister's chief of staff, Glenn Micallef, in exchange for a more attractive portfolio. Von der Leyen refrains from commenting on the ongoing selection process at this time, with her spokespeople only confirming her conversations with the nominees and anticipated allocation of tasks by September 11. This will mark the first time there are commissioners for topics such as defense and housing.
Italian EU law expert Alberto Alemanno cautioned that a predominantly male commission could undermine von der Leyen's authority as the EU Commission President. He urged her to voice her dissatisfaction to the national capitals and request immediate resubmission of candidate lists to reduce potential damage to her reputation and that of the EU. Failure to act could lead to the rejection of weak male candidates in the European Parliament, forcing their nominating countries to seek alternatives, which could delay the start of the new commission term, scheduled for November 1, just before the US presidential election.
Although Germany and some other EU nations have followed Ursula von der Leyen's request to propose both male and female candidates, several countries, such as Denmark, have only put forward male nominees. This could result in the new commission being heavily male-dominated, which might undermine von der Leyen's authority as EU Commission President.
Despite the EU Treaty not explicitly requiring gender parity in commission appointments, women's representation in the EU Commission is significantly lower than half, potentially failing to achieve the 50-50 gender balance that von der Leyen seeks.
