Gender balance controversy in the EU Commission: Difficulty in finding female members
EU Commission President von der Leyen's insistence on "female members" for her new team is not yielding results. Of the 24 names proposed by member states so far, only 7, including von der Leyen herself, are women.
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European Union (EU) Commission President Ursula von der Leyen's request for EU countries to propose female members to ensure gender balance in the new 5-year team she will form following the June 6-9 elections has remained fruitless.
Following the elections held in the EU on June 6-9, von der Leyen was elected Commission President for a second term after receiving a vote of confidence in the European Parliament (EP) on July 18. In a letter sent to member states on July 25, von der Leyen requested that they submit their member proposals by August 30.
COUNTRIES HAVE THE RIGHT TO SEND ONE MEMBER EACH
Von der Leyen plans to evaluate the proposed names in the first week of September. Subsequently, throughout September and October, Commission members will speak in the relevant EP committees and participate in question-and-answer sessions. With the committees' assessments, the new names will receive a vote of confidence from the EP General Assembly as a full cabinet.
Each of the 27 member states has the right to send one member to the Commission, the EU's executive body. Commission members constitute the most senior officials in the EU's executive branch and, like ministers in national governments, each is responsible for areas such as trade, agriculture, and labor.
'SPECIAL' REQUEST FROM MEMBER STATES
However, the Commission President had a special request from member states for the "cabinet" she will form. As the EU's first high-level female executive, von der Leyen stated that she would pursue gender balance and therefore requested that each member propose two names, one male and one female, rather than just one.
This demand put member states in a difficult position. Although tomorrow is the final day, only 7 of the 24 names proposed so far, including von der Leyen, are women.
So far, all members except Belgium, Italy, and Bulgaria have submitted their proposals. While Germany has used its right in favor of von der Leyen, the Commission member to come from Estonia is Kaja Kallas, who was proposed by EU leaders as the "High Representative" to replace Josep Borrell.
Apart from these, positive responses to von der Leyen's request have only come from Spain, Portugal, Sweden, Finland, and Croatia.