With all EU Member States having announced their candidates for commissioners in the next European Commission, their proposals indicate beyond any doubt that Commission President Ursula von der Leyen’s goal of gender equality will not be achieved.
By now all Member States have proposed their candidates. The last country to do so was Belgium which on Monday announced that Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib has been selected to take on the role of Belgian European Commissioner. She defeated the current commissioner, Didier Reynders, from the same French-speaking liberal party MR.
Von der Leyen has pledged that her second Commission will consist of an equal number of women and men. In a letter to the Member States, she asked them to propose candidates of each gender by 30 August. The only exception from the rule was if a country wanted to keep its incumbent commissioner.
However, as their proposals were leaked it soon became clear that they did not intend to comply with the instructions. The spokespersons of the Commission declined to comment on individual nominations or the likelihood of achieving gender equality whilst the process was ongoing. The policy of not commenting on the current state of play continued also after the deadline was passed.
Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib at the celebrations after the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, at the Grand Place, Monday 12 August 2024. Credit: Belga / Eric Lalmand
The two top posts in the Commission, the President and the High Representative/Vice President for foreign affairs, have already been decided and are women. Politico reported on Monday that only one country, Bulgaria, has proposed two candidates of either gender. Six countries (Croatia, Hungary, France, Latvia, The Netherlands, Slovakia) proposed the incumbent commissioner, who in five of the cases is male.
Currently, 18 of the candidates proposed by the Member States are men, implying that their share of the new Commission will amount to two-thirds (67 %) % of the total number (27), assuming that the female candidate proposed by Bulgaria will be selected. This would be an increase in gender imbalance compared to the current Commission which consists of 15 men and 12 women.
The Commission spokesperson said on Monday that the deadline on 30 August was not a legal obligation. The process is ongoing and will continue until the final deadline by October which marks the end of the mandate of the current Commission. Von der Leyen is currently conducting interviews with the candidates.
Related News
- Lahbib is EU Commissioner: What it means for her, MR and government talks
- Gender equality: Will the new European Commission achieve its goal?
The President has been very clear about her ambition to achieve gender equality and is doing everything in her power to achieve it, according to the spokesperson, hinting that the names proposed by the Member States could be changed in the ongoing process.
Alternatively, the Commission could appoint more women as Director-Generals to offset the dominance of men among the commissioners but that has not been discussed.
A moment of truth will arrive on 11 September. The European Parliament has invited the Commission President to send her proposals for commissioners in the new Commission to the Conference of Presidents of the Parliament.
M. Apelblat
The Brussels Times
