Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday voiced exasperation after EU capitals undermined her efforts to ensure a gender-balanced ‘college' of Commissioners tasked with steering the work of the EU's powerful executive arm over the next five years.
In a letter to heads of state and government in July, the Commission chief had explicitly asked for two nominations – male and female – for the role of European Commissioner.
Only one member state – Bulgaria – has abided by that request, which carried no legal weight.
Von der Leyen has since been in negotiations with many smaller member states, asking for them to replace their male nominees with women. It means the roster of candidates bidding to join von der Leyen's team stands at nine women and 17 men.
“I have throughout my whole political life been fighting for women having access to decision-making positions and leading positions,” von der Leyen said on Wednesday in Brussels.
“And my experience is that if you don't ask for it, you don't get it. It does not come naturally,” she continued. “This is why I sent my letter. Because if I had not sent this letter, there would not have been a hook (…) to look at the diversity topic.”
Von der Leyen denounced the lack of female candidates, saying that just four countries – Spain, Sweden, Finland and Croatia – initially put forward women. Estonia's former prime minister Kaja Kallas was nominated for the role of High Representative for Foreign Affairs by EU leaders in late June.
“If I would not have sent this letter, what would have been the fact or the case? The initial proposals, if you look at the names (…) besides the High Representative and me the President, for the 25 member states that then nominate would have been four women and 21 men,” von der Leyen said.
“So without that letter and without that discussion this would be the next college,” she added, “and therefore it is absolutely worth it.”
She appeared to imply her efforts were critical in ensuring female nominations from Belgium, Portugal, Bulgaria and also Romania, the latter of which switched its male candidate for MEP Roxana Mînzatu on Monday.
Diplomatic sources have told Euronews that von der Leyen has also attempted to convince other small member states, including Slovenia and Malta, to retract their male nominees and replace them with women.
The Slovenian government said in a statement on Tuesday that it would not be retracting its original proposal, Tomaž Vesel.
‘First criteria is competence'
Neither Vesel nor Malta's nominee, Glenn Micallef, have experience in government or senior diplomatic ranks.
On Wednesday, von der Leyen pressed that she would make competence and relevant experience a prerequisite for joining her team.
“The first criteria is competence. The Commission needs competence and competence means high-ranking political experience, executive experience – for example former prime ministers, or former ministers or deputy ministers – or at least senior diplomatic experience or high-ranking work in the European institutions,” the Commission chief explained. “This is crucial and the first and most important.”
Von der Leyen also acknowledged that in some cases, the male candidates tabled by EU countries were more competent than the female alternative, but that in other cases it was the “other way around.”
She is currently conducting interviews with candidates, and is expecting to confirm the distribution of portfolios by September 19. All candidates must undergo a hearing before relevant committees in the European Parliament and a confirmation role before they are installed in the role.
