The President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, gave assurances on Wednesday that she will continue to work for a team of commissioners with an equal number of men and women, something she has not achieved until now, and lamented the fact that gender equality in positions of responsibility, it is never achieved naturally and must be sought expressly, EFE reports.
Von der Leyen fights for gender parity PHOTO Inquam Photos/ Octav Ganea
Von der Leyen, who won a second term at the head of the European Commission, had written to European governments to nominate a man and a woman to be able to form a team of commissioners that would respect gender parity, but only Bulgaria granted his petition, and the rest sent a total of seventeen men and seven women.
“We represent EU citizens and half of them are women. Throughout my political life I have fought for women to have access to leadership and decision-making positions. And I know from experience that if I don’t ask for it, I won’t get it. It doesn’t come by itselfVon der Leyen complained at a press conference in Brussels.
The German politician declared herself convinced that, if she had not addressed this specific request to the member states, the impetus to seek gender balance would not have been created, and the countries would have nominated even fewer women.
“It is undoubtedly a complicated process, but it in no way changes my conviction and determination”insisted Von der Leyen, who emphasized that, from her point of view, the gender criterion must have the same weight as the criteria regarding geographical origin, political color and, mainly, high-level political experience.
As things currently stand, if the German politician chooses the Bulgarian candidate over her male counterpart, 10 countries would have female representation in the next European Commission (eight nominated, plus Von der Leyen and Kaja Kallas, as head of EU diplomacy ), compared to 17 men.
It would be a step backwards compared to Von der Leyen’s previous team, which took office in 2019 and which started with 15 men and 12 women and grew to 14 men and 13 women after a mid-term resignation, he notes EFE.
“I haven’t seen all the potential candidates yet. I talked with all the heads of state and government about the different names, about the different possibilities and, of course, I admit that it is difficult for them sometimes”Von der Leyen admitted.
The President of the European Commission stated that there are situations in which the man is better prepared or in which the best candidate refuses the nomination. “We have different factors, but for me it is important to take this issue seriously”she explained.
With all the names in place, Von der Leyen now has to hand out all the portfolios, both in terms of the hierarchy (vice-presidents) and the issues each commissioner will be responsible for, with areas such as the economy, industry and defense among them more desired by applicants.
Granting portfolios with greater weight and vice-president positions to female candidates can be a way to compensate for the numerical gender imbalance, notes EFE.
The European Parliament has invited Von der Leyen to meet on September 11 with the heads of the political groups and the president of the institution to present them with the final distribution of her team, although it is not clear whether she will make it public before or after this meeting, which is will take place behind closed doors.
