Brussels 05.09.2024 The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen intends to create the first gender-balanced team of the EU top executives.
Every member state was offered to nominate one woman and one man candidates for von der Leyen, distributing portfolios among her future team in various endeavors: competition, digital services, trade, development and other. However von der Leyen’s request has been largely ignored. The deadline she set for nominations has passed and, as of September 2, more than half of the states had put forward a male candidate. Belgium, Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Sweden have nominated a woman, while Bulgaria has nominated a man and a woman.
The European Women’s Lobby wrote in an open letter to von der Leyen last week, urging her to continue struggling: “Your leadership in achieving a gender-balanced Commission in the last term was a groundbreaking step that set a new standard for governance within the EU and beyond.”
“The continued pursuit of this balance is crucial, particularly now that women’s rights are under threat in various parts of the world.”
“We call on future EU decision-makers to take concrete measures to safeguard women’s rights and gender equality and go further to truly materialise equality between women and men.”
https://womenlobby.org/Call-to-safeguard-women-s-rights-and-gender-equality-in-the-2024-2029-EU?lang=en
Anna Van Densky blog 