European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen asked the EU member states to present both a male and a female candidate for commissioner, but only Bulgaria did so. EU officials say that by doing so, member states have completely snubbed the European Commission president. Nevertheless, von der Leyen insists on a gender balance in her new team and has put pressure on some smaller member states.
Von der Leyen’s self-imposed deadline is fast approaching, but she has still not managed to assemble her team, leaving the composition of the new European Commission still uncertain, Politico reports.
The EU commission head is scheduled to announce on Wednesday which of her 26 commissioner-designates — one from each member state — will be given the job after meeting with the leaders of the European Parliament’s various political groups.
However, EU officials say von der Leyen has not made her job any easier, as she is too focused on gender balance without having the tools to achieve this goal. The hole she has dug is “deeper and deeper,” one of them added.
The task facing the long-standing new president of the European Commission was already complex, as von der Leyen has to take into account the geographical balance, the political balance and the gender balance. Last-minute changes to the nominees — and finding a new field of candidates without undermining the overall balance — make her task even more difficult.
