Brussels (The Brussels Morning Newspaper) – EU Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is attempting to strongarm several smaller member states into altering their commissioner nominations to women so that she can have the gender-balanced cabinet she promised to set up.
How Is Malta Responding to Pressure on Commissioner Nomination?
According to a report issued on Tuesday, August 27th by Times of Malta, von der Leyen has requested the Maltese government to withdraw the candidacy of Glenn Micallef, who stepped down as head of the prime minister’s secretariat earlier this year to evolve the country’s next commissioner.
The sources express Valletta is reluctant to concede, but the prime minister’s office neither confirmed nor rejected the discussion taking place at this point, stating only that “the engagement process is constant and [von der Leyen] is speaking to member states.”
The confidential Brussels sources also stated that instead of Micallef, von der Leyen “suggested” keeping Malta’s existing EU commissioner in the position for another five years, Helena Dalli who had been in command of the fairly insignificant equality portfolio.
The Times’ sources also revealed that there are at least two other smaller member states that von der Leyen is attempting to pressure into changing their minds and dropping their male competitors. She may also be in discussions with the five remaining countries who haven’t disclosed their picks yet, trying to influence their choice.
Could Portfolio Assignments Be Used as Leverage in Commissioner Selections?
According to Experts, the problem is that von der Leyen has all the strength she needs to strengthen her way toward having a gender-balanced EU Commission, regardless of how corrupt and undemocratic it may feel. While appointing commissioners is up to each member state, it’s entirely up to the president-elect to allocate the portfolios between them. Those who comply could be awarded more influential ones (those dealing with economy or security issues, for instance), while countries who defy her can expect to be ‘punished’ with weaker posts.
“Von der Leyen is probably swearing us a better portfolio if we agree to renominate her,” another Maltese diplomat said. “If that’s the case, the government must decide: stand by our nominee and look strong but get a weaker portfolio. Or swap nominee, look weak but get a stronger brief.”
Von der Leyen’s preoccupation with gender parity might also be the reason why Italy has not officially called its commissioner pick so far despite the choice being so obvious. Virtually everyone in Brussels hopes Italy’s highly experienced EU Affairs Minister Raffaele Fitto to become one of the most professional and influential members of the incoming College of Commissioners, but the fact Rome is holding out until the very last minute may indicate to a deeper discussion behind the scenes.
