Men dominate among the candidates for the EU Commission, although von der Leyen advocates gender equality
Kyiv • UNN
Most EU countries have nominated male candidates for the new European Commission, despite Ursula von der Leyen's call for gender balance. Only Bulgaria nominated candidates of both sexes.
The deadline for nominations is August 30. The re-elected President of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, asked for two names from each country to nominate a man and a woman for the position of the Union's executive body. However, many governments proposed only one name, and most of them were men.
Euronews reports the latest news on the candidates for European Commissioner, UNN reports.
Details
- Bulgaria
Former Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zakharieva and former Environment Minister Yulian Popov were nominated on Friday (August 30) as Bulgaria's two candidates for the post of EU Commissioner.
These candidates were apparently discussed late on Friday night between Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev and were confirmed in a statement from the Bulgarian EU Delegation.
This makes Bulgaria the only country that has fulfilled the requirement of European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to nominate both men and women by August 30.
- Italy
The new EU Commissioner for Italy, Raffaele Fitto, has a long political career that began in Puglia.
He was born in Magli in the province of Lecce in 1969 and graduated from law school. In 1990, Fitto was elected as a regional councillor for the Christian Democratic Party (CDP), the first step in a series of positions that brought him to Brussels, first as a member of parliament (in 1999, 2014 and 2019) and now as a commissioner.
- Denmark
Denmark has nominated Dan Jorgensen to join Ursula von der Leyen's second team of EU Commissioners.
The expected candidacy of Jorgensen, a Social Democrat, was part of a larger cabinet reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Jorgensen is no stranger to Brussels: he began his political career in 2004 as a member of the European Parliament, a position he held until 2013.
- Belgium
Belgium has not yet elected a commissioner as the country is in a state of political instability. Despite von der Leyen's insistence on gender balance, Belgium is likely to be among the countries expected to appoint a male commissioner. So far, only a few female candidates have been nominated for European Commissioner positions.
To recap
UNN reported that Ursula von der Leyen, the current president of the European Commission, was approved as the leading candidate of the European People's Party in the upcoming European elections.
The European Commission has agreed to provide Ukrainewith about 4.2 billion euros to strengthen Ukraine's macro-financial stability in the face of the ongoing war.
