New EU commissioners announcement delayed to next week

EU chief Ursula von der Leyen will unveil her new team of commissioners next Tuesday — a week later than expected — after Slovenia changed its candidate following a row over gender balance, a spokesman said.

Von der Leyen has been leaning on European Union countries to put forward more women to make up the bloc’s powerful executive arm, after most ignored her request for a choice between one man and one woman candidate.

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Push for EU leaders

Ljubljana on Monday proposed Marta Kos, a former ambassador and a woman, as its nominee afterits previous candidate — a man — dropped out.

The Slovenian parliament, however, will only discuss the proposal on Friday, European Commission spokesman Eric Mamer said.

“Based on this, the Commission has asked the European Parliament to postpone President Von der Leyen’s presentation… until the list of nominees is complete,” Mamer said.

Almost all member states had originally proposed a man as their only candidate.

How the 27-member commission’s portfolios are divvied up will send a strong signal regarding its political direction and the relative influence of each member state — three months after EU parliament elections marked by far right gains.

Only a handful of women had initially been nominated to serve alongside von der Leyen, a 65-year-old German conservative, including Estonian former premier Kaja Kallas as the bloc’s top diplomat.

The new full team of 27 commissioners — which looks set to include just under a dozen women — will be presented to political group leaders on Tuesday at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, Mamer said.

All candidates will still have to earn confirmation in the parliament, where nominees are grilled in a series of hearings.

By: Agence France-Presse

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