European Commission President José Manuel Barroso seems to have convinced enough EU leaders to raise the number of women in his new college.
After Greece had nominated Maria Damanaki, a socialist-affiliated member of the Hellenic Parliament, on Friday (20 November), Denmark nominated its energy and climate minister to be the country’s next commissioner today.
Barroso had reportedly voiced his desire to see Hedegaard in the post, but Danish Prime Minister Lars Løkke Ramussen had beenn hesitant to name her – not least because he would have preferred someone from his own Liberal Party to get the job rather than his conservative climate minister.
Hedegaard, who became climate and energy minister in 2004, has played a central role in the run-up to the UN climate conference in Copenhagen on 7-18 December.
She finds herself the front-runner to become the Union's next environment commissioner, unless Barroso decides to split the portfolio and create a new climate post, as is currently rumoured in Brussels (EurActiv 23/11/2009).
Up to now, the Commission has had portfolios for environment and energy, but not a specific post for climate affairs. "I have explicitly expressed to him [Barroso] that I expect Connie Hedegaard to become the new climate commissioner," Rasmussen said on Danish TV, according to Reuters.
"It is of course his decision," Rasmussen said. "He puts together his Commission, but he has confirmed to me that Connie Hedegaard will get a portfolio that matches her experience and qualifications."
Damanaki, a chemical engineer by training, is a member of the Greek parliament's committee on culture, science and education. She is a former president of the Synaspismos party on the radical left and is now a member of the Pan-Hellenic Socialist Movement (PASOK), which won national elections last month (EurActiv 05/10/09).
In a letter to EU leaders, Barroso - who in 2007 asked the two EU newcomers Bulgaria and Romania to propose female commissioners when they joined the Union - emphasised the importance of gender balance in his new college of commissioners. "To allow me to propose a properly balanced team […] I urge you to see gender balance as a common goal and a shared responsibility," he said last month, calling on heads of state and government to "pay particular attention to the presence of women in the college as our discussions continue towards conclusion" (EurActiv 22/10/09).
Although the current Commission is the best ever in terms of gender balance (17 men and nine women), some countries have never nominated a female commissioner. Since the first Hallstein Commission in 1958, a total of 142 individuals have taken up positions as European commissioners, but just 19 of these (13%) were women.
The nominations of Hedegaard and Damanaki bring the total number of women to eight in the new college. The only country still to nominate its commissioner is the Netherlands.
If Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende decides to extend the mandate of current Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes, as rumoured in Brussels, the new EU executive will have nine women, as many as the previous Commission.
Meanwhile, Malta's Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi has nominated John Dalli, the country's social policy minister, to be its next commissioner, replacing current fisheries chief Joe Borg.
