Equality will not be maintained within the future College of the 27 European Commissioners, with countries predominantly selecting men to be part of the upcoming European Commission, despite calls from Ursula von der Leyen to nominate women, as reported by Euronews, which presents the latest announced or unannounced candidacies.
BULGARIA
Former Foreign Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva and former Minister of Ecology Julian Popov were appointed on Friday as Bulgarian candidates for European Commissioner positions.
These nominations appear to have been discussed on Friday evening by Bulgarian President Rumen Radev and Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, confirmed through a message by the Bulgarian representation to the European Union (EU).
This makes Bulgaria the only country to comply with the request of EC President Ursula von der Leyen to propose both male and female candidates by the deadline of August 30.
ITALY
The newly announced Italian Commissioner, Raffaele Fitto, has had a long political career starting in Puglia.
Born in Maglie, province of Lecce, in 1969, a law graduate, he was elected as a regional councilor for the Christian Democratic Party (DC) in 1990, the first in a series of positions that brought him to Brussels, first as a Member of the European Parliament in 1999, 2014, and 2019, and now as a Commissioner.
DENMARK
Denmark has proposed Dan Jørgensen to be part of Ursula von der Leyen’s second team of Commissioners.
Jørgensen’s highly anticipated nomination, a social democrat, is part of a larger reshuffle announced by Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen.
Jørgensen is not new to Brussels, where he started his political career in 2004 as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP), a position he held until 2013.
BELGIUM
Belgium has failed to designate a Commissioner amidst a political crisis.
The Kingdom of Belgium is among the countries expected to name a man, despite Ursula von der Leyen’s efforts in favor of gender balance.
EU member states have appointed very few female candidates.
