Von der Leyen 2.0 Commission takes shape: Gender parity under scrutiny amid big political in-tray

Talking Europe

It hasn’t been smooth sailing this summer for Ursula von der Leyen, who was voted in as EU Commission president for a second term in July. She had asked national capitals to put forward two candidates for her new Commission, one female and one male, so that she could ensure full gender parity in her 27-member college. But some governments have flat-out ignored her request, as other factors are more important to them – renewing a trusted heavyweight who’s already in place, or respecting national party-political traditions or conventions. In addition to this challenge to her authority, von der Leyen will have a major political in-tray to manage once her commissioners are eventually confirmed this autumn. Indeed, she herself says that the decisions taken in this new five-year EU mandate will determine Europe’s place in the world for the next fifty years.