A spokesperson for European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has restated her desire for gender balance among EU commissioners as nominees for the post are awaited from the Irish Government.
Ms von der Leyen had requested that the Government put forward the names of one man and one woman for the role, following the resignation of Phil Hogan from the position after his breaching of Covid-19 public health regulations.
The Commission’s comments comes as the Government was said to be increasingly likely to nominate just one name for the position, current Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney, according to the Irish Times.
The matter of gender balance is very important to President von der Leyen, we have been saying this and she has been saying this very clearly and very loudly.
Commission spokesperson Dana Spinant said Ms von der Leyen had made her position clear: “The matter of gender balance is very important to President von der Leyen, we have been saying this and she has been saying this very clearly and very loudly since she took office, and actually before taking office, and that continues being a matter that she pursues with determination.”
Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said choosing a successor to Phil Hogan as Commissioner is still a "work in progress" as he has consulted with Tánaiste Leo Varadkar and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan on the issue.
However, it was reported by RTÉ earlier today that these three leaders of the Government’s coalition parties had agreed to submit two nominees for the commissioner role, in line with Ms von der Leyen’s request.
The list of supposed candidates includes MEPs Mairead McGuinness and Frances Fitzgerald.
Fine Gael MEP Mairead McGuinness had previously confirmed she would be interested in the role and suggested it would be “unwise” for the Government to disregard Ms von der Leyen’s request.
“I think we need to listen very carefully to what the president of the commission Ursula von der Leyen has actually said. She wants the Government to act swiftly, and she wants two names. She wants a woman and a man,” she told the This Week programme on RTÉ Radio One.
