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Sharon Bowles MEP |
“Men only” ECB rejected by Sharon Bowles MEP
October 25, 2012 12:06 PM
MEPs in the European Parliament have today given a final thumbs down to the Council's intransigence in failing to commit to a better gender balance within what is effectively Europe's most powerful financial institution, the European Central Bank.
By a narrow margin, MEPs confirmed the rejection of ECB Executive Board candidate, Yves Mersch, a move recommended by the Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee.
MEPs had been hoping that European Council President, Herman Van Rompuy, would this week offer concrete commitments regarding gender balance. But his words fell short of expectations.
Sharon Bowles MEP, who chairs the Parliament's Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee, said:
"Mr Van Rompuy has not taken the opportunity to offer more than lip service to what is a very serious matter. He has promised nothing, not even a road map, for appointing women to the ECB Board in the future. European institutions should be leading by example, not dragging their feet."
ENDS
Background
- For over two years the ECB gender imbalance issue has been raised in plenary and in committee, notably at the hearings of nominees for ECB posts such as Peter Praet, Mario Draghi, Jorg Asmussen and Benoit Coeuré.
- On 8 May the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee wrote to Eurogroup President Jean-Claude Juncker asking that women should be considered for the Executive Board post before a candidate was recommended and for EU member states to present a medium-term plan to recruit more women to top posts in the ECB, and also national central banks and finance ministries.
- Meanwhile, some committee members drew up an informal list of potential women candidates for the ECB post. Parliament is not officially required to draw up such a list.
- Mr Gonzalez Paramo's mandate as member of the ECB executive board expired on 31 May. On 10 July, the Council recommended Mr Mersch as candidate for the vacant post of ECB executive board member.
- Having received no medium-term plan as requested and no assurance that women had been considered for the vacant post, the committee's coordinators decided on 5 September to postpone the hearing of Mr Mersch. On 19 September and 3 October respectively, Parliament's President Martin Schulz also raised the issue in letters to European Council and Commission Presidents Herman Van Rompuy and José-Manuel Barroso.