BRUSSELS (MNI) – EU parliamentarians on Thursday voted not to
recommend Luxembourg’s central bank governor, Yves Mersch, to the
Executive Board of the European Central Bank, a move motivated by anger
over a lack of action to promote women in senior economic positions.
In all, 325 MEPs voted against Mersch’s appointment, 300 voted in
favour, while 49 abstained.
At a hearing with the parliament’s Economic and Monetary Affairs
Committee on Monday, parliamentarians said that although Mersch was
well-qualified for the job, they would not support his nomination.
MEPs said they were angry with EU governments and Eurogroup
President Jean-Claude Juncker, who is also the Prime Minister of
Luxembourg, for ignoring a request to consider at least one female
candidate for the job.
EU Council President Herman Van Rompuy tried Tuesday to smooth
things over with the Parliament, saying he had urged EU leaders to look
at the issue of gender balance and address the “blatant”
under-representation of women in senior economic and financial
positions.
While the Parliament’s refusal to back Mersch for the job casts a
political shadow over his appointment, it cannot stop it going through.
The European Commission on Wednesday said it would re-draft a
proposal to legislate a minimum percentage of women on company boards
after legal analysis said an initial plan might not be legal. The
Commission is expected to water down the legislation, possibly by making
female participation percentages a “target” rather than a requirement.
–Brussels Newsroom, +324-952-28374; pkoh@mni-news.com
[TOPICS: M$$EC$,M$$CR$,M$X$$$]
