BRUSSELS: The incoming European Commission president, Jean-Claude Juncker, unveiled the full list of names for his new team yesterday including the minimum of nine women that he wanted.
The jobs that they will get will not be announced until Wednesday at the earliest, a commission spokeswoman said, with EU nations competing for prized economic positions.
“Done. 27 interviews in 3 days. 9 women, up from 4. Happy to have you,” Juncker tweeted after meeting all of the candidates put forward by member states.
The list includes several former heads of government as well as current and ex-ministers.
Over the next five years Juncker’s team will face challenges including boosting Europe’s stagnating economy and tackling the crisis in Ukraine.
The European Commission is arguably the most powerful institution in Brussels as it drafts EU legislation, polices national budgets and anti-trust regulations, and negotiates trade treaties.
But one immediate hurdle for the former Luxembourg prime minister was to at least equal the nine women who are in the outgoing commission led by Jose Manuel Barroso.
AFP
