Brussels, 24/10/2012 (Agence Europe) - The postponement of the Commission proposal on a quota of women on the corporate boards of directors didn't go down well with a lot of people. Viviane Reding has promised that in two weeks time there will be a revised copy and approval will be given by her colleagues on her initiative. There is a high risk, however, that this will be watered down and that it is relegated from the status of a directive to a lowly recommendation.
14 November. Viviane Reding, the Commissioner for fundamental rights was firmly intent on presenting a draft directive to introduce a 40% quota of women on the board of directors in major companies quoted on the stock exchange. This would be accompanied by sanctions and fines. The College of Commissioners, however, saw things otherwise and ultimately did not give its support to Viviane Reding, following an afternoon of bitter words between the Commissioners for economics and detractors of the initiative, of whom half are women Commissioners. On 14 November next, the College is due to approve a revised and corrected version of the key proposal from Reding to “smash the glass ceiling” preventing women from gaining access to senior positions of responsibility (EUROPE 10716).
A watered-down proposal? Despite the arguments of the Commissioner justifying the additional deadline to “enhance” the proposal, it is more than likely that this will be significantly watered down, following a scathing opinion from the Commission's legal service with regard to the issue of subsidiarity. The 40% target may simply become an objective to be aimed for without there being any binding obligation. European penalties may also be withdrawn. There is also even the possibility that the directive becomes a number of recommendations from the Commission the member states. Opponents of the Reding initiative argued that it is up to member states to decide what is the best approach to follow with regard to increasing the participation of women in the decisions taken by firms. After her political setback, the Commissioner reaffirmed that she would not be giving up and said that, “I have put a compromise proposal on the table that all commissioners will look at now in greater detail”.
Big names at the EP critical. The announcement of the postponement created a number of sharp reactions at the European Parliament where the quotas affair has been taking place within the context of the Strasbourg plenary session (EUROPE 10716). President Martin Schulz said on Twitter that he regretted that “the Commission didn't give green light to quotas for women. We need ambitious proposal to redress this scandalous imbalance ASAP!” The chair of the Parliamentary committee on women's rights and equal opportunities, Mikael Gustafsson (GUE/NGL, Sweden) said that he considered the postponement as a failure and declared that by behaving in this way, the Commission had refused the EU from having a chance to hold a democratic debate and vote. He said that he really hoped that the proposal would not be delayed any more or withdrawn. (MD/trans/fl)