Brussels, 20/11/2015 (Agence Europe) - The efforts of the Luxembourg Presidency of the Council of the EU to break the deadlock on quotas of women on the boards of listed companies in the EU are struggling to bear fruit.
A number of member states, able to form a blocking minority, continue to oppose adoption of this text despite significant concessions being made to placate the most intractable countries which already have their own domestic laws on the matter, such as Germany (see EUROPE 11430).
The draft directive that was brought forward three years ago suggests a quota of 40% of non-executive posts on the boards of publicly listed companies to be held by women. It states that any such companies that have not been able to achieve this quota by 2020 should put in place transparent recruitment procedures to ensure appointments are based on ability and not gender.
At the most recent meeting of the social issues working party, on 17 November, the Luxembourg Presidency proposed a suspension clause that would allow member states to opt out of certain of the provisions on condition that equivalent measures are taken. According to our information, however, this was still not enough for the Presidency to win the support of Germany, even though, under this country's domestic law, a quota of at least 30% of posts on the supervisory boards of publicly listed companies to be held by women will come into effect from 2016.
The issue will be on the agenda for discussion at the Employment Council of 7 December. (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)