One of the great advantages for women in the appointment of Ursula von der Leyen, is that she is the first woman to become President of the European Commission. Its strategic programme, which was published in the wake of its election, includes a series of key measures targeted at women, ranging from the fight against gender-based violence to family policies and equal pay.
Mrs von der Leyen began her speech to MEPs with a tribute to Simone Veil, who became the first President of the European Parliament some 40 years ago. "It is this courage and boldness of pioneers like Simone Veil that sits at the heart of my vision for Europe. And it will be this very spirit that will guide the European Commission that I intend to chair", she said.
Gender equality
As the former Minister for Family Affairs and then Minister for Labour in Germany, Ursula von der Leyen intends to also take an active role in this area at European level, despite the EU's limited powers in respect of this.
On the employment front, she has reiterated the importance of equity in the workplace, including gender equity. She has therefore committed herself to aiming to achieve parity in the college of Commissioners and at all levels of the Commission's management. "I will accept nothing less”, she said when setting out areas of priority. She also supports the directive on quotas for women on Management Boards of listed companies, a measure she helped to introduce in her own country during her time as minister, but nevertheless a move that Germany continues to block at European level (see EUROPE 12184/13).
She has also announced that, during the first 100 days of her mandate, she will submit proposals for the introduction of binding measures regarding the transparency of remuneration. In the spring, the Juncker Commission had already prepared the groundwork for this by conducting a consultation on the wage gap, bearing in mind that equal pay is enshrined in the Equal Opportunities Directive (2006/54/EC) and the 2014 recommendation on the transparency of wages (see EUROPE 12210/4).
Violence against women
In addition, the new President of the Commission intends to take action to help tackle violence against women. On several occasions during her campaign, she indicated that she intends to propose that violence against women is added to the list of criminal offences defined in the Treaty. She also encouraged all Member States to "adhere" to the Istanbul Convention, given that all have signed it, but seven of them, as well as the EU, have not yet ratified it (see EUROPE 12228/4). Discussions are currently blocked at EU Council level due to procedural issues. (How can voting take place? What is to happen with States that have not ratified the text in isolation? etc.) In her priorities, Mrs von der Leyen notes that, if the accession process remains blocked at EU Council level, she will consider proposing "minimum standards for the definition of certain types of violence, such as strengthening the directive on victims' rights".
It should be noted that around forty MEPs (Renew Europe, S&D, Greens/EFA and GUE-NGL) have drafted a joint statement calling for strong commitments on gender issues, including sexual and reproductive rights. To review Mrs von der Leyen's strategic programme, see page: https://bit.ly/2xPVV90 (Original version in French by Sophie Petitjean)