Battle for Barroso's Babes

12.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 29th Jul 2004

Jose Manuel Barroso is facing a battle in his bid to appoint more women to Europe's top positions.

The president-designate of the European Commission has expressed his determination to achieve a better gender balance with women filling at least a third of the 25 commissioner jobs. Six of the 23 EU governments having so far put forward nominations have named women. It remains to be seen whether the remaining Member States will nominate female Commissioners.

Tony Blair is amongst those being blamed for Mr Barroso's difficulties. The Prime Minister opted to continue male domination when in naming Peter Mandelson he defied suggestions that Britain should nominate its first-ever woman commissioner.

With 25 posts to be filled, gender balance in the Barroso Commission is unlikely to be an improvement proportionately on the past situation. The Prodi Commission established in 1999 had women in five of the twenty posts.

Baroness Sarah Ludford, deputy leader of the British Liberal Democrat MEPs, said:

"It's a disgrace that an institution intended to represent all Europeans struggles to claim a female membership of even one-third. It's hard to tell women to value the EU when it fails to value them."

While stressing that all national governments must take responsibility for ensuring gender balance among Commissioners, Baroness Ludford singled out Tony Blair for particular criticism:

"The UK is the only one of the 'big four' EU Member States never to have nominated a woman as Commissioner; France, Germany and Italy all have in the past."

"The Prime Minister could have sent a British 'Barroso babe' to Brussels, but he plumped for 'Tony's crony' instead."