| Pursuing her goal for gender balance on the EU high table, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has been able to make smaller member states change their mind, as three of them withdrew their male candidate, however, gender balance is unlikely to be achieved. Romania’s Prime Minister Marcel Ciolacu had proposed a male candidate, Victor Negrescu, a vice president of the European Parliament and a heavyweight in the S&D camp, despite his young age. But ten days later, Ciolacu announced that another member of the European Parliament (MEP), little-known Roxana Mînzatu, was the new Romanian nominee for an apparently “relevant” portfolio, “even if her political experience is limited”. Slovenia too withdrew its male candidate, Tomaž Vesel, a former president of his country’s Court of Audit, reportedly amid pressure from von der Leyen, and announced on Monday (9 September) that Marta Kos, a former diplomat and presidential candidate, is the new pick. Bulgaria was the only EU country to comply with von der Leyen’s request that member states put forward one male and one female nomination. These were Ekaterina Zaharieva, former justice and former foreign minister, and Julian Popov, a former environment minister and a fellow of the European Climate foundation. Having met consecutively with Zaharieva and Popov in the Berlaymont on 3 September, on 5 September, von der Leyen sent a letter to the Bulgarian caretaker prime minister Dimitar Glavchev, reportedly thanking him for the two candidacies and asking Bulgaria to nominate Zaharieva as the sole Bulgarian candidate. Glavchev responded positively to the request. | 