The case for a feminist EU Commission: von der Leyen's test

As Ursula von der Leyen is awaiting her confirmation hearing in the European Parliament to be appointed for a second term as European Commission president, she will surely be planning her political priorities and next college.

EU member states have started proposing names and a few have gone so far as to say which positions they would like. However, now is not the moment to rush into any decisions, nor to opt for business-as-usual, even with a beefed-up approach to security, defence and European interests.

Now is the moment to reflect on what the EU stands for and how best to achieve that in an increasingly troubled world. Making the right choices today is crucial to ensuring peace, prosperity and well-being for people and the planet. And those choices must be feminist!

The president-nominee should be credited for her wish in the last cycle to achieve a gender balance in her college. Apparently, she has repeated her request for every member state to present both a male and a female candidate this time too.

However, feminism does not stop at gender equality. Much more is needed: a different approach, a different mindset. 

Von der Leyen should begin by reflecting on how Europe has got as far as it has and what it has achieved over the last 70 years.

The founders of the EU were determined to put the war behind us and promote collaboration, wealth sharing, human rights, and values like democracy and the rule of law. It might surprise some, but the principles underpinning the success of this ambition are fundamentally feminist.

Although the founders of the EU may not have envisioned it as a feminist initiative, they effectively created one by promoting collaboration over competition, sharing power and fostering a regional order that transcends rivalry among shifting continental powers by addressing inequalities between countries and within countries.

And if those principles have worked for us – why not take them further? Why not extend those principles also to our dealings with others? Quite apart from the fact that it is high time to move beyond our (neo)colonialist, exploitative traditions and tendencies, maybe the president-nominee should also bear in mind the well-known African proverb: if you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.

The hard reality is that the world is getting increasingly unstable, and the EU is a rather small player in a very interconnected world. Europe needs allies, not just when geopolitical tensions are high.

The question is: should we emulate the behaviour of others or should we forge our path based on the values that root the European Union? Is the answer to compete even more ferociously, or rather to reach out to collaborate and create meaningful partnerships with other states? Of course, nothing is black or white, but the leaders of today, including von der Leyen, need to make these conscious choices now, with a clear, long-term vision in mind.

Now is not the moment to ignore our historic achievements in the name of economic growth, competitiveness or short-term geopolitical gains. Let’s not reduce our vision to neoliberal schemes like the Global Gateway and ultra-defensive, anti-migration approaches. This does not mean abandoning security and defence. Rather, it complements immediate responses to current geopolitical tensions with a vision based on the common good.

Now is the moment to strengthen the feminist principles of sharing, caring, collaboration, partnership, and equality that the founders of the EU chose 70 years ago.

A commission focused on power, competition, patriarchy and neocolonial approaches will guarantee we all lose in a zero-sum game. Increasing our security, our stability and our prosperity at the expense of others can only backfire in the long term.

A feminist Commission with a feminist vision will enable us all to win by treating global stability and prosperity as a collaborative effort. The choices leaders make now matter.

CONCORD, together with other seven EU-level organisations, has also published an open letter to Ursula von der Leyen.