Type: NEWS   Reference: 87523   Duration: 00:00:53  Lieu: Strasbourg, France - European Parliament
End production: 24/10/2012   First transmission: 25/10/2012

- extracts from the vote Background: On Thursday MEPs gave a final thumbs down to the Council’s intransigence in failing to commit to a better gender balance within what is effectively Europe's most powerful financial institution, the European Central Bank. By a narrow margin, the plenary confirmed the rejection of candidate ECB Executive Board member Yves Mersch, as recommended by the Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee. MEPs had been hoping that European Council President Herman Van Rompuy would use his presence in plenary on Tuesday morning to offer concrete commitments regarding gender balance. But his words fell short of expectations. “Mr Van Rompuy has not taken the opportunity to offer more than lip service to what is a very serious matter. He has promised nothing, not even a road map, for appointing women to the ECB board in the future. European institutions should be leading by example, not dragging their feet”, commented Economic and Monetary Affairs Committee chair Sharon Bowles (ALDE, UK).

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