Tomorrow EU Finance Ministers, after an initial delay, may decide on the replacement of Mr Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo on the Executive Board of the ECB. There is not a single woman on the Executive Board, nor on the Governing Council or the General Council. This is an opportunity to take stock of the glaring absence of women in the top positions of the Bank.

"This is not a question of doubting the present candidates' competence, but a question on whether there may be a systematic failure in the appointment process, when the results are continuously so poor when it comes to nominating female candidates", said Olle Schmidt (Folkpartiet, Sweden), initiator for the ALDE group of an Oral Question to the Commission.

"Just as there is no doubt about the present candidates' competence, there is no doubt about the fact that there are many qualified female professionals who could be considered in the selection process.We have established a short list which we will propose to EU Finance Ministers to consider".

"It is regrettable that in Europe, where gender equality should be a reality, we still witness women's representation in the board of Europe's largest companies below 3%. European Institutions should be setting an example rather than confirming a stereotype. The Commission should propose ways to ensure a fairer gender balance, as promised by commissioner Reding a year ago" .

All 27 Member States signed, in May 2009, the Council of Europe's declaration on "Making gender equality a reality", Mr Schmidt concluded: "We need to work much more proactively towards a more balanced representation in the EU institutions. In the specific case of the ECB Executive Board, we urge Member States to meet their commitment and agree a model for selecting candidates whereby each Member State nominates two candidates, one man and one woman ", he concluded.