11.3.2014   

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

CE 72/118

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having regard to the Council’s recommendation of 10 July 2012 (1),

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having regard to Article 283(2), second subparagraph of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, pursuant to which the European Council consulted Parliament (C7-0195/2012),

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having regard to Rule 109 of its Rules of Procedure,

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having regard to the report of the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (A7-0348/2012),

A.

whereas, by letter of 13 July 2012, received on 18 July 2012, the European Council consulted Parliament on the appointment of Yves Mersch as a Member of the Executive Board of the European Central Bank (ECB) for a term of office of eight years;

B.

whereas Parliament's Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs then proceeded to evaluate the credentials of the nominee, in particular in view of the requirements laid down in Article 283(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and in the light of the need for full independence of the ECB in the area of monetary policy pursuant to Article 130 TFEU, whereas in carrying out this evaluation, the committee received a curriculum vitae from the candidate as well as his replies to the written questionnaire that had been sent to him;

C.

whereas the committee subsequently held a hearing with the nominee on 22 October 2012, at which he made an opening statement and then responded to questions from the members of the committee;

D.

whereas there was a broad consensus that the nominee is of recognised standing and has the professional qualification and experience in monetary and banking matters needed to exercise the functions of an Member of the Executive Board of the ECB;

E.

whereas, prior to the end of the term of office of Ms Tumpel-Gugerell, the issue of female representation at the ECB was raised informally by MEPs;

F.

whereas, from the creation of the ECB, until the departure of Ms Tumpel-Gugerell, there had always been a female member of the Executive Board of the ECB;

G.

whereas, according to the principle of sincere cooperation between the Member States and the Union, as set out in Article 4(3) TFEU, the committee ensured, before the end of Mr Gonzalez-Paramo's mandate in May 2012, that the Council was informed, by way of letter of 8 May 2012 to the President of the Eurogroup, by the chair the committee, on behalf of all the political groups, about the lack of diversity on the Executive Board of the ECB and the need for a female candidate to be presented;

H.

whereas, in the same letter, the chair of the committee encouraged the Eurogroup to implement a medium-term plan to promote women to influential positions in the ECB, in national central banks and in national finance ministries;

I.

whereas no formal reply was received to the letter of 8 May 2012;

J.

whereas Article 2 of the Treaty on European Union lays down the principle of equality between women and men;

K.

whereas Article 19 TFEU confers powers upon the Union to combat gender discrimination;

L.

whereas gender diversity in boards and governments ensure broader competence and wider perspectives, and whereas recruiting only men or only women means a more narrow selection and risks missing out on potentially excellent candidates;

M.

whereas the terms of office of the current Executive Board of the ECB extends to 2018 so that the Executive Board is potentially void of gender diversity until that date;

N.

whereas, by letter of 19 September 2012, the President of the European Parliament, following a meeting of the Conference of Presidents, requested that the President of the European Council make a commitment to ensure that all of the Union's institutions under his responsibility should implement concrete measures to ensure gender balance;

O.

whereas the Commission adopted a strategy for equality between women and men 2010-2015 (COM(2010)0491) on 21 September 2010 and a report on Progress on Equality between Women and Men in 2011(SWD(2012/0085) on 16 April 2012;

P.

whereas the Commission's proposal for a directive of the European Parliament and the Council on the access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment firms (Capital Requirements Directive (CRD4)), included requirement for institutions to put in place a policy promoting gender diversity on the management body;

Q.

whereas the European Council adopted the European pact for Gender Equality for the period 2011 to 2020 on 7 March 2011;

R.

whereas Parliament has adopted resolutions of 13 March 2012 on women in political decision-making (2), of 8 March 2011 on equality between women and men in the European Union - 2010 (3), and of 6 July 2011 on women and business leadership (4);

1.

Delivers a negative opinion on the Council recommendation to appoint Yves Mersch as a Member of the Executive Board of the ECB and requests that the recommendation be withdrawn and that a new one be submitted to Parliament;

2.

Instructs its President to forward this decision to the European Council, the Council and the governments of the Member States.