6 men, no women promoted to top Eurocrat grade

European Commission chose from a list of 29 eligible candidates that included 25 men and 4 women.

The European Commission — on the day it launched a new diversity strategy — quietly promoted six men and no women to the top civil servant grade within its ranks, according to internal Commission meeting minutes obtained by POLITICO.

The six men promoted to the highest “AD16” grade were chosen from a list of 29 eligible candidates that included 25 men and four women, according to a second Commission document seen by POLITICO.

Staff serving at AD16 and AD15 grades typically either run a department of the Commission or act as deputies to department chiefs, and have decades of administrative experience.

The six men promoted are Ladislav Miko, Jens Nymand Christensen, Xavier Prats Monné, Stephen Quest, Gerassimos Thomas and Roberto Viola.

The four women overlooked for promotion are Karen Banks, Mariana Kotzeva, Katariná Mathernová and Monique Pariat.

This week’s promotions could become a source of embarrassment for the Commission, which has struggled to meet its stated target of putting women in 40 percent of top positions.

Former Commissioner for Budget and Human Resources Kristalina Georgieva last year threatened a hiring freeze for men in light of slow progress.

A European Commission spokesperson said the promotions involve merit-based salary increases and do not come with new responsibilities for those promoted. The spokesperson said the Commission remained committed to “very active talent spotting” at lower management levels to ensure long-term diversity targets are met.

In a parallel set of promotions, Jean-Claude Juncker’s chief of staff Martin Selmayr was promoted to the second-highest grade within the Commission system, known as “AD15.”

Thirteen other staff members also earned the second-highest grade, including Ditte Juul Jorgensen and Linsey McCallum, the two most senior aides to Commissioner for Competition Margrethe Vestager.

Two Brits — McCallum and the director general of the Commission’s tax department, Stephen Quest, who received the highest grade — were promoted, in what may be their last chance to advance in Commission ranks before the U.K. leaves the bloc in 2019.

Under EU staff regulations, staff members with British nationality may be required to resign after Brexit. Günther Oettinger, the new commissioner for human resources, promised in an internal Commission meeting last week that he would fight for British staff to be allowed to stay on as officials after Britain’s exit.

The six staff members promoted to grade AD16 will earn a monthly salary €17,054 before tax, which may over time rise to €18,517.

The 14 staff members promoted to AD15 status — nine men and five women — will earn €15,073 monthly before tax, which may rise to €17,771 in future years.

According to the minutes of the College of Commissioners meeting, Selmayr removed himself from the room for the decision regarding his promotion “to avoid any potential conflict of interest.”

Quentin Ariès contributed reporting to this article.

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