European Commissioner President Ursula von der Leyen is delaying the announcement of the Commission’s new cabinet, amidst an ongoing struggle to appoint a gender-balanced commission, according to a Politico report published on Tuesday.

Von der Leyen was scheduled to meet the leaders of the European Parliament’s different groupings on Wednesday. A public announcement effectively handing out portfolios to each country’s European Commissioner nominee was expected shortly afterwards.

The nominees would then undergo grilling by the European Parliament before being confirmed in their role.

But, according to Politico, the announcement has been pushed back to next week to allow Slovenia to confirm their nomination of former ambassador Marta Kos.

Push for a gender-balanced commission

Von der Leyen is known to have made a gender-balanced commission one of her key goals for the upcoming legislature, asking countries to nominate both a man and a woman to the role when selecting their nominees.

However, most countries ignored her request, with only Bulgaria submitting two names, meaning that two-thirds of the names proposed across the bloc were men.

Von der Leyen is believed to have been exerting pressure on several countries to switch out their male nominee for a woman, with mixed results.

Malta’s nominee, Glenn Micallef, has found himself caught up in the turbulence, with von der Leyen reportedly asking Malta to withdraw his nomination and propose a woman in his stead.

Micallef’s lack of political experience is believed to have complicated matters and placed him in the firing line.

Glenn Micallef's nomination is hanging in the balance. File photo: Chris Sant Fournier

Sources in Brussels suggested that von der Leyen was eyeing a second term for sitting commissioner Helena Dalli, a move that the government is believed to view with reluctance.

Both Micallef and the government have remained tight-lipped in recent weeks, only saying that talks are taking place.