The candidates are lining up, the tension grows by the day but there is still one major thing missing as the fevered race for top jobs in the EU gets underway: women.

Not one female high-flyer has elbowed her way into the roll call of front-runners for the new posts of EU President and Foreign Minister. Favourites for the top jobs include Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende and Tony Blair.

Despite calls from German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the European Commission for female nominations, the search for women seems to have ended before it even begun.

Priority on gender
On the tenth floor of the steel-and-glass European Commission, alarm is rising. Dutch Commissioner Neellie Kroes shakes her head and asks: "There are so many good women in government jobs, how can we not come up with a name?"

Herself a heavyweight in Brussels, Ms Kroes says the situation is so dire that she would support a non-Dutch woman over her own prime minister for one of the European Council posts. "I have to be consistent so, yes, I think there has to be a female appointment in one of the top jobs in Europe. My priority is on gender, less on nationality," she explains.
 

Undemocratic?
Former Irish President and UN High Representative Mary Robinson and Ms Merkel are two obvious choices but both have said they are unavailable. "But there are so many others," Ms Kroes insists.

Swedish Commissioner Margot Wallström works two floors up and on Monday made headlines with a public call to the EU's 27 foreign ministers for at least one of the top jobs to be given to a woman. She rattles off potential names, including many former ministers, insisting that "they just have to be encouraged to come forward".

No minimum quota
Ms Wallström is also worried that the next incoming Commission, which drafts EU laws, similarly looks set to be woefully male-dominated, despite a letter by President Barroso urging capitals to send their top women to Brussels.

"I'm trying to mobilise [women] in the different member states. The Commission puts forward proposals for Europe and needs to reflect the fact that women make up the majority of EU citizens. It's important they have a seat at the table to represent their interests," she explains.

Commissioner Kroes adds that she is "disappointed" that President Barroso did not go as far as five years ago in setting a minimum quota to ensure one third of the Commissioners were women because "we've proved that this Commission has operated better since more women became part of it." In the past five years, Ms Kroes has battled corporate giants like Microsoft, Telecoms Commissioner Viviane Reding has brought down mobile phone charges and Agriculture Commissioner Fischer-Boel has braved staunch opposition to shake up the outdated Common Agricultural Policy.

Less ego, more action
"Women are much less about egos and their own positions. They are team-players and are highly efficient, probably due to years of experience of having had to juggle family and professional life," says Ms Kroes.

Both Ms Kroes and Ms Wallström are advocates of enforced quotas, saying it's the only way to bring about change and point to successful examples in companies and in Norway. But on the street outside the Commission building, the reaction is mixed.

"You can't force these things through, it has to be a natural process," says one Polish man. A Belgian woman adds: "I am against quotas, you should get the post based on merit," though she acknowledges that the best jobs are still held by men in Brussels. But a British EU official in his 40s argues that quotas are essential: "It makes sense for the EU institutions to reflect the population of Europe. And I think most people here would agree."

The new EU president, foreign ministers and EU Commission are likely to be appointed next month and although the signs are not encouraging, both Ms Kroes and Ms Wallström have vowed to do their bit for the campaign. "Sometimes you just need to have courage," they say, demonstrating they have plenty of it.