A key committee in the European Parliament on Friday voted down the European Banking Authority's choice for director, angry that a woman was not put forward as a candidate. MEPs in the economic committee rejected Frenchman François-Louis Michaud by a narrow majority of 24 against to 23 in favour with ten abstentions. The question now heads to a full session of European Parliament, where the Greens vowed to block Michaud's candidacy for good in a vote next week. "We Greens voted against the candidate in committee on principle and will do the same in plenary next week," said German MEP Sven Giegold. Giegold referred to an EU Parliament resolution from last year in which MEPs demanded that shortlists of candidates for important jobs contain a woman. Gender balance is an increasing priority in filling top EU jobs, especially in financial roles where men outnumber women by a wide margin. The EBA's first choice to fill the job, Irishman Gerry Cross, was turned down by MEPs earlier this year for having previously worked for a major financial lobby. "Will the EBA ever learn?" tweeted Dutch MEP Paul Tang after Friday's vote. "This is an important victory in the fight for gender balance," he added. The EBA, whose headquarters moved to Paris from London after Brexit, is one of three financial watchdogs created by the EU in the wake of the financial crisis. pe-arp/jh