The European Commission has approved proposals from justice commissioner Viviane Reding to have at least 40% of women on company boards by 2020, according to BBC News.
The news came in a tweet by Reding. Official confirmation is due later. But there are reports the proposals have been watered down to exclude small and medium companies and only to apply to non-executive directors.
Reding postponed the launch of the policy last month, when EU lawyers warned quotas may not be enforceable.
There have also been suggestions that there will not be provisions for sanctions against companies that do not comply with the quotas.
Draft versions of the proposals said that the rules would not apply to countries that had already taken measures to improve the gender balance on boards.
