BRUSSELS — Asserting that it was fed up with a policy of “men only” for top jobs, the European Parliament on Thursday narrowly rejected the nomination of Yves Mersch to the executive board of the European Central Bank.

The parliament does not have the power to require that women be considered, and governments still could approve the nomination of Mr. Mersch to a post that has been vacant for months even as the region’s sovereign debt crisis rumbles on.

But by going ahead with the nomination, governments would pit themselves against the only directly elected body in the Union over the highly sensitive issue of promoting gender balance. They also would be defying a majority of the parliament during a period of heightened concern about making European institutions like the E.C.B. more democratically accountable.

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