(ANSA-AFP) - STRASBOURG, SEP 17 - The new European Commission
team will include 11 women -- a 40-percent share of the posts --
although there is still "work to do", EU chief Ursula von der
Leyen said Tuesday. Despite her bid for gender parity, von der
Leyen said member states put forward only 22 percent women
candidates. "This was completely unacceptable," she told
reporters, although the balance improved after she put pressure
for more women. "There is still so much more work to do," she
added.
Lithuania's Andrius Kubilius was tapped Tuesday for a new
defence commissioner role in the European Commission, billed as
central to the EU's ambitions to rearm faced with the threat
from Russia. As commissioner for defence and space, the former
Lithuanian prime minister "will work on developing the European
defence union and boosting our investment in industrial
capacity," EU chief Ursula von der Leyen told reporters at the
European Parliament in Strasbourg. Faced with Russia's war on
Ukraine, von der Leyen promised to name a designated defence
commissioner as a key part of her new top team. (ANSA-AFP).
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