40% of Commission will be women, but still 'work to do'

(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).