EU Leaders Fail to Agree on Ursula von der Leyen's Second Term due to Disagreement Over Posts
High hopes for an agreement on the top posts have been dashed by a quarrel between heads of state and government over appointments, Politico reports. The leaders of the 27 EU countries failed to support Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as head of the European Commission on the evening of 17 June, despite assurances from French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz that they were close to a deal, the publication said.
"There is no agreement tonight," European Council President Charles Michel told reporters.
The 27 heads of state and government, who met in Brussels the day before, were expected to quickly distribute the four top posts in the bloc among the current coalition of the centre-right European People's Party, the Socialists and the Liberals.
In the wake of the European elections, a consensus has emerged on the candidacy of Germany's von der Leyen for a second term as European Commission President, Portugal's Antonio Costa for European Council President, Malta's Roberta Metsola for European Parliament President, and Estonia's Kaja Kallas for Foreign Policy.
Other European leaders in recent weeks have also stressed the need for re-election in light of Russia's war in Ukraine and the potential return of former US President Donald Trump.
However, the European People's Party, the winner of the European Parliament elections, has asked for more concessions and powers among the top positions.
As expected, the EPP wanted to reappoint von der Leyen and Metsola. In addition, the EPP offered the Socialists to divide the powers of the president of the European Council into two parts of 2.5 years each, with the EPP getting one of them.
This, in turn, angered the Socialists and Democrats (S&D), who had hoped to win the post. And soon after the talks reached a deadlock, the blame game began.
EU leaders will meet again in Brussels on 27-28 June, where they hope to reach an agreement on the bloc's leadership positions.