The European Union's leaders gathered on Tuesday for a third consecutive da...
BRUSSELS - The European Union’s leaders gathered on Tuesday for a third consecutive day of arm-wrestling over the 28-nation bloc’s key posts, with little sign that fundamental differences had narrowed.
Some leaders dozed off from exhaustion in the small hours of Monday during talks that ended with Italy and ex-communist eastern states blocking socialist Dutchman Frans Timmermans from taking up the highest-profile post, that of president of the EU executive, the European Commission. Arriving on Tuesday, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis told reporters: “We’re just asking that Mr Timmermans is not acceptable.”But Finnish Prime Minister Antti Rinne said a series of meetings between EU leaders since Monday afternoon should be enough to unlock a deal.The jigsaw puzzle that fell apart on Monday would also have seen Bulgaria’s Kristalina Georgieva join the new EU leadership team in Brussels, whose term will run for five years.
Apart from the Commission, which monitors states’ budgets and proposes new laws, other top jobs up for grabs later this year include the presidents of the European Parliament and the European Central Bank, as well as the top diplomat in Brussels.See more stories The new EU assembly’s approval is required for the Commission president that the national leaders nominate.
The socialist candidate was also opposed by the center-right national leaders who stake a claim to the prominent Commission role after their parties - under an umbrella group called the European People’s Party - came in first, albeit weakened, in the parliamentary vote.
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