European Union leaders will meet again on June 30 to seek agreement on who should inherit the bloc's top jobs - including the head of its central bank - after failing to get a deal at the second attempt in talks dragging into the small hours on Friday (June 21).
The 28 national leaders meeting in Brussels for secret deliberations - no aides or phones allowed - remained at odds on who should steer the bloc in coming years.
"There was no majority for any candidate," summit chairman Donald Tusk told a news conference. "We will meet again on June 30."
For the European Union, the Commission presidency is a pivotal job. The body acts as the bloc's competition watchdog, oversees national budgets and proposes policies from climate change to tech regulation - big areas as member states struggle with a range of challenges at home and abroad.
"I note with certain amusement that it is not easy to replace me," said Jean-Claude Juncker, whose term as the Commission chief expires at the end of October.
The bloc did not reach unanimity on push by most of the nations to agree to go carbon neutral by 2050; after fierce resistance from Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. France and Germany had led efforts for the EU to lead by example in setting an ambitious new climate goal ahead of U.N. climate talks in September that U.S. President Donald Trump has abandoned.
Autor: gf / Źródło: TVN24 News in English, Reuters
Źródło zdjęcia głównego: EBS