EU Summit Fails To Fill Up Top Jobs
Bianca Ortega | | Jul 17, 2014 04:15 AM EDT |
(Photo : Reuters / Pascal Rossignol) Britain's Prime Minister David Cameron (C) talks to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso (R) during a European Union leaders summit in Brussels June 27, 2014.
The European Union (EU) Summit closed early Thursday but the leaders failed to reach a deal on the top jobs for the next five years.
The EU leaders did not yet reach the point where they could agree on who should fill up the top jobs, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy explained. However, he is sure that they will reach an agreement on the next summit on August 30, the AFP News relayed.
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From the beginning of the summit, there were already uncertainties about who would take the place of foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton of Britain. Without a sure candidate for this position, looking for a new European Council president became harder.
Van Rompuy said these decisions needed ample time as the European Council president would lead the 28-nation bloc into setting the direction for policies. German Chancellor Angela Merkel agreed with Van Rompuy's point of view.
At the end of the summit, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite also said it was still not possible for the EU leaders to agree on the nominations. She said the Baltic states, including Lithuania and Poland, would not go with the popular choice of Italian Foreign Minister Frederica Mogherini taking Ashton's place.
The Baltic states think Mogherini has too little experience and that Rome displayed a very soft stance on Russia during the Ukraine crisis. In addition, they said the Italian minister was eager to preserve its economic relations with Moscow.
EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva from Bulgaria could be a contender for Mogherini, according to diplomats. Georgieva has close relations with the European People's Party.
The European Council and Britain support Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt as Van Rompuy's replacement. However, Denmark is not a eurozone member.
Other bets for the top jobs include Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny, former Latvian premier Valdis Dombrovskis, Dutch Premier Mark Rutte, and Andrus Ansip of Estonia. Kenny already dismissed the possibility of taking on the job since he is already preoccupied with a lot of issues.
The EU first needs to settle the top jobs before appointing the portfolios for the new 28-seat European Commission. The bloc's executive department will be headed by EU insider Jean-Claude Junckner, as confirmed by the European Parliament on Tuesday.
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