This archive report was first published on 2 July 2019.
EU leaders gathered in Brussels for a third straight day of talks aimed at filling the bloc's top jobs, but deep divisions threatened hopes of a swift decision.
On Monday, an 18-hour summit session broke up in acrimony with no agreement on a French-German compromise for the new chief of the European Commission.
However, a European source revealed that France and Germany were discussing German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen as a new compromise candidate.
French President Emmanuel Macron's hopes of agreement in 'a few hours' on Tuesday were dealt a blow by Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis, who slammed Dutch socialist Frans Timmermans as 'absolutely unacceptable' to a group of Eastern European countries.
Timmermans has enraged the Visegrad 4 group of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and the Czech Republic with his softer approach to migration as commission vice-president over the last five years.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stood firm behind Timmermans, suggesting that Macron's hopes of agreement could be thwarted.
As tensions gripped the summit, the resumption of formal talks was delayed multiple times to allow leaders to meet one-on-one or in small groups.
EU leaders need the backing of 21 of the 28 EU leaders, representing 65 percent of the bloc's population, for a candidate to get the nod.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said leaders would approach day three with 'new creativity', but warned that 'everyone needs to understand that they need to move forward'.
On Tuesday, July 2, 2019, EU leaders were still struggling to fill the bloc's top jobs amid deep divisions.
