EU summit suspended with top jobs undecided, will reconvene in Brussels Tuesday morning

Gruelling negotiations amongst European Union leaders on Sunday to decide who gets the bloc's top jobs have stretched into Monday morning, as Council President Donald Tusk seeks to secure an agreement before the day's end.

Up for grabs at the special summit in Brussels are the presidencies of the EU's executive Commission, the European Parliament, the European Council of EU governments, the EU's foreign policy chief and the head of the European Central Bank, which governs the euro currency. While the European Parliament president is elected by incoming MEPs, the post is nonetheless part of backdoor horsetrading deals for the top jobs.

Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte talks to journalists.

The #EUCO breakfast has started. pic.twitter.com/2GsjPUaftX

— Preben Aamann (@PrebenEUspox) 1 июля 2019 г.

German centre-right EU lawmaker Manfred Weber wanted to take the European Commission presidency, as he was the lead candidate for the European People's Party, the biggest political alliance in the European parliament.

But France's President Emmanuel Macron has rejected the lead candidate or 'Spitzenkandidat' system, which is still supported by Angela Merkel. The German Chancellor has refused to give it up, creating tensions between France and Germany.

Many governments want a balance of men and women and to avoid the top jobs going to members of western EU governments.

Timmermans in pole position
The emerging compromise is to name Weber as the European Parliament president and to give the Commission job to Dutch Socialist politician Frans Timmermans, who France and Spain strongly support.

"Both Spitzenkandidaten are part of the solution -- that is very important. As things look now, it won't come to an institutional conflict," Merkel told reporters after the G20 summit in Osaka, Japan, where EU leaders held talks on the EU top jobs.

Barring unexpectedly tough resistance from eastern European countries, Timmermans is set to be chosen after talks between France and Germany at the G20, Reuters reported two diplomats and one European Parliament adviser saying.

If confirmed, the choice would mark a victory for centrists and liberals, who challenged what they saw as an increasingly German-dominated EU at the top ranks in Brussels.

But Timmermans is unpalatable to eastern EU states such as Hungary and Poland, due to his role in the bloc's rule of law probes against their nationalist governments.

"I'm afraid that this person is not really the right one to unite Europe, not divide it more. In the past, we have a feeling that it was not very positive on our region and I am asking: where are the women?" Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said as he arrived in Brussels.

As regards the European Parliament, it will push ahead with electing its new president on Wednesday whether or not EU leaders reach an agreement on top jobs at the summit, parliament President Antonio Tajani told a press conference on Wednesday.