EU leaders suspended a summit on Monday after they failed to agree who should fill the bloc’s top jobs, with divisions over the marquee role of European Commission president as entrenched as ever after some 20 hours of talks.
France, Germany and Spain proposed Dutch socialist Frans Timmermans as the next head of the European Union executive, but as diplomats signaled he was close to getting the nod, Italy and eastern European nations turned him down.
The inability to reach agreement in negotiations that ran through the night reflects the bloc’s deepening political fragmentation and underlined problems that have grown as the bloc has expanded in reaching a common position on issues from migration to climate change.
It prompted an angry response from French President Emmanuel Macron who returned to Paris shortly after the talks were abruptly called off until Tuesday morning, branding the breakdown a “failure”.
“It’s a very bad image for both the European Council and for Europe,” Macron told reporters.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez said he felt “enormous frustration” at the absence of a deal.
