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EU leaders suspend talks on top jobs

National leaders have failed to reach agreement during 20 hours of talks on who should take over the European Union's top jobs.

Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel speaks to Jean-Claude Juncker
European Union leaders are still considering who should replace Jean-Claude Juncker (left). (AAP)

A European Union summit has been suspended after national leaders failed to reach agreement during 20 hours of talks on who should take over the bloc's top jobs.

Leaders of the EU's 28 member-states had appeared close to a deal, with diplomats saying Dutch socialist Frans Timmermans was lined up for the job of European Commission president.

But that post was just one of five that need allocating, also including president of the European Central Bank.

The talks will resume at 11am on Tuesday, an EU official said.

Resistance to Timmermans' nomination came from eastern European nations as well as the centre-right European People's Party, which wanted the EU chief executive job for its own political grouping.

Asked what the main sticking point was, an EU official said: "The whole package."

The summit marked a third attempt to fill the top posts for at least the next five years.

The slow progress of those discussions, seeking to balance gender and reflect the make-up of the EU parliament, underline broader decision-making problems facing the EU, which has struggled to respond to a series of crises, from migration to climate change and the aftermath of the global financial crisis.


2 min read

Published

Source: AAP



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