Leaders meeting on Wednesday (16 July) are likely to pick only the new
EU foreign policy chief, with a decision on the successor to Council
head Herman Van Rompuy “possibly” delayed until autumn.
According to one EU source, "if a complete deal is feasible, we should go for it. Otherwise, it will be only the high representative."
A second source told this website that it is "certainly a possibility" that only the foreign affairs chief is picked.
Both the foreign policy head - Catherine Ashton - and the Council president - Herman Van Rompuy - have five months to go until their terms end.
But in the case of the foreign affairs job, the successor also has to undergo hearings in the European Parliament and to be voted together with the rest of the new EU commissioners in October.At the core of the delay is a disagreement in the Socialist leaders' camp.
France's Francois Hollande is reluctant to endorse Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt for the Van Rompuy job. Thorning-Schmidt is a centre-left politician, but close enough to the centre-right to be acceptable to the likes of Germany’s Angela Merkel or the UK’s David Cameron.
The political colour of one top job will determine the other, as the centre-right and the centre left are dividing the posts evenly.
Read more: EUobserver / EU summit may decide only on foreign policy chief
According to one EU source, "if a complete deal is feasible, we should go for it. Otherwise, it will be only the high representative."
A second source told this website that it is "certainly a possibility" that only the foreign affairs chief is picked.
Both the foreign policy head - Catherine Ashton - and the Council president - Herman Van Rompuy - have five months to go until their terms end.
But in the case of the foreign affairs job, the successor also has to undergo hearings in the European Parliament and to be voted together with the rest of the new EU commissioners in October.At the core of the delay is a disagreement in the Socialist leaders' camp.
France's Francois Hollande is reluctant to endorse Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt for the Van Rompuy job. Thorning-Schmidt is a centre-left politician, but close enough to the centre-right to be acceptable to the likes of Germany’s Angela Merkel or the UK’s David Cameron.
The political colour of one top job will determine the other, as the centre-right and the centre left are dividing the posts evenly.
Read more: EUobserver / EU summit may decide only on foreign policy chief
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