The leaders of the European Union are still in the backroom negotiating the personalities for the heads of the Union's institutions, and the hinted "new names" include proposals for the German Minister of Defense Ursula von den Leyen to become the President of the European Commission (EC), and for the Vice President of the EC Maroš Šefčovič to replace Federica Mogherini in the position head of the European External Action Service (EEAS).
It is expected that the meeting of EU leaders will start earlier in the afternoon, and for now the Dutch socialist Frans Timmermans, who has so far had the support of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, whose party partners are on the right wing in the EU, is still in the running for the head of the EC. strongly opposed.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel was also mentioned as a possible new head of "European diplomacy", EEAS, who was also said to be able to take over the presidency of the European Council, which consists of the heads of state or government of the EU, although she was also "seen" for that position. head of the World Bank Kristalina Georgijeva.
It was also unofficially said that the EC commissioner for the digital economy, the Bulgarian Marija Gabriel, could become the head of the EEAS.
According to the diplomats at the meeting, the "new package of candidates" with German Defense Minister von der Leyen was first of all put forward by the members of the Visegrad Four and some Baltic countries, which are very much against the arrival of Timmermans at the head of the EC.
The right-of-center grouping of parties, the EPP, which achieved a poor result but still received the largest number of votes in the European Parliament elections, demanded that its candidate, the German Social Christian Manfred Weber, be the EC president.
This was contested by many key politicians in power in the EU, assessing that Weber has no experience in running government or state affairs, and it was unofficially emphasized that he is a "pale personality" for such a demanding position of head of the EU executive.
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