EU leaders are in talks on who should occupy key power roles in Brussels over the next five years, in talks that could prove to be a difficult political balancing act.
The likely candidates of Germany’s Ursula von der Leyen for the EU executive, Portugal’s António Costa as president of the European Council and Kaja Kallas as foreign affairs chief emerged during an informal gathering last week.
Six negotiators representing the three mainstream political forces – Poland’s Donald Tusk, Greece’s Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Germany’s Olaf Scholz, Spain’s Pedro Sánchez, France’s Emmanuel Macron and the Netherlands’ Mark Rutte – then held a phone call earlier this week to reaffirm their slate of candidates
But the pre-baked deal sparked the ire of Italian premier Giorgia Meloni, who lashed out at the “undemocratic” process on the eve of the summit. Diplomatic sources say Meloni could seek concessions from EU leaders in exchange for her support, such as a privileged portfolio for the next Italian EU Commissioner.
The appointment to the top jobs does not require the unanimous backing of member states, but Italy’s backing is needed to give a show of political unity.
Earlier on Thursday, the bloc struck a security agreement with Ukraine and held discussions on military support for Ukraine, the vision for the next five-year mandate, the Middle East, migration, and the EU’s defence and security.