EU Balkan Members Seek Greater Role in Commission

European leaders failed to reach an agreement on the allotment of the EU top jobs on Sunday night, with the presidency of the European Commission, the highest prize, as the major bone of contention.

Germany, France, The Netherlands and Spain now agree that the Socialist Frans Timmermans, from the Netherlands, should replace Jean-Claude Juncker at the helm of the Commission. His proposers also include the centre-right bloc in the parliament, the European Popular Party, EPP, which holds the presidency of the parliament and the foreign affairs post.

However, many in the EPP are refusing to cede the most powerful EU position to a member of their main rival group, invoking the results of the May 26 European elections in which the EPP came first and the Socialists second.

Under the "Spitzenkandidat" [lead candidate] procedure adopted in 2014, leaders are supposed to take into account which party won the most seats in the European Parliament when deciding key roles, including the Commission presidency.

Timmerman also has powerful critics in the form of the nationalist governments in Poland and Hungary. But Bulgaria's leader, Boyko Borissov, Andrej Plenkovic of Croatia and Irish leader Leo Varadkar have also opposed Timmerman's designation as President of the Commission, the Brussels-based publication Politico says.

"The vast majority of EPP prime ministers don't believe that we [the EPP] should give up the presidency quite so easily," Varadkar said on Sunday.

"There's no support from EPP leaders and the EPP presidency for the proposed package," Croatian Prime Minister Plenkovic was quoted as saying during the summit.

Plenkovic, who is one of the official EPP negotiatiors, has been mentioned as an option for the Commission...