The Heads of State or Government will meet again at an extraordinary meeting of the European Council on Sunday 30 June in Brussels to try to reach an agreement on the distribution of the high functions of the European Union - presidencies of the European Commission, the European Council, the European Parliament, the European Central Bank and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy - to be filled by the autumn.
The discussions could be long, they should start on Sunday evening, 30 June and last until late at night. If no agreement is reached, talks could continue the next day, Monday 1 July. A little more than a week after a European Council meeting that failed to identify names (see EUROPE 12279/1), the situation does not seem any easier this time.
European leaders must agree on these high positions while striving to respect a political, geographical and gender balance.
And if all the EU's high offices are of particular importance, it is the Presidency of the European Commission, following Jean-Claude Juncker's departure, scheduled for 31 October, that is the most tense.
At the end of the last European Council meeting, several leaders argued that the three Spitzenkandidaten for this Presidency (Germany's Manfred Weber for the EPP, the Dutch Frans Timmermans for the PES and the Danish Margrethe Vestager for the ALDE) were not in a position to win the support of a majority of European parliamentarians, so their candidacy for the Commission's presidency would be complicated to put into practice (see EUROPE 12280/2).
However, both the EPP and S&D groups in the European Parliament continue to support their respective Spitzenkandidat (see EUROPE 12283/5). This is despite the fact that the political groups' negotiations on a joint work programme have still not been concluded. And the S&D and RE are still opposed to the election of Mr Weber as head of the Commission.
Still on the European Parliament's side, the election of the future President of the institution, replacing the Italian Antonio Tajani, will take place on 3 July, and not the day before, as initially planned (see EUROPE 12282/14). This should enable parliamentarians to analyse the results of negotiations between European leaders.
These negotiations will therefore be difficult and discussions between the Heads of State or Government are intensifying ahead of the European Council meeting. For example, Donald Tusk, the president of this institution, talks with the European leaders present in Osaka (Japan) for the G20 summit on 28 and 29 June. He also announced on Twitter that he is in contact with those who are not attending the G20. “I do not expect white smoke in Osaka”, he finally told the press on Friday 28 June. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)