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Agence France-Presse

EU leaders on Tuesday struck a hard-fought summit deal to put women in two of the bloc’s most important jobs for the first time.
After three days of bitter wrangling, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen was named to replace Jean-Claude Juncker at the head of the European Commission for the next five years.
Once confirmed, von der Leyen will lead a commission facing a host of challenges, ranging from climate change to disinformation, populism and Brexit.
Former French finance minister Christine Lagarde, who has led the International Monetary Fund since 2011, is to take charge at the European Central Bank.

Summit host and European Council President Donald Tusk confirmed the appointments on Twitter, ending difficult talks that had dragged on since Sunday evening, dogged by division and infighting.
The 60-year-old conservative von der Leyen’s name came in the frame for the commission after an earlier proposal to name Dutch social democrat Frans Timmermans ran into insurmountable opposition.
The package agreed by the 28 EU leaders also sees Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel take over from Tusk at the European Council of member states, while Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell becomes foreign policy chief, replacing Federica Mogherini.
Von der Leyen, a minister for the past 14 years under German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has been an advocate for closer EU integration, calling for a “United States of Europe”.
Except for Michel, the package still needs the blessing of the European Parliament, and several senior figures in Timmermans’ centre-left group tweeted their disgruntlement at the proposed ticket.

Von der Leyen would take office on November 1 – the day after Britain is currently due to leave the bloc.
Both candidates vying to take over as British prime minister have vowed to leave on time, come what may, so the new commission’s first task in office could be to mop up the fallout from a messy “no deal” Brexit.
Von der Leyen had the crucial backing of French President Emmanuel Macron, as well as the support of the Visegrad 4 bloc – Hungary, Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
European Parliament kicks off new term amid protests over exclusion of Catalan members
This saved von der Leyen from the fate suffered by Timmermans, who was suggested by France and Germany as commission chief instead of the early front-runner Manfred Weber.
A marathon 18-hour negotiating session that began on Sunday evening broke up without agreement on Monday as the V4 plus Italy, where the populist government shares some of the Eastern Europeans’ anger at Brussels over migration, refused to countenance Timmermans.
As he arrived at the summit on Tuesday, Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis slammed Timmermans, who pushed a softer line on migration, as “absolutely unacceptable”.

“He has always pushed a migration policy which is unacceptable for us, so this man is absolutely unacceptable and I can’t see why the prime ministers of France, Spain, the Netherlands and Germany weren’t able to understand,” Babis said.
Other countries – including Ireland, Latvia and Croatia – also objected on the grounds they had not been properly consulted about the French-German plan cooked up on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Osaka at the weekend.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez initially stood firm behind fellow Social Democrat Timmermans on Tuesday, but after a morning of bilateral and small group meetings among leaders, the Dutchman’s chances were finally buried, according to two sources close to the talks.
French say oops on viral Ivanka Trump moment
Deciding the top jobs was complicated by the fragmentation of the EU political landscape in the May elections to the European Parliament.
The centre-right EPP and centre-left socialist group, the dominant forces in EU politics for years, lost their combined majority in the assembly.
The liberals, which include Macron supporters, are increasingly assertive over the choice of top jobs after they and the Greens made significant gains in the polls.
Protracted wrangling to dish out the EU’s top jobs is not new: in 2014 it took three summits to fill the posts.


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European Union

EU strikes leadership deal: German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen set to head Commission and Christine Lagarde to run European Central Bank

German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen will replace Jean-Claude Juncker at the head of the European Commission. Photo: AP Photo

Frans Timmermans, European Commission Vice President and top candidate of the Party of European Socialists (PES) for Commission President, delivers a speech during an election campaign for the European elections in Vienna, Austria, on May 25, 2019. (Photo by ALEX HALADA / AFP)

(FILES) In this file photo taken on April 10, 2019 IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde speaks about "Bretton Woods After 75: Rethinking International Cooperation", during the IMF - World Bank Spring Meetings at International Monetary Fund Headquarters in Washington, DC. - International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde on July 2, 2019 announced she would step down from the global lender after being nominated to lead the European Central Bank."I am honored to have been nominated for the @ECB Presidency," Lagarde said on Twitter. "In light of this, and in consultation with the Ethics Committee of the IMF Executive Board, I have decided to temporarily relinquish my responsibilities as IMF Managing Director during the nomination period." (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP)

Outgoing European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker gestures as he talks to the media after the EU leaders struck a deal on the bloc's top jobs during the third day of a EU summit, in Brussels on July 2, 2019. - EU leaders on July 2 neared a hard-fought summit compromise to put women in two of the bloc's most important jobs for the first time. After three days of bitter wrangling, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen emerged as a serious candidate to replace Jean-Claude Juncker at the head of the European Commission. (Photo by Bertrand GUAY / AFP)

European Parliament kicks off new term amid protests over exclusion of Catalan members

The first plenary session of the newly elected European Parliament is held in Strasbourg. Photo: Xinhua

epaselect epa07689253 Protesters hold Catalonian flags and banners during a demonstration in support of Catalonian politicians Carles Puigdemont, Oriol Junqueras and Toni Comin, in front of the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, 02 July 2019. Demonstrators demanded the Parliament inclusion of the 3 Catalan elected MEPs Puigdemont, Junqueras and Comin. EPA-EFE/PATRICK SEEGER

epa07689631 (Center row, L-R) Richard James Tice, Nigel Farage and Ann Widdecombe of the Brexit Party turn their backs on the musicians during the European Anthem at the first session of the new Parliament at the European Parliament, in Strasbourg, France, 02 July 2019. EPA-EFE/PATRICK SEEGER

French say oops on viral Ivanka Trump moment

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe shakes hands with US President Donald Trump as his daughter Ivanka Trump looks on during the an event at the G20 summit on Saturday. Photo: dpa

White House senior advisors Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner walk at the demilitarized zone separating the two Koreas, in Panmunjom, South Korea, June 30, 2019. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

EU leaders meet in Brussels for second round of emergency talks to try to reach top jobs compromise

Austrian Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein, Portugal's Prime Minister Antonio Costa and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte talk to the media as they arrive at a European Union leaders summit. Photo: Reuters

Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel arrives for a European Union leaders summit that aims to select candidates for top EU institution jobs, in Brussels, Belgium June 30, 2019. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

Austrian Chancellor Brigitte Bierlein addresses the media ahead of a European Union leaders summit that aims to select candidates for top EU institution jobs, in Brussels, Belgium June 30, 2019. REUTERS/Johanna Geron

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Agreement reached after three days of talks in Brussels, with the top two jobs going to women for the first time


Agreement reached after three days of talks in Brussels, with the top two jobs going to women for the first time.


EU strikes leadership deal: German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen set to head Commission and Christine Lagarde to run European Central Bank

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;}Agreement reached after three days of talks in Brussels, with the top two jobs going to women for the first time

Agreement reached after three days of talks in Brussels, with the top two jobs going to women for the first time