The informal meeting will be the first leaders gathering since
the European Parliament election, which proved good for the
centre-right and right-wing nationalists, but humiliating for
French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf
Scholz.
The leaders are to discuss who should be the next presidents of
the European Commission and European Council, and the foreign
policy chief, but their minds seem already made up.
Germany's Ursula von der Leyen is in prime position to secure a
second term as head of the EU executive, buoyed by gains for her
centre-right European People's Party.
Thirteen of the 27 EU leaders are from parties belonging to the
EPP. With French and German support too, she would have the
qualified majority she requires to be nominated.
France had previously weighed alternatives to von der Leyen, but
with a snap parliamentary election called by Macron from June
30, the government now prefers EU stability.
Former Portugal Prime Minister António Costa is set to become
the next president of the European Council, which would see the
socialist chair summits from December.
Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas, a liberal, is then in line
to be nominated high representative for foreign affairs,
ensuring a balanced geographical and political spread of jobs
across the bloc.
The leaders' are due to confirm their choices at an EU summit on
June 27-28. Von der Leyen would still then need backing from the
European Parliament, which votes in its first session from July
16.
The full 27-member Commission, including the foreign policy
chief, also needs parliamentary support.
EU leaders are also expected to discuss the next five-year
legislative cycle, with a stress on common values, defense and
economic competitiveness. They are due to confirm their
"strategic agenda" guidance at the end-June summit.
The leaders should shortly have a report by Mario Draghi, former
Italian premier and president of the European Central Bank, on
boosting the EU's economic prospects. In a speech on Friday, he
said the bloc needed cheaper energy and a capital markets union
to steer private savings towards investment.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by David Holmes)
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