(VOVworld) – EU leaders failed to reach agreement over who will get the major jobs of the bloc over the next five years as their summit ended on Thursday.

EU summit fails to reach deal on top jobs (Photo: AFP)

Outgoing European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said there will be another summit on August 30 to discuss this issue. Early hopes for a decision on who would replace Britain's Catherine Ashton as Foreign Affairs Head, a coveted high-profile job, faded from the start, putting the summit in immediate difficulty.
Lithuania, along with the other Baltic states and Poland did not accept the early favorite, Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini, as Ashton's replacement. For them, Mogherini was too inexperienced while Rome has been too soft on Russia over the Ukraine crisis and too anxious to protect its important economic ties with Moscow. For the European Council, Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, a Social Democrat, enjoyed wide support, including from Britain, to replace Van Rompuy. Denmark, however, is not a member of the eurozone, a drawback especially for France.