“The European Council has agreed on the future leadership of the EU institutions,” said Donald Tusk, chairman of the EU leaders’ talks.
German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen, an ally of Chancellor Angela Merkel, would become head of the European Commission, the EU executive, under the deal reached in Brussels.
Belgium’s liberal caretaker prime minister, Charles Michel, would replace Tusk as the next chairman of EU leaders’ summits and be tasked with building compromises between the often fractious 28 member states.
Only Michel can take up his post in November without other formalities. The others, notably von der Leyen, must be endorsed by the European Parliament, France24 reports.