Intensified battle to fill Brussels' top job

European leaders have intensified their battle for the presidency of the executive European Commission after a European Parliament election which saw two powerful party groups losing their combined majority for the first time in four decades.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, representing the two most powerful member states in the European Union, are leading the fight but they disagree over how to pick the next commission chief to replace Jean-Claude Juncker.

Just a day before European leaders, including the outgoing British Prime Minister Theresa May, were set to meet in Brussels on Tuesday evening to find a solution, Merkel said that Germany still favors choosing the top candidate from the winning party of the elections as the next president of the European Commission.