Tough road lies ahead for EU

With the European Parliament election in May producing unexpected results, choosing new leaders for European Union institutions became a tough exercise for EU officials.

On July 2, Ursula von der Leyen, German defense minister, was nominated as the new president of the European Commission, and Christine Lagarde, International Monetary Fund managing director, was nominated to head the European Central Bank. While outgoing Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel was nominated to lead the European Council, former EP president Josep Borrell's name was proposed as the new EU foreign policy chief.

That all four have been elected to head their respective institutions suggests the EU leaders have agreed to a compromise. This became apparent when the candidatures of Manfred Weber of the European People's Party (a group of Christian democratic and liberal-conservative parties), and Frans Timmermans of the Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats were both rejected by some EU member states.