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During the meeting, European leaders, including Theresa May, carried out a post-mortem on the elections to the European Parliament and launched the process of nominating the next presidents of the bloc. German MEP Manfred Weber quickly emerged as Commission President after becoming the prime candidate for the center-right European People's Party. But a number of European leaders, including Emmanuel Macron, have expressed strong opposition to the privileged candidate of Angela Merkel. This leaves the door wide open for another candidate who could interfere in Mr Weber's thunder, as well as in the most important role of the EU.
Here are the runners and runners in the running to replace Jean-Claude Juncker as President of the European Commission.
Manfred Weber
The German MEP, aged 46, is the main candidate of the European People's Party, but he is little known outside his region, Bavaria.
Despite the absence of government experience, he enjoys the support of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to become the next president of the European Commission.
The team of European liberal leaders of French President Emmanuel Macron is working to ensure that Mr. Weber is never entrusted with the post of high level.
Commission insiders, however, believe that it remains the favorite until a real alternative to the EPP takes their name to the hat.
Michel Barnier
The 68-year-old Brexit negotiator is considered a backup candidate for the EPP, although the UK divorce proceedings have still not been successful.
Emmanuel Macron thinks he can support his compatriot, but the other European leaders are afraid that Mr. Barnier is too close to Mr. Macron for their taste.
Mr Barnier has not formally submitted a candidate, but aspires to take up the post of President of the Commission.
He took advantage of the Brexit stoppage to travel the continent, delivering proxy campaign speeches to the governments of the member states.
Frans Timmermans
A former Dutch Foreign Minister, who speaks an impressive number of seven languages, is the main candidate of the Socialists and Democrats.
Mr. 58 is currently the first vice-president of Jean-Claude Juncker, a role appreciated by the Dutch government as it gives them unprecedented access to the Commission.
The center-left's performance in the European elections has considerably weakened his hopes of winning the high-level post.
Margrethe Vestager
Aged 51, Jean-Claude Juncker played a leading role in the EU as Commissioner of Competition.
The Danish politician has fined Facebook, Google and billions of fine to France and Germany by blocking a railroad-to-business merger project.
It is supported by the EU's liberal bloc, but Verhofstadt does not formally support the normal selection process, which complicates matters.
Critics argue that Ms. Vestager is not qualified for the job because her performance is not strong enough outside of her everyday political domains.
The foreigners
Leo Varakar, the Irish Prime Minister, and Charles Michel, his Belgian counterpart, have become outsiders to replace Jean-Claude Juncker.
Michel is certain to lose his leadership role in Belgium after last week's parliamentary elections, and Mr Varadkar is also on fragile ground.
EU insiders believe that a member of the European Council could help unite factions within the fragmented European Parliament.
Mr Varadkar is a member of the EPP, the largest group in Parliament, but the Liberals would probably support him because of his continued support for the EU, even during the Brexit negotiations.
Mr. Michel is part of the Liberal bloc, but could also get support from opposition parties because of his work as a leader.
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