The Belgian Prime Minister, Herman van Rompuy, has emerged as a frontrunner for the post of EU president. Photo by wikimedia.org
European Union leaders will gather in Brussels later to select their first full-time president and foreign affairs high representative.
The heads of the 27 EU member nations are divided over which candidates to choose, and after-dinner negotiations are expected to last into the night.
Former UK prime minister Tony Blair had been an early favourite for president, the BBC reported.
But France and Germany look set to back a less prominent figure, the Belgian Prime Minister Herman van Rompuy.
The EU leaders will dine together on Thursday evening before beginning negotiations.
They are widely expected to strive for a balance in the two posts, with one likely to be filled by a candidate from one of the bigger EU states, the other from a smaller country.