EU picks two women as candidates for top posts

Europe's leaders agreed on Tuesday to give two of the top four European Union jobs to women after marathon talks that exposed deep divisions in the bloc.

German defense minister Ursula Von Der Leyen emerged as nominee for president of the European Commission, and International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde, who is French, was put forward for the presidency of the European Central Bank.

Von Der Leyen's role must be confirmed by a vote in the European Parliament. If elected, she would be the first woman to lead the European Commission. Lagarde will be the first woman to head the bloc's central bank.

Outgoing European Council president Donald Tusk called the appointments "a perfect gender balance."

The biggest task for Lagarde, who had previously denied any interest in an EU job, will be to revive the euro zone economy.

“Christine Lagarde will ... be a perfect president of the European Central Bank,” Tusk said. “I am absolutely sure that she will be a very independent president ...”

Von der Leyen, if approved, would run the powerful Commission, which supervises EU states’ budgets, acts as the bloc’s competition watchdog and conducts trade negotiations with outside countries. Her presidency would shape policy for the world’s biggest trade bloc and its 500 million people.

She once had a reputation as a flawless politician, but Brussels-born Von der Leyen has had a scandal-prone run as German defence minister, mainly over right-wing extremism in the armed forces, gaps in military readiness, and the awarding of arms contracts.

As part of the deal, Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel was also elected president of the European Council, to replace Tusk. Spanish foreign minister Josep Borrell Fontelles will be high representative for foreign affairs and security policy.

The appointments followed a tense series of negotiations. A summit broke up on Monday, after all-night talks failed to reach an agreement.