Talks suspended as EU leaders fail to resolve impasse over top jobs
The Brussels talks - which began with informal negotiations at 4 pm on Sunday - will resume on Tuesday at 11 am (0900 GMT), Tusk's spokesman Preben Aamann wrote on Twitter.
EU leaders have been trying to hash out a package of top jobs, centred on the nomination of the next European Commission president - a position for which Dutch socialist Frans Timmermans emerged as a surprise last-minute favourite.
Under a package being considered by leaders, Timmermans' main challenger Manfred Weber, a German EU lawmaker of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), could end up heading the European Parliament.
Other key posts are the EU's next top diplomat and Tusk's successor.
The package should reflect a political, geographical and gender balance, as well as representing larger and smaller countries.
European Parliament elections in May triggered a new political cycle, but left the main centre-left socialists and centre-right European People's Party weakened, making it harder to secure majorities.
Timmermans' party came second in the elections, behind the EPP, but it became clear during an EU summit 10 days ago that Weber could not count on the backing of enough EU leaders.
The commission president needs a double majority of EU leaders - who are responsible for nominations - and the European Parliament.
Germany, France, Spain and the Netherlands put forward a proposal ahead of the summit to nominate Timmermans, who is current commission vice president and right-hand man of President Jean-Claude Juncker.
But several conservative leaders lashed out Sunday at the suggestion, especially from the east of the bloc, where Timmermans has sparred with several governments over perceived rule of law breaches.
Early Monday, World Bank chief executive Kristalina Georgieva, a Bulgarian conservative, was floated as a possible successor to Tusk, while Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel was suggested as EU foreign policy chief. However, no agreement emerged.
