Embattled leaders hit back at a backroom stitch up under the careful watch of European Council President Donald Tusk at the G20 summit last week. The so-called “sushi deal”, as the package has been nicknamed by EU diplomats and officials, found Dutch socialist Frans Timmermans become the frontrunner to replace Mr Juncker as the bloc’s most senior official. But staunch opposition from the Central European Visegrad Four – Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic – and Italy put the plans on the back burner.

As his plan looked dead in the water, Mr Tusk sent EU leaders away to hold their own bilateral gatherings for 11 hours last night in the hope of breaking the deadlock.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has already seen her favoured candidate killed off, got to work convincing her European People’s Party colleagues to pack the new deal.

One EU diplomat familiar with the discussions told Express.co.uk: “EPP leaders have been in and out of the German delegation as Merkel tries to push through the package.”

The veteran EU leader reluctantly decided to back package cooked up in Japan after a conflict with Emmanuel Macron over her support for German MEP Manfred Weber to become Commission president.

EPP leaders, the largest political group in the European Parliament, largely raised concerns that by supporting the deal they are handing over the EU’s most senior post to their socialist rivals.

In a letter to EPP president Joseph Daul, Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban said the package would be “humiliating” and a “historic mistake” for the centre-right bloc.

During the all-night standoff, Guiseppe Conte, the Italian prime minister, ventured into the press room to air his frustrations with the process.

He claimed talks had been “difficult” and Mr Timmermans, a former Dutch foreign minister, lacks the credentials to become Commission president.

Mr Tusk has resisted deploying a vote on the package, which could have seen outgoing Prime Minister Theresa May handed a deciding vote, to give leaders time to work through their differences.

Early discussions surrounding the possibility of what would be the fourth top jobs summit on July 15 was also used as a “threat” to entice leaders into making a decision.

But after a breakfast meeting of the 28 leaders was delayed this morning, diplomats saw little hope that there was light at the end of the tunnel.

One frustrated source said: “The whole meeting was supposed to go smoothly, but here we are standing here at nearly 8am and nothing is done.”

Another said: “It’s a bit like Brexit. We know what people don’t want but very few say what they want.”

EU28 leaders have no reconvened in the European Council’s Europa building, in a move to add some “creativity” to the process.

Diplomats believe the top jobs package, which includes the Commission and Council presidencies, the head of the European Central Back, and the EU’s foreign affairs boss, is about to be rejigged.

One diplomat familiar with the talks said: “It’s possible to split the package, it’s possible to be creative but let’s really find out if there is a creative solution.”

The source insisted it would be seen as a “surprise” if Mr Timmermans was scrubbed from the package at this stage, adding: “It hasn’t been that effective up until this point.”