European finance ministers are unlikely today to agree on a candidate for the top job at the International Monetary Fund, postponing the decision as global horse-trading drags on.
The chances of a deal looked slim before European Union finance ministers gathered at a race course in Ireland, and grew even more remote as Luxembourg Prime Minister Mr Jean-Claude Juncker said a final round of talks on a successor to Mr Horst Koehler would probably take place on April 18th and 19th in London.
The job as managing director of the IMF, the world's financial firefighter, has traditionally been held by a European and became vacant last month when Mr Koehler resigned to pursue the German presidency.
But disquiet over how the IMF job is decided is growing and several European leaders have said a deal should be struck relatively rapidly because failing to do so could undermine the legitimacy of the tradition that the job goes to a European.
Mr Juncker, however, signalled Europe would first settle on a candidate after discussions with other finance ministers.
"We have to discuss the matter in depth taking into consideration what colleagues in other parts of the world think," Mr Juncker, who is also finance minister, told reporters.
"I guess that we will have a final informal round at the margin of the informal EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) meeting in London later this month," he added.
The EBRD holds its annual meeting on April 18 and 19 in London and is headed by Frenchman Mr Jean Lemierre, one of the two front-runners as Europe's nominee.