After seismic elections, EU leaders assess damage -- (Reuters) - European Union leaders, stunned by a big Eurosceptic protest vote in European Parliament elections, agreed on Tuesday to seek a package deal of appointments to top EU jobs with an economic agenda to win back public confidence. -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the 28-nation bloc's most powerful leader, acknowledged that her center-right party's candidate, former Luxembourg prime minister Jean-Claude Juncker, may not end up heading the executive European Commission. -- British Prime Minister David Cameron, under pressure after the anti-EU UK Independence Party won the European Parliament election in Britain, came to the EU summit in Brussels determined to block the nomination of Juncker, seen in London as an old-style European federalist. -- Sweden, the Netherlands and Hungary also voiced reservations and the 28 leaders mandated European Council President Herman Van Rompuy, who chairs EU summits, to hold consultations on a slate of candidates for senior positions and a policy agenda for the next European Commission, Merkel told reporters. -- The aim was to wrap up the contentious appointments before the summer break, she said. EU leaders next meet on June 26-27. -- Merkel's center-right European People's Party won the most seats in the 751-member EU legislature but no party has a clear majority. She paid lip service to Juncker's candidacy for the top job but said other outcomes were possible. -- "As a member of the EPP, I supported Jean-Claude Juncker as our candidate for the presidency of the European Commission and I haven't forgotten that. But I still have to respect the treaty," she told a news conference, rebuffing questions from German reporters about breaking her word to voters. -- The Lisbon treaty governing the EU says leaders have to "take into account" the election results but does not specify that they have to nominate the so-called "Spitzenkandidat" of the biggest party as Commission president. -- Asked whether she was willing to outvote Cameron, she said it was important to preserve the good working atmosphere of the European Council of EU leaders, especially in times of crisis. -- With far-right, anti-EU parties sweeping to unprecedented victories in France, Britain and Denmark and populists gaining ground elsewhere, the leaders faced tough questions about the future direction of European integration. -- Drawing initial lessons from a bruising election, which handed a quarter of all parliament seats to Eurosceptic or protest parties, several leaders said they would seek ways to reorient the EU's work to make it more relevant to citizens. -- "The first thing we have to do is to formulate an answer," said Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, whose liberal party came fourth, one place behind the anti-Islam Freedom Party, in the Netherlands. -- "As far as I'm concerned, that answer contains fewer rules and less fuss from Europe, and focusing Europe on where it can add value to things," he said. -- Cameron, whose Conservatives were beaten into third place behind the triumphant UKIP and the Labour opposition, said the EU needed to reform itself radically, -- "The European Union cannot just shrug off these results and carry on as before," he said. "We need change. We need an approach that recognizes that Europe should concentrate on what matters, on growth and jobs, and not try to do so much." -- Merkel, French President Francois Hollande and Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi all focused on reviving the economy, but it remains to be seen if they can find common ground on how. - More, http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/05/27/us-eu-election-summit-idUSKBN0E71FG20140527