Second EU summit expected to be held on July 17: Irish PM

(BRUSSELS) - A second European summit is expected to be held in three weeks, Ireland's prime minister said Thursday, as leaders bid to end a row over Jean-Claude Juncker's likely appointment as European Commission president.

Enda Kenny said the extra meeting would take place on July 17, the day after the European Parliament is due to vote on the issue.

He was speaking before European leaders gathered for an EU summit Thursday and Friday which looks set to be dominated by Juncker's nomination.

British Prime Minister David Cameron is fiercely opposed to the move and has said he will force an unprecedented vote on the issue Friday.

"It is said there will be another summit on the 17th of July, just the day after the European Parliament endorse the question of the president of the European Commission," Kenny said as European conservative leaders gathered for a pre-summit meeting in the Flemish town of Kortrijk.

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Francois Hollande back Juncker while Cameron has lost promised support from the leaders of Sweden and the Netherlands, leaving him with Hungary's Viktor Orban as his lone ally.

European Union summits normally take place four times per year but extra ones can be scheduled at times of crisis.