Merkel urged to drop Juncker bid

British PM David Cameron will get backing from his Swedish counterpart, Fredrik Reinfeldt, today as he urges German Chancellor Angela Merkel to drop her support for Jean-Claude Juncker as the next head of the European Commission.

The three will meet along with Prime Minister Mark Rutte of the Netherlands at Reinfeldt’s summer retreat in Harpsund, Sweden. Reinfeldt signalled his opposition to Juncker’s candidacy in an interview with the Financial Times, in which he questioned one of the arguments used by supporters of the former Luxembourg prime minister.

Juncker has said he should get the job on the basis that he’s the candidate of the European People’s Party, the group of national political parties that won most seats in the European Parliament elections last month. Reinfeldt disputed whether that’s the right way to choose a Commission president.