EU leaders to choose president and foreign minister at Brussels summit

THE political leaders of the 27 EU countries will choose a president and foreign minister behind closed doors at a summit in Brussels tonight.

Names have been floated for weeks, most have been rejected and, so far, nobody appears to have come up with the perfect duo who must reflect a balance between big and small states, north and south, socialist and conservative.

The real selection process will not begin until all 27 leaders are around the table and, for the first time, they will be forced to reveal their choices.

German chancellor Angela Merkel said yesterday that her country and France will agree on a single candidate for the job of EU president. But the other big players when it comes to selecting people for EU posts are the British, having been responsible for the last two Commission presidents.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown continues to push for his predecessor, Tony Blair, despite several countries saying they would not back him because of his support of the Iraq war.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said, given his track record on working for peace in the North, he will back Blair and a number of new member states urged on by the US are also supportive of the former PM.

The other British politicians who could be in the running are foreign secretary David Miliband or their current commissioner, Catherine Ashton. Some suggest even Brown might be interested.

The current prime ministers from the Benelux countries are interested — Belgium’s Herman Van Rompuy; Jen Peter Balkenende from the Netherlands and Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker. Anybody from the Benelux is usually an anathema to the British who believe they are too federalist.

A rank outsider is former taoiseach John Bruton, just returned from five years as EU ambassador to the US and a former vice-president of the powerful EPP political group. However, since he is not sitting around the table and Cowen has said he will only back him if he is generally supported, his chances are very slim.

The demand to have a woman in at least one of the jobs has grown over the past few weeks led by Commission vice-president Margot Walstrom.

European Parliament members signed a petition yesterday to have Mary Robinson considered, even though she has said she is not interested. Others protested outside the council yesterday where the leaders will meet.

Former Latvian president Vaira Vike-Freiberga, is actively campaigning for the job.

While the president’s role will be that of a chair of leaders’ quarterly meetings, arranging the agenda and gaining consensus, the foreign minister’s job will be more active. The person will be a member of both the council and the commission and take control of the EU’s world-wide embassies.

A third job, secretary general of the council, is also to be filled.