Cameron moves to halt Juncker appointment

The British Prime Minister will meet European Council president Herman van Rompuy on Monday as he mounts a rearguard action to block the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as the new head of the European Commission.

Downing Street said David Cameron will underline Britain’s opposition to Juncker taking the job ahead of a potentially difficult meeting of European Union leaders on Thursday and Friday.

Cameron’s position was backed by Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orban in talks this afternoon, with both leaders disputing the process which has made Juncker the frontrunner for the presidency. The former Luxembourg prime minister, viewed as a potential roadblock to reform by Cameron, has been put forward by the centre-right European People’s Party — the largest grouping in the European Parliament following last month’s elections — under the “Spitzenkandidaten” process.

Cameron has made clear that he believes EU treaties give the power to nominate candidates for top jobs to national heads of government, meeting in the European Council, and not to the European Parliament.

A Downing Street spokesman said: “The prime minister will underline UK opposition — shared across all three main political parties — to the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker.

“This is one of a number of consultations that president van Rompuy is undertaking ahead of the June European Council. The president will also meet with the deputy prime minister during his visit to London.

“The prime minister also spoke to Viktor Orban, the Hungarian prime minister, this afternoon.

“Both leaders agreed that national leaders at the European Council should be the ones to propose the president of the European Commission and they will continue to oppose having a candidate imposed on them by the European Parliament on the basis of the European Parliament elections.”