Search for new EU President goes on

They agreed on a climate deal but failed to pick a president which means EU leaders must continue to debate who should be the bloc’s new figurehead.

After this week’s summit, they are set to meet again in November to decide whether Luxembourg’s Jean-Claude Juncker or any of the other likely contenders are fit for the job.

Dutch Premier Jan Peter Balkenende has emerged as a potential compromise candidate, after former British leader Tony Blair failed to rally support. And Fredrik Reinfeldt, the Swedish Prime Minister, is a possibility after winning praise for his country’s presidency of the EU in the second half of this year.

If a centre-right leader, like one of these three men is chosen, it could boost the chances of the left taking the EU’s new foreign policy chief’s post.
David Miliband, Britain’s Foreign Minister and his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos are both being talked about.

Both jobs, under the new Lisbon reform treaty which is still to come into force, aim to raise the EU’s influence on the world stage.

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tags: European Union