SWEDISH PRIME minister Fredrik Reinfeldt has raised the prospect that he might not be able to achieve unanimity among deadlocked EU leaders over the choice of the bloc’s new foreign policy chief and the first president of the European Council.
Embarking on fresh efforts to forge consensus before a special dinner summit in Brussels next Thursday night, he said he might have to resort to a majority vote to settle the matter.
“I’m not working with that in mind but it’s very correct of you to point out that the decision finally needs to be taken by qualified majority if needed,” he told reporters in Brussels.
“That was foreseen when these treaties were written, but I am of course working to see if I can find broader support for the names I’m going to present.”
Mr Reinfeldt wants to put forward one candidate for each job and to establish the principle that the EU president will come from a “narrow” category of current or former prime ministers. He is also seeking to appoint a new secretary general to the European Council in succession to Javier Solana.
He is likely to use this vacancy – for what will be mainly an administrative job – as a negotiating tool in respect of the two top posts.
Mr Reinfeldt, charged with managing the appointments as current holder of the EU’s rotating presidency, said he might need to work on a deal up to the start of the meeting. “We have many events in EU history where the presented candidate did not get the job, so it could also be that a lengthy dinner at the European Council will deliver someone else,” he said.
Consensus remains elusive as EU leaders weigh the merits of Belgian prime minister Herman Van Rompuy, the current favourite, and rivals such as his Dutch counterpart Jan-Peter Balkenende. Former British prime minister Tony Blair, once the favourite, and Luxembourg’s prime minister Jean Claude-Juncker appear well behind in the race.
The summit – coming more than a fortnight after Czech ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, which creates the new jobs – reflects the difficult task Mr Reindfeldt faces.
“When you actually speak to all 26 colleagues, you get more names than we have jobs to offer – and that shows that we will need more consultations.”
With British foreign secretary David Miliband out of contention for the foreign policy post, attention now centres on former Italian prime minister Massimo D’Alema and rivals including Swedish foreign minister Carl Bildt.
Mr Reinfeldt pointed to potential for acute political embarrassment should a current EU leader be seen to compete for a post but fail to secure support.
“The proposal in itself takes for granted that you can actually get three or more candidates to accept to be candidates without knowing if they will get the job while in fact maybe being prime minister of a country.
“Then sending a signal to a people that I’m on the way to another job, but Monday I’m back again and I didn’t get it, but I still love you – anyone who has been in politics who knows anything about this knows that that’s not realistic.”
