British prime minister David Cameron travels to Sweden today for talks with his northern European counterparts on the election of the next European Commission president amid continuing disquiet
in London about the candidature of Jean-Claude Juncker.
Mr Cameron is due to hold talks with German chancellor Angela Merkel, Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte about reform of the EU, with the subject of European Commission president also expected to be on the agenda.
Sources close to MrJean-Claude Juncker have denied that the former Luxembourg prime minister is considering withdrawing from the process, amid continuing criticism from the British press about the suitability of his candidature.
Other ‘talented candidates’
Yesterday, British foreign secretary William Hague said it was crucial that senior EU roles be filled by people who understood that it could not be “business as usual”, adding that there were other “talented candidates” for the role.
While declining to name any individuals, Mr Hague indicated it would be more difficult for Britain to renegotiate its membership of the EU – a policy priority of the Conservative government – if the “right people” were not in the top EU jobs.
“It is very important in our view that a range of candidates are looked at. This is only one of the top jobs being decided now in the EU. There are four or five such jobs and it’s very important there is a political balance, a geographical balance. It’s important that there are women in there in the top jobs in the EU,” Mr Hague told the BBC.
Former French finance minister and current managing director of the IMF Christine Lagarde appeared to rule herself out of the running for the commission presidency last Friday. "I am not a candidate, and the reason I am not a candidate is that I already have a job," she said.
Ms Lagarde, who was finance minister under Nicolas Sarkozy, would have to be nominated by Socialist French president François Hollande to be considered for the role. The reluctance of Europe to surrender the coveted role of IMF managing director could also weaken support for her nomination.
Other possible candidates are Danish prime minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt, who is married to the son of former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, and who is understood to be supported by Britain. Her Social Democrats party saw a sharp drop in votes in the European Parliament elections, with the Dutch Freedom Party mustering a quarter of the votes. Sweden also saw a strong rise in support for Eurosceptic parties.
Mr Cameron said last week in Brussels that the EU could not “stick its head in the sand” regarding the results of the European elections, which saw a strong rise in support for anti-establishment parties.
