Oct 29 (Reuters) - European Union leaders are expected on
Thursday to discuss institutional changes which include the
creation of a long-term president under the EU's planned Lisbon
reform treaty.
The president of the Council of EU leaders will be picked
unanimously for a two-and-a-half-year term, strengthening the
current system of a six-month presidency that states hold in
turn. This will happen only if the Czech Republic ratifies the
treaty. The other 26 EU countries have done so.
Below is a list of possible contenders mentioned in the
media or discussed by diplomats and analysts in Brussels.
FORMER BRITISH PRIME MINISTER TONY BLAIR
Although he has not declared his candidacy, Blair has long
been a front runner, backed by those who want a heavyweight in
international diplomacy for the post to strengthen the bloc's
global influence.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy said recently it was a
problem for Blair that Britain remained outside the group of 16
countries that use the euro currency. But diplomats say Sarkozy
still favours the former British prime minister and France's
foreign minister this week supported Blair's candidacy.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has not stated a position on
Blair, who is now 55, and her views could be decisive.
Some members of the European Parliament are gathering
signatures under a petition to rule Blair out and Britain's
opposition Conservatives, who are expected to win power next
year, oppose his candidacy as a "hostile act".
Some find him problematic because of his support for the
U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. Belgium, Luxembourg, the
Netherlands and Poland favour a candidate who would chair and
moderate debates rather than play any independent role.
LUXEMBOURG PRIME MINISTER JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER
Juncker was considered a leading candidate until recent
spats with Merkel and Sarkozy over bank secrecy laws. An
architect of the EU's Maastricht Treaty which led to the
creation of the euro, he has on many occasions acted as a
mediator between bigger nations on contentious EU issues.
French newspaper Le Monde quoted Juncker as saying in an
interview he would listen favourably to calls to serve as
president. But the chairman of the group of finance ministers
whose countries use the euro later denied putting his name
forward. France would be expected to oppose his candidacy.
Juncker, 54, said in an interview published on Thursday he
thought he would not have much chance of getting the job if he
were a candidate. Underlining the need for a leader committed to
consensus, he told the Luxembourger Wort: "This (post) is not
about personal glory or taking an ego trip into extra time."
DUTCH PRIME MINISTER JAN PETER BALKENENDE
Balkenende has emerged as a potential compromise candidate,
diplomats say. He has spent the past few years boosting the role
of the Netherlands -- a founding EU member -- on the world
stage, recently negotiating invitations to G8 and G20 summits.
Karel De Gucht, a former Belgian foreign minister and now EU
Humanitarian and Development Commissioner, once described the
bespectacled 53-year-old centre-right politician as being "a mix
of Harry Potter and (having) a petty, rigid, bourgeois
mentality".
FORMER FINNISH PRIME MINISTER PAAVO TAPIO LIPPONEN
Lipponen is also a potential compromise between bigger and
smaller member states. A former journalist, he introduced the
concept of a European constitution in a speech in 2000, and was
prime minister from 1995 to 2003. He was also chairman of the
Finnish Social Democratic Party.
Lipponen, 68, underlined his vision for the job in an
article in the Financial Times on Thursday, saying the new
president's main role would be internal, building consensus.
"In this co-ordinating role he or she should have time to
listen to the member governments and deal with possible problems
as a troubleshooter," he wrote.
FORMER SPANISH PRIME MINISTER FELIPE GONZALEZ
Spain has lobbied on behalf of Gonzalez, who was Spain's
prime minister from 1982 until 1996, but his chances appear to
have receded as he has not been in power for many years.
In 2007 EU leaders showed their respect for the Spanish
socialist by naming him to lead a group of "wise men" to draw up
a vision of how the EU might look between 2020 and 2030.
SWEDISH PRIME MINISTER FREDRIK REINFELDT
Reinfeldt is a potential compromise candidate after winning
praise from EU diplomats for Sweden's presidency of the EU in
the second half of this year. The 44-year-old centre-right
leader has used the slogan "taking on the challenge" and made
combating climate change a priority.
He is an advocate of overhauling the EU budget to shift
spending away from agriculture towards innovation, a view that
could make him unpopular with farm funds beneficiary France.
FORMER BELGIAN PRIME MINISTER GUY VERHOFSTADT
Verhofstadt, 56, was tipped to be European Commission
president until the emergence of Jose Manuel Barroso late in the
campaign in 2004. He stood down as Belgian prime minister after
nine years in 2008, and is now a member of the European
Parliament and leader of the Liberal grouping in the assembly.
Britain could veto his candidacy as it dislikes his
federalist views regarding the EU.
FORMER LATVIAN PRESIDENT VAIRA VIKE-FREIBERGA
Called "the Iron Lady of the east" by some politicians,
Vike-Freiberga, 71, steered her former Soviet republic into NATO
and the EU as president for two terms between 1999 and 2007.
She returned to Latvia from Canada after an international
academic career as psychology professor. She has no party
affiliation, considers herself a centrist and backed the
U.S.-led war on Iraq. An outside candidate, her country has been
hard hit by the global economic crisis.
FORMER IRISH PRIME MINISTER BERTIE AHERN
Ahern was considered a leading candidate until he resigned
as prime minister in 2008 following allegations of corruption.
He has re-emerged as an outside candidate and will embark on a
Europe-wide media tour which could put him back into the frame.
The 58-year-old, who negotiated the doomed EU constitution
under Ireland's presidency of the bloc, enjoys the support of
many of Europe's leaders and is popular with Barroso, whom Ahern
championed during Ireland's time at the EU helm.
FORMER IRISH PRIME MINISTER JOHN BRUTON
Irish media say Bruton, who is now the EU's ambassador to
the United States, has put his name forward for the job in a
letter to ambassadors of EU countries in Washington.
Bruton, 62, was Ireland's prime minister from 1994 to 1997
and is nearing the end of his term in Washignton.
(Writing by Marcin Grajewski and Timothy Heritage; editing by
Robin Pomeroy)
