EU in deadlock to fill top roles

• Source: Global Times
• [01:05 November 18 2009]
• Comments

No agreement had been reached as of Monday on the foreign policy job, according to EU diplomats.

"It is crucial that there are talks until Thursday and that there is a decision on Thursday," Austrian Foreign Minister Michael Spindelegger said in Brussels, according to Reuters on Monday.

Unlike other EU officials, Finnish Foreign Minister Alexander Stubb said it is unlikely that EU heads of state and government would fail to agree on the two names on or before tomorrow.

However, he made it clear that it was proving difficult to reach a consensus on the candidates, and it might come down to a vote – which the bloc hopes to avoid.

Despite calls for a woman to take up one of the top jobs, only three of the 27 EU states are known to have proposed women candidates. No one has appeared likely to garner unanimous backing – the preferred method of decision-making, even if a qualified majority vote will do – at the working dinner.

The premier of Sweden, who currently presides over the EU, is battling to narrow down the list, weighing not only gender but political and geographical considerations.

EU diplomats say Britain is still pushing for former prime minister Tony Blair to be president, but many other states want a relatively low-profile leader who they believe would be better able to secure a consensus at meetings.

"The EU president is a figurehead leader," Chen Zhimin said, "but Tony Blair – if appointed – would make the position really powerful, a situation many EU states want to avoid seeing."

Professor Shi Zhiqin, director of the European Studies Center at Tsinghua Univer-sity, said, "Whoever is named, China hopes that he or she will continue the cooperation and friendship between the EU and China."

Agencies contributed to this story