Now that the Czech president looks set to sign the Lisbon treaty and create a new-look EU, the great Brussels jobs steeplechase gets underway in earnest this week.
Barring another twist in the saga should the Czech constitutional court rule otherwise tomorrow, the leaders of the bloc’s 27 countries will enter full horse-trading flight at a two-day summit starting on Thursday.
With what could be termed the “Ditch Blair Project” having kicked into a gallop, thanks mainly to French President Nicolas Sarkozy pulling in the reins from past public backing, the race is also wide open.
PHOTO: EPA
Former British premier Tony Blair as the global face of Brussels? It had its attractions for some, although not, of course, Britain’s Conservative opposition, expected to form a new government in London next year. But revulsion for others — with Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and Poland all making their resistance clear — looks to have proved just too widespread.
Sarkozy crystallized the line peddled by the likes of Luxembourg when he cited a “problem” if the new, 30-month appointed post of EU president went to a country that doesn’t use the euro currency.
Other suggested conditions include being a member of the borderless Schengen zone and not having negotiated an opt-out from the EU’s charter of fundamental rights — which also, incidentally, rules out Poles, Irishmen and women and the Czechs.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Practical obstacles, though, center instead on Blair’s role as former US president George W. Bush’s faithful sidekick on Iraq — and a feeling that Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel might prefer a lesser name who could be easier to control.
Increasingly aggressive opposition from Luxembourg is explained by diplomats as proof its prime minister — the man with his hands on the money as head of the 16-nation Eurogroup — would rather like the job himself.
Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker could imbibe the role with his experience as Europe’s longest-serving head of government, while Jan Peter Balkenende of the Netherlands is the other name most frequently mentioned by diplomats alongside ex-Finnish president Paavo Lipponen.
Blair has never officially declared himself a candidate, but Sarkozy was reportedly one of the first EU leaders to put the former British premier forward in 2007.
Recently, though, that tack has changed — reportedly after talks with Merkel.
Sarkozy said in an interview that “it is too early to say” whether Blair would win the backing of national leaders, who control the appointment. They will formally debate the issue over dinner on Thursday.
“Personally I believe in a Europe that is politically strong and has a figurehead,” Sarkozy told France’s Le Figaro daily. “But the fact that Britain is not in the euro remains a problem.”
Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann has also said he is “skeptical about Mr Blair.”
Balkenende may have the edge, said senior political analyst Antonio Missiroli of the European Policy Center in Brussels.
At 53, the Dutchman is a relatively new face and he hails from the center-right ground occupied by the majority of European leaders.
He is also successfully leading a broad coalition, a prerequisite for relations with center-left figures whose numbers have recently been boosted by Greek and Portuguese elections.
Either way, Brussels wants the choices for the two new jobs of president and foreign affairs supremo named by the end of the year. In principle this can be done via a qualified majority of EU nations, but the tradition is for such high-profile decisions to be made through consensus, which suggests lengthy talks over digestifs deep into Thursday night.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese