By Duncan Lumsden (additional reporting by Hughes Beaudouin) - 3rd May 2004
EU commissioner Chris Patten’s tentative candidacy for the top job at the commission has been nipped in the bud, after senior French officials all but ruled him out on Tuesday.
As long as Britain fails to embrace some vital aspects of EU membership, like the euro or the ‘schengen’ free movement principles, it cannot hope to have a national in the president’s chair, a senior government insider told this website.
Patten over the weekend refused to rule out running for Commission President when the current administration steps down in November this year.
He said he “hadn’t been asked,” and would “need a lot of persuading,” but the comments were taken as a roundabout way for Patten’s name to enter the discussions.
But a close adviser to French premier Jean-Pierre Raffarin made it fairly clear not to expect to be asked or persuaded by Paris at least.
“It would be difficult a priori to support such a candidature,” the official told EUpolitix.com.
“It’s not that Patten is British. But how can you be a good president of the commission when you’re from a country that is neither in the euro nor in Schengen.”
And the source indicated two names that are top of France’s list as favoured candidates instead.
“There are other good profiles, like Verhofstadt or Juncker.”
Both names have cropped up before. The former, Belgium’s incumbent premier, has always been a favourite, but Luxembourg’s PM Juncker has ruled himself out, despite also being a prefered option for several influential EU governments.
With his nomination still obviously foremost in the French government’s mind, he may still make a surprise return to the presidential race.
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