By Martin Banks - 16th June 2009
This is not a done deal
EU source
New opinion poll findings suggest José Manuel Barroso does not enjoy widespread public support for a second term as commission president.
A poll on the homepage of the Czech EU presidency, says 73 per cent of respondents believe he should not be reappointed while only 23 per cent said he should.
The questionnaire was coordinated by the Prague office of the country's presidency but open to anyone with access to the website.
Separate data published by Prof Simon Hix, of the London School of Economics, puts Barroso fourth in a list of favoured candidates for the commission post.
Some 50 per cent voted for Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, former Danish PM, 22 per cent for Greens co-leader Daniel Cohn-Bendit, nine per cent for ex-Belgian prime minister Guy Verhoftstadt and just eight per cent for Barroso, a former prime minister of Portugal.
One EU insider said, "This latest set of statistics seems to point to a gulf between what EU policymakers are saying about who should lead the commission and what citizens want. If the public had their way, this is not a done deal."
Barroso's bid for a second term was strengthened by the European election results in which the centre-right EPP won 264 out of the 736 seats and the Socialists performed badly. He has the support of the leaders of at least 20 member states, including the six biggest in the EU.
He still needs a majority of MEPs, 369, to be confirmed as president.
The filling of the EU's new power structure will begin at this week's EU summit in Brussels when EU leaders may be asked to give their informal backing to a second Barroso term.
However, the re-election process could be thrown into limbo by at least two upcoming events: elections in Germany and the Irish referendum on the Lisbon treaty.
Angela Merkel, a favourite for re-election, wants a delay until after the elections at the end of September in order to give Germany more leverage in the distribution of key commission jobs.
The Irish vote complicates matters further as some EU member states want to delay his formal nominatin and ratification until the Lisbon treaty comes into force, possibly at the start of next year.
Many MEPs are also keen to ensure parliament is consulted at its first session next month before any formal decision.
Under the current Nice treaty, a simple majority of MEPs is needed to approve a president while under Lisbon an absolute majority (the majority of all 736 MEPs) is necessary.
However, some states are keen for the whole matter to be resolved sooner than later. These include Sweden whose EU ambassador, speaking at an EPC event in Brussels on Friday, called for Barroso to be nominated without delay.
Further pressure to make an announcement will come from Poland whose EU affairs minister Mikolaj Dowgielewicz said on Tuesday this was important to avoid a "power vacuum" at the heart of the EU.
Have your say...
Please enter your comments below.