BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Britain may come away empty-handed when European Union leaders carve up a package of top EU jobs next week, due to its fierce opposition to Jean-Claude Juncker’s appointment as the next European Commission president.
Prime Minister David Cameron angered his peers in June by breaking with a tradition of taking decisions by consensus and forcing them to vote on whether Juncker should head the EU executive. Only Britain and Hungary voted “no”.
Cameron publicly branded Juncker a “career insider of Brussels” and said his selection was a bad day for Europe.
“After the mess at the last summit, many leaders are much less willing to accommodate Britain, far less reward it with top jobs,” one EU diplomat said.
The leaders, meeting in Brussels for dinner next Wednesday, are to agree with Juncker who should be the EU’s next foreign policy chief, replacing Britain’s Catherine Ashton, whose term ends in October.
The may also decide who will chair their summits and act as a consensus builder and mediator among member states when European Council President Herman Van Rompuy steps down at the end of the year.
The choices are complex because of the need to balance gender, political affiliation, small and large countries, and north, south, east and west.
Read more at Reuters
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.