INTERVIEW: Jean-Claude Juncker eyes EU presidency job

Oct 27, 2009, 13:25 GMT

Luxembourg\'s Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker arrives for an informal meeting of the European heads of state and Government in Brussels, Belgium, 17 September 2009. The extraordinary EU summit is designed to frame a joint position ahead of next week\'s G20 meeting in Pittsburgh, US, on the banking sector. EPA/JULIEN WARNAND

   Luxembourg - Luxembourg's Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker would not refuse the presidency of the European Union if he liked the look of the job, he told the German Press Agency dpa Tuesday in an exclusive interview.

   'If the profile (of the job) were what I think it ought to be, and if it fit with what I have tried to achieve in the EU, I would not react with disgust to an offer,' Juncker said.

   Juncker is the EU's longest-serving prime minister, having held office since 1995, and chairs the influential informal group of 16 countries which use the euro. He is seen in EU circles as one of the keenest advocates of stronger EU integration.

   As such, he believes that the new president of the council of member states, a job created by the Lisbon Treaty, should aim to coordinate, rather than dominate, member states.

   'The president of the council should be a workman who promotes compromises inside the EU, because only compromise inside the EU will make it possible to have a common position outside,' he said.

'The president has to be the first servant of the EU,' he said.

Two weeks ago, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg wrote a joint paper calling on the new president to make sure that he takes all member states into account, rather than just consulting with the bloc's 'Big Four,' Britain, France, Germany and Italy.

'We think that the president of the council cannot speak for the EU internationally unless he is sure that he is talking on behalf of all 27 member states. The EU is more than just the Big Four plus Spain and Poland,' Juncker said.

   EU member states hope to bring the treaty into force by the end of the year, if the Czech constitutional court and president approve it.

   They are still debating how high-profile the president should be, with some member states fearing that too prominent a figure would eclipse the EU's national leaders.

Juncker stressed that the president should play an active role, and 'should neither be someone who just waves from balconies, nor an armchair diplomat.'

Lobbying has already begun for at least one candidate, Britain's former premier Tony Blair, whose name British Foreign Secretary David Miliband highlighted on Tuesday.

That tendency to highlight names has not pleased Juncker.

'I would welcome it if we first talked about the president's profile, mission and task, and only then moved on to personalities,' he said.

   'But that is not the rule in the EU. I suspect that we will start discussing personalities before we have talked about the role,' Juncker said.

   Britain and France are both backing Blair for the job, arguing that he is the best-placed to give the EU a high profile on the world stage.

   However, Blair's candidacy is under attack because of his strong support for the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq and his opposition to Britain's joining the euro and the Schengen border-free zone.

   Luxembourg opposed the Iraq war and is already a euro and Schengen member.