Nov 5, 2009, 13:24 GMT
Brussels - Britain's David Miliband has emerged as the man to beat in the race to become the EU's first foreign-policy supremo, a top diplomat confirmed Thursday.
But the race to become the EU's first president is still too close to call, with the Belgian and Dutch premiers, Herman van Rompuy and Jan Peter Balkenende, the people most touted in diplomatic circles, Poland's ambassador to the EU, Jan Tombinski, told journalists.
'The name of David Miliband is the most quoted name in this (diplomatic) circle, probably for the reason that Tony Blair's chances are going down,' Tombinski said.
Miliband has said that he is not available for the post and is not a candidate, a statement backed by other Labour Party leaders. The EU's Lisbon Treaty, which is to come into force on December 1, creates the posts of president of the EU and 'high representative,' who serves as a member of the council of EU member states and vice- president of the EU's executive, the European Commission.
The high representative is seen as an EU foreign minister in all but name.
EU leaders are expected to hold a summit next week to decide who should get the top jobs. Despite Miliband's own comments, EU diplomats began to mention him as a possible candidate last week, alongside Italy's former premier, Massimo D'Alema.
But D'Alema is viewed with suspicion in Central and Eastern Europe because of his high-profile in Italy's one-time Communist party.
'It would be better to have a person whose authority cannot be contested because of his past party affiliations,' Tombinski said.
However, Poland has not ruled out any candidate from any member state for any reason, he stressed.
In Rome, Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said that his country would 'support (D'Alema) with conviction' if the EU-wide alliance of socialists were to formalize his candidacy.
'It is clear that to have an Italian in such an important position would be an honour and a source of pride for Italy,' Italian media quoted him as saying. Blair had been cited as the front-runner in the race to become EU president before a summit last week, but his chances appeared to diminish after European conservatives and socialists agreed that the new top job should go to a right-wing politician, while the socialists claimed the high representative's job.
'The mood round the council (summit) was that Tony Blair was rarely mentioned now, but he may come back - nothing is excluded,' Tombinski said.
Media reports have cited van Rompuy and Balkenende as the new favourites to become the president of the council of EU member states.
Tombinski said that Balkenende, in particular, was campaigning actively for the job via his staff, but that there was a 'very open field' for the decision.
While Miliband says that he is not a candidate, EU insiders point out that on October 26 he made a high-profile speech urging the bloc to develop a stronger and more coherent foreign policy to counterbalance the 'G2' world of the United States and China.
After the speech, Miliband urged EU leaders to give Blair the job of EU president. However, analysts point out that his speech also established his own credentials as a man with a vision for Europe.
On Monday, meanwhile, Miliband travelled to Moscow for a visit in which he praised ties between Russia and Britain. It was the first visit of a British foreign minister to the country in five years.
During his career as foreign minister, Miliband emerged as one of the EU's strongest critics of Russian policy.
Analysts in Brussels said that the conciliatory mood of his recent visit could be important in winning the support of key member states such as Germany and Italy, who are seen as reluctant to appoint an EU foreign representative who has a bad relationship with the bloc's most important energy supplier.
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