EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS – A deal on the EU top jobs remains far from reach ahead of a special summit on Thursday (19 November) that could require a follow-up meeting the next day.
"There are still some days to go. I wouldn't say it's a complete mess, but there's no agreement still," Swedish minister for EU affairs Cecilia Malmstrom said during a press conference on Monday
EU leaders are set to convene on Thursday for an 'early' working dinner starting at 6pm Brussels time to reach a political consensus on the top three posts created by the Lisbon Treaty once it comes into force on 1 December. The decision will be formalised by so-called written procedure on 1 December, by the member states' ambassadors in Brussels.
First is the permanent president of the Council, who will chair all the EU summits and be a more constant presence on the international stage on behalf of the 27 member states. The UK is still officially pressing for former PM Tony Blair for the job, while Belgian Prime Minister Hermann van Rompuy is said to have the support of other big member states such as Germany and France. Eastern candidates for the job are Estonian President Toomas Ilves and former Latvian head of state Vaira Vika-Freiberga.
But an agreement on the president cannot be reached until there is also a deal on the future top foreign policy job. This post is more complicated, as the candidate will also need to pass a grilling in the European Parliament along with the other EU commissioners in early January.
People in the frame for the job range from British foreign secretary David Miliband, who strongly denies he is a candidate, to Italian former PM Massimo D'Alema, who could be blocked by Poland for his Communist past and by Germany for his lukewarm backing of Israel. Mr Ilves also threw his hat into the ring for the foreign policy job, while Greece has touted education minister Anna Diamantopoulou as a candidate for the position.