Brussels, 27/02/2014 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday 27 February, Jean-Claude Juncker (Luxembourg) officially submitted his application to the European People's Party (EPP) to be nominated head of the EPP list on 7 March to succeed current European Commission President José Manuel Barroso, said EPP President Joseph Daul (France) in a press release. Juncker's application comes just over a week after that of Valdis Dombrovskis (Latvia), the first to declare his hand. Juncker is the former prime minister of Luxembourg and former head of the Eurogroup. He has strong support from his Christian Social People's (CSV) party, from Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU - the party of Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel) - which he received at the beginning of the week) and from Greece's New Democracy party (Nea Demokratia - the party of Greece's Prime Minister Antonis Samaras). Michel Barnier (France), another assumed candidate, still has to make his application official. “He will make it formal soon”, said one of those working close to him. Barnier has not, on the other hand, come to a decision regarding the European elections, we are told. However, should he be a candidate, he will need to decide on a date for leaving the college of commissioners (commissioners are obliged to take unpaid leave when they start campaigning). Olli Rehn (Finland), who intends to run for the European elections, has announced that he will take unpaid leave from his post of commissioner at the start of April. He will return to this post immediately after the European elections - around 26 or 27 May - he told a press conference earlier in the week. (SP)