Brussels, 02/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - Used as a means of blackmail, supported by some and repudiated by others, the candidate for the presidency of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, was again the subject of numerous press articles and controversial news stories this weekend regarding his race for the top post at the European Commission. German news magazine Der Spiegel reported that British Prime Minister David Cameron (who, it is well known, is opposed to Juncker, as well as Martin Schulz and Guy Verhofstadt), apparently threatened his partners in Brussels on 27 May that he would organise a referendum in the UK earlier if Juncker was appointed - a referendum which, in Cameron's opinion, would inevitably end with his country leaving the EU. According to news agency Reuters, Cameron declared that Juncker was not the right person to personify renewal, and that the British would surely vote to withdraw from the EU if someone like Juncker was to head the Commission. Cameron did not expressly mention a change of timetable for the referendum, however, which is currently planned for 2017.
According to German newspaper Bild, France's President François Hollande has proposed the name of his former finance minister, Pierre Moscovici, to replace José Manuel Barroso as head of the Commission. On Friday 30 May, the French press also mentioned the name of Michel Barnier, who lost out to Juncker in Dublin on 7 March as lead candidate for the EPP Group.
Another name that comes up regularly on the list of contenders to succeed Barroso is that of Finland's Prime Minister Jyrki Katainen. Katainen has also said he is ready for a top European job from July and, for this reason, has also made plans to resign from his post of prime minister.
Significant of the current cacophony, the leaders of the European Greens and the radical Left have recently defended Juncker's candidacy, calling on the 28 EU member states to respect the European Parliament's vote and the results of the EPP primaries.
At a press meeting on Monday morning, the spokesperson for Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel stated that Merkel was currently conducting all negotiations as if Juncker would be the next president of the Commission and actively encouraged her partners to support this step, her spokesperson said. (SP)