Brussels, 20/06/2014 (Agence Europe) - Has the SPD of Germany dumped its champion, Martin Schulz, as candidate for the vice-presidency of the European Commission? That, at least, is the view of Spiegel online, which reported on Friday 20 June that the head of the SPD, Sigmar Gabriel, was prepared to back a CDU commissioner if Martin Schulz is re-elected president of the European Parliament, but Gabriel would want assurances of Schulz getting the EP job before confirmation of Jean-Claude Juncker as president of the Commission (which might comne at the European summit on 26-27 June). German media say that at a mini Social Democrat summit in Paris on 21 June, the idea of Martin Schulz getting the EP job might be raised by the French president, François Hollande. Later the same day, Merkel's CDU party said it did not want Schulz at the Commission and hinted that it would back a deal with the SPD to give Schulz back the top EP job. Günther Oettinger of the CDU, currently EU Energy Commissioner, wants to remain in his job at the Commission, stated his spokesman a few weeks ago, and Die Zeit of 19 June says that Juncker would like to have German Defence Minister Ursula Von der Leyen (of the CDU) as a European commissioner, a post which Die Zeit says the minister would be delighted to accept. (SP)