Brussels, 25/06/2004 (Agence Europe) - As Bertie Ahern continued his contacts on Friday to find "consensus" by Monday or Tuesday on a candidate for the post of European Commission President (in which case an extraordinary Council will be convened for the evening of Tuesday 29 June in Brussels), Italy said that the new Commission head must have the unanimous support of all 25 Member States. Appointing a candidate by qualified majority (as the Treaty permits) would weaken the President's credibility and authority, said the Italian Foreign Minister, Franco Frattini. Italy, which at this stage "does not support any particular candidate", is taking part in the Irish Presidency's consultations to find a candidate "who is acceptable to all, because we should not put their appointment to the vote", said Mr Frattini. "We must avoid the risk of division, which would be the wrong signal and would weaken the new President, who would lack credibility if certain Member States had voted against".
When asked by the press if Romano Prodi would agree to remain at the head of the Commission until the end of the year if asked to do so by the European Council, a Commission spokesperson said only that "this question is not an issue for us", and that "Mr Prodi will continue to work up to the end of his mandate", which is due to expire on 31 October.
In the meantime, the head of the EPP group at the European Parliament, Hans-Gert Pöttering, told Le Monde that it was now up to the Heads of State and Government to take their responsibility, as long as they bear in mind the results of the recent European elections. "There are well-known names, the Luxembourg Prime Minister, Jean-Claude Juncker, and the Austrian Chancellor, Wolfgang Schüssel. Two other names have appeared, that of the Portuguese Prime Minister, José Manuel Durao Barroso, and of the French Foreign Minister, Michel Barnier. They are also good candidates. Now, the Heads of State and Government must do their job". Although the EPP, the largest party in the European Parliament, cannot block a candidate on its own, it is opposed to all Socialist candidates, such as the Commissioner Antonio Vitorino, or the High Representative for Foreign Affairs, Javier Solana. "Solana does a good job in foreign affairs, but I oppose his Presidency of the Commission. It is a question of principle", Mr Pöttering told Le Monde. When asked about the EPP's view of the possibility of Mr Ahern himself standing, Mr Pöttering just said: "one step at a time".