Leaders gathering in Sweden to discuss Europe’s future

PanARMENIAN.Net - British Prime Minister David Cameron is travelling to Sweden for talks on the future of Europe with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders, BBC News reports.

He will argue against the appointment of Jean-Claude Juncker as next president of the European Commission.

Merkel has publicly backed former Luxembourg premier Juncker, the commission candidate nominated by party groups in Europe. But Cameron thinks Juncker could block his proposals for reform. The British PM is strongly opposed to Juncker's belief in a closer political union between EU member states.

He has described Brussels as "too big, too bossy" and said following the European elections: "We need change. We need an approach that recognizes that Europe should concentrate on what matters, on growth and jobs, and not try to do so much."

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte are also taking part in the discussions.

Before the meeting, Reinfeldt questioned the lead role of the European Parliament in choosing a new Commission president: "We do not support the idea because it would make it impossible for any other candidate and rule out a lot of potential commission presidents," he told the Financial Times.

Cameron and his German counterpart had what was described a "friendly and candid" exchange of views over who should become president of the European Commission after a dinner for G7 leaders last week.

EU leaders have traditionally named the Commission head on their own, but now have to "take into account" the results of the European Parliament elections, under new rules.

The European People's Party (EPP) grouping, of which Juncker is a member, won the largest number of seats in May's polls, and he has argued that gives him a mandate.

The center-right grouping also includes Merkel's Christian Democrats.

Before becoming European Commission president a candidate will have to get the approval of both EU government leaders and the parliament.

The leaders - jointly called the European Council - will make their choice through a qualified majority vote. That means no single country can veto the choice. The decision is expected at an EU summit on June 26-27.

But then the European Parliament has to vote on the nominee - and that means getting support from an absolute majority of MEPs. To succeed, the nominee will need at least 376 MEPs' votes in the 751-seat assembly. The EPP is well short of that, with 221 seats, according to provisional results.