EU presidency plan gathers steam

Mr Schroeder meets the chefs of the Truffe Noir

The idea of creating a powerful EU presidency is gathering momentum, with German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder and UK Foreign Minister Jack Straw the latest to give it their support.

I... support Jacques Chirac's proposal for a full-time president of the European Council, chosen by and accountable to the heads of government

Jack Straw
UK foreign secretary

Mr Schroeder's comments came at a dinner in Brussels with the President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, hours before the publication of an article by UK Foreign Minister Jack Straw, detailing the British case for such a post.

According to the Financial Times, Mr Schroeder told Mr Prodi that he would back the idea, as long as there were guarantees that the new president would not undermine Mr Prodi and his commissioners.

"He said he would only go along with it if it wasn't in any way undermining the work of the commission, which he thinks should be strengthened," said an official at the Brussels dinner, quoted by the Financial Times.

Musical chairs

The proposal for a president chosen by the governments of member states - who make up the European Council - was first put forward by French President Jacques Chirac, but has already won broad support from the UK, Spain, Italy and Sweden.

Prodi: Six-month presidency is disruptive

It is unpopular with some of the smaller EU states, and with members of Mr Prodi's commission.

Mr Straw's article, published in the Economist, complains about the "musical chairs" resulting from the current system whereby the EU presidency changes every six months.

"I therefore support Jacques Chirac's proposal for a full-time president of the European Council, chosen by and accountable to the heads of government," writes Mr Straw.

There is a very extensive acceptance of the idea of ending the rotating presidency

Valery Giscard d'Estaing

"He or she would serve for several years, overseeing delivery of the union's strategic agenda and communicating a sense of purpose to Europe's citizens."

Mr Straw was accused by his counterpart in the UK Conservative Party, Michael Ancram, of lining up a future job for Prime Minister Tony Blair.

Both Mr Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar have been tipped as possible candidates for the job.

Parliamentary powers

But Mr Straw's government colleague, Europe Minister Peter Hain, told BBC radio that Mr Blair was too busy running Britain to be considering such a role.

Mr Schroeder is reported to have told Mr Prodi that the current rotating EU presidency did not work.

Mr Prodi himself has agreed that the six-month presidency is disruptive.

The smaller member states will not accept a European Council chairman unless they get something in return

Charles Grant, Centre for European Reform

Earlier this week, the former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing, who heads a convention working on a new EU constitution, said: "There is a very extensive acceptance of the idea of ending the rotating presidency. This has won ground."

Mr Schroeder's idea of strengthening the European Commission, at the same time as creating an EU presidency, is echoed by Mr Straw.

"The reality is that in an EU of 25 member states or more, each of the three main institutions - the council, the commission and the parliament - needs to be strengthened," he writes.

The head of the Centre for European Reform, Charles Grant, wrote this week that smaller member states - which believe that the commission helps prevent larger states taking over the EU - would only accept an EU presidency if they got something in return.

He suggests that they might be appeased if the European Parliament had the power to elect the president of the European Commission, thereby lending both institutions extra legitimacy.

According to the report in the Financial Times, both Mr Schroeder and Mr Prodi are considering this possibility.