European Union (EU) leaders handed down their blessing on Thursday to Jose Manuel Barroso's bid for a second term as the European Commission chief.
"I am very glad that Jose Manuel Barroso received broad, indeed unanimous, support among heads of state and government. They clearly support his candidacy as future president of the European Commission," Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer, whose country holds the EU rotating presidency, told reporters in the early hours of Friday after a meeting with his EU counterparts.
In response to his nomination, Barroso said he was moved by the unanimous support from EU leaders and their acknowledgement of the commission's work.
"I am extremely proud of the unanimous support I received from the heads of state and government of the European Union," he said.
But Barroso still needs approval from EU lawmakers, who have a joint say with EU government on the choice of the commission chief, to secure his reappointment.
Fischer said the Czech government and Sweden, the next EU presidency, will now start consultation with different political groups in the European Parliament.
Although Barroso has guaranteed support from the center-right European People's Party, the largest political group in the parliament which he belongs to, the Socialists, the second largest group, and smaller Greens have voiced their opposition to Barroso's second term.
Martin Schulz, head of the Party of European Socialists, warned on Thursday that they would not back Barroso's reappointment.
"It is completely premature and without the socialists there is not a parliamentary majority, unless there is a vote with the anti-European MEPs," he said hours ahead of the EU summit.
This is also a tricky issue clouding the parliament's approval, which is related to the EU's reforming Lisbon Treaty.
Following EU-wide elections early this month, the newly-installed European Parliament will convene for its first meeting in mid-July.
If the European Parliament votes next month, the existing EU Nice Treaty will apply, under which a single majority will be enough for Barroso's reappointment. It will not be a hard job.
But if the European Parliament delayed the approval until the Lisbon Treaty is finally ratified, support from an absolute majority of the whole assembly would be required, making Barroso's bid more difficult.
It remains unclear whether the EU assembly would decide Barroso's reappointment soon.
Fischer urged the European Parliament to make a decision as soon as possible in order to ensure institutional stability in the face of the economic crisis.
"We want to avoid any delay. We want to be effective. We want to ensure that this nomination takes as little time as possible. At the same time, we want to have good relations with the European Parliament," he said.
Barroso, 53, has served as the European Commission President since 2004 and his term expires in October.
If reelected, the former Portuguese Prime Minister said his two urgent priorities would be the economic crisis and climate change.
(Xinhua News Agency June 19, 2009)
