by Kate Holman in Brussels
Following the final ratification of the Lisbon Treaty, European socialists are predicting that events will move fast to select the new president of the European Council and high representative for foreign affairs. A special summit meeting is likely to take place next week, where European Union leaders are expected to thrash out names.
The president of the Party of European Socialists, Poul Nyrup Rasmussen, confirmed on Tuesday that the PES will push for a centre-left candidate to fill the high representative post. As a vice-president of the European Commission, the foreign affairs chief will have a high-profile role in EU policy making, as well as the power to appoint his or her own staff and responsibility for general foreign policy initiatives.
Last week, EU leaders from the centre-left, including Gordon Brown, appointed a three-man working group made up of Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and Mr Rasmussen, to identify the best candidate and negotiate with the centre-right parties that hold the majority in the EU institutions.
According to sources at the meeting, the British Prime Minister was left isolated in his bid to push for Tony Blair as European Council president.
Mr Rasmussen said the PES is looking for a candidate able to affirm the identity of social democracy and promote policies to fight unemployment and step up financial market control.
A spokeswoman said the party is likely to announce its candidate as soon as the centre-right European People’s Party puts forward its own nomination for president.
