Verhofstadt nadrukkelijk in beeld voor opvolging Prodi (en)

Hopes among centre-right EPP party circles to prevent the appointment of the Belgian liberal Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt as European Commission President were dashed yesterday (16 June), as the EPP's top rival candidate, the Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker, officially pulled out of the race.

According to Belgian daily De Standaard, the Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker officially informed EPP leaders yesterday night that he would not be available for the post as President of the European Commission.

Mr Juncker's announcement came after he was appointed by the Luxembourg Arch-Duke to form a new government in Luxembourg, where he won national elections last Sunday (13 June), which were held simultaneously with the European elections.

The Luxembourg PM was said to be one of the few candidates for the Brussels top job that was almost unanimously supported among EU leaders.

After a recent tour of EU capitals, Irish Prime Minister and President of the European Council Bertie Ahern said: "Everybody wants him".

However, Mr Juncker cannot be fully ruled out as he may come under pressure from Paris and Berlin to reconsider his decision.

The Austrian daily Der Standard reports that France and Germany may start a last-minute attempt to persuade the Luxembourg PM to fill up the prestigious post.

Verhofstadt's chances rise

If Mr Juncker would definitely not be available, this would mean that the chances of his Belgian counterpart Guy Verhofstadt to gain the top EU position have significantly risen.

According to the Irish Times, the President of the European Council and Irish PM Bertie Ahern is likely to recommend Mr Verhofstadt to EU leaders on Thursday evening during the Summit in Brussels where the decision on the Commission presidency will be taken.

The decision on the top Brussels position will be taken by EU leaders on the basis of a qualified majority.

This means that possible opponents of Mr Verhofstadt's candidature, notably the UK and Italy, will not be able to veto Mr Verhofstadt's appointment on their own - nor would these two countries be able to do so together.

But De Standaard notes that if some countries abstain from voting - for example Ireland as the current EU president - the threshold for a veto by a group of countries would decrease.

Latvia yesterday announced that it would vote against Mr Verhofstadt, as the Belgian PM had indicated support for a future European Commission where small member states would lose their permanent Commissioner.

The EPP is still expected to propose its own alternative candidate to Mr Verhofstadt before the crucial EU summit - the Austrian PM Wolfgang Schüssel being the most likely option.