EP-fractie van de christen-democraten schuiven eurocommissaris Chris Patten naar voren als opvolger Prodi (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The UK's Chris Patten has emerged as the favourite candidate of the centre-right European People's Party for Commission president after a meeting of its leaders this morning.

Leader of the EPP group in the European Parliament Hans-Gert Pöttering said he was "very satisfied" with the result.

Elmar Brok, a German Christian Democrat MEP, said that Mr Patten, currently the EU's external relations commissioner, "enjoys great popularity in the Parliament".

Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi has been mandated to present the Irish EU Presidency with the name this evening.

Peter Hintze, secretary general of the German Christian Democrat Union, told journalists afterwards that Italy had been chosen to put forward the name because it had to come from a big country.

Sources indicated that it could not be France because Paris either abstained from voting for Mr Patten or voted against him.

French prime minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin remarked afterwards only that it had been a "very interesting" meeting.

As for Jean-Claude Juncker, the Luxembourg leader whose name is favoured by the vast majority of the centre-right leaders but who has declined so far to leave his Grand Duchy, he voted for Guy Verhofstadt - the liberal Belgian prime minister.

Bertie Ahern, Irish prime minister and current head of the EU, following weeks of visiting EU capitals is to propose one name this evening - most likely Guy Verhofstadt.

Technically leaders can agree on the issue using qualified majority voting - but Dublin, anxious to avoid that it comes down to a vote, is hoping to forge a consensus on the question.