Tuesday

28th Nov 2023

Sarkozy suggests Blair EU presidency problematic

French president Nicolas Sarkozy has indicated that British ex-prime minister Tony Blair may not be acceptable as a future president of the European Council because the UK remains outside the eurozone.

Mr Blair is most consistently mentioned as a contender for the post, which is contained in the Lisbon Treaty, a new institutional rule book the EU is hoping to soon put into force.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • Tony Blair - his name has been most mentioned from post of president of the European Council (Photo: The Council of the European Union)

But Mr Sarkozy, who originally brought Mr Blair's name into the discussion, now appears to be backing away from him.

When asked by French daily Le Figaro whether Mr Blair is a good candidate for the job, Mr Sarkozy said:

"It is too early to say. There will be a discussion on it. There are two ideas on this: Should there be a strong and charismatic president or a president who facilitates finding a consensus and who organises the work [of the European Council]

"Personally I believe in a Europe that is politically strong and embodied by a person. But the fact that Great Britain is not in the euro remains a problem."

Sixteen of the 27 member states are members of the eurozone. Mr Sarkozy does not elaborate on whether eurozone membership is a general consideration when the president of the European Council post comes up for a discussion.

Of the 11 countries not sharing the common currency, most are central and eastern European states, including Poland, as well as Denmark, Sweden and the UK.

The new presidency post is set to be agreed as part of a general package that includes the new EU foreign minister post, and the new line-up in the European Commission, whose mandate expires at the end of the month.

The new posts are part of the Lisbon Treaty which is awaiting final ratification in the Czech Republic before it can come into force across the European Union.

The posts contain overlapping functions and are expected to be defined by the first people who hold them. Mr Blair has been an apparent frontrunner for several months. His supporters say he will bring charisma and political strength to the job and give Europe a strong international face.

His detractors point to his support of the Iraq war, his relatively weak performance as Middle East envoy and the fact that he comes from a member state that does not take part in key EU policies.

Paris' apparent change of heart on the Blair candidacy as well as Berlin's lukewarm stance on the idea make it hard to see how the former British leader will get the post.

Mr Sarkozy also used the Le Figaro interview to threaten Czech president Vaclav Klaus, who is holding out against signing the Lisbon Treaty.

He called Mr Klaus' stance "unacceptable" adding "decision time is coming for him and it will not be without consequence. And whatever happens, this issue will be resolved by the end of the year."

Although there is exasperation in other capitals at Mr Klaus' stance, other leaders have been reluctant to openly criticise the Czech President for fear that he can make a play on Prague being isolated and bullied to bolster support among ordinary Czechs.

Column

How centre-right conservatives capitulate to the far-right

Many conservatives in Europe seem to have forgotten the lesson of 1930s Germany. They sacrifice their principles on the altar of the polls and all-too-often try to overtake rightwing radicals on their own pet subjects like security or migration.

Opinion

My experience trying to negotiate with Uber

After working with people in unusual employment situations for a decade, I thought I had seen it all as a union organiser. Then I began dealing with Uber.

Column

How centre-right conservatives capitulate to the far-right

Many conservatives in Europe seem to have forgotten the lesson of 1930s Germany. They sacrifice their principles on the altar of the polls and all-too-often try to overtake rightwing radicals on their own pet subjects like security or migration.

Opinion

My experience trying to negotiate with Uber

After working with people in unusual employment situations for a decade, I thought I had seen it all as a union organiser. Then I began dealing with Uber.

Latest News

  1. People-smuggling profits at historic high, EU concedes
  2. EU bets big on fossil hydrogen and carbon storage
  3. How centre-right conservatives capitulate to the far-right
  4. My experience trying to negotiate with Uber
  5. Key battlegrounds in EU's new media legislation
  6. EU 'shocked' by Israel's war-time settler surge
  7. Platform workers could face 'robo-firing' under EU's AI rules
  8. Wilders faces tough road to power, despite election triumph

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  2. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  3. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  4. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  5. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  6. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  2. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  4. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations
  5. International Sustainable Finance CentreJoin CEE Sustainable Finance Summit, 15 – 19 May 2023, high-level event for finance & business
  6. ICLEISeven actionable measures to make food procurement in Europe more sustainable

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us