Blair suffers dual blow in EU presidency stakes

LUXEMBOURG (AFP) – Tony Blair's prospects of leading a new-look European Union took a double hit on Tuesday as a serious rival became the first to declare his intentions and Italy backtracked on earlier support.

Two days from a summit in Brussels at which EU leaders are to discuss nominations for a new, permanent post of European Council president, Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker threw his hat into the ring.

"If I were called upon, I would have no reason to refuse... on condition that there are ambitious ideas for the post," said Juncker, who also heads up the Eurogroup of 16 EU finance ministers.

Juncker said he did not oppose Blair personally, but felt that the first EU president should come from a country which has fully embraced Europe's cohesion.

Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands "have taken a position, and this goes beyond Tony Blair as a person," Juncker told France's Le Monde newspaper.

Britain has refused to adopt the euro or sign up to the passport-free Schengen travel area. It has also received an opt-out from a new charter of fundamental rights which is to be introduced if and when the bloc's Lisbon Treaty finally enters law.

"I'm not playing down areas in which the United Kingdom has been a real inspiration for Europe over the last 10 years," Juncker added.

But "Europe should be represented by someone whose main concern would be to serve it, to strive for unity around virtuous compromise, and who would not try to represent it abroad without the guarantee of internal cohesion" first.

Italy's Foreign Minister Franco Frattini provided the second blow when he said that the choice of future president should be "unanimous and the result of consensus" among the 27 EU member states.

Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi -- who will not make Thursday's summit after contracting scarlet fever, Frattini confirmed -- had previously indicated he was warm towards Blair's candidacy.

"That's true," Frattini added, "but the entry into the fray of Mr Juncker and why not (Dutch Prime Minister Jan-Peter) Balkenende changes the picture," he said.

"We cannot imagine a divided Europe. We must find a consensus."

Balkenende hails from the centre-right ground occupied by the majority of European leaders, which political analysts have said boosts his chances -- although a Dutch minister said on Monday that it would not propose the 53-year-old itself.

The job does not yet exist as the treaty has yet to be ratified in all 27 EU nations -- although Brussels wants the choices for the two new jobs of president and foreign affairs supremo named by the end of the year.

The last holdout, the Czech Republic, held a televised constitutional court hearing on the treaty's legality on Tuesday, although a verdict may not come before Thursday's summit.

British Foreign Secretary David Miliband told journalists on Monday that Blair would be "a good choice," saying: "He is a persuasive advocate, a genuine European and a real coalition-builder." Related article: UK press dissects Blair candidacy

Blair, who was British prime minister from 1997 to 2007 and sparked division in Europe over his defence of the Iraq war, has not declared his candidacy for the job which will come with a once-renewable, two-and-a-half-year term.