Miliband fuels speculation over EU job

LONDON (AFP) – Foreign Secretary David Miliband has fuelled speculation about his interest in becoming EU foreign minister by unexpectedly attending celebrations in Berlin, media reports said Tuesday.

Miliband cancelled appointments in Britain at the last minute to take part in the 20th anniversary events marking the fall of the Berlin Wall, according to The Times newspaper.

European leaders were expected to discuss in Berlin the jobs of full-time EU president and foreign policy supremo, both created by the newly-ratified Lisbon Treaty, amid mounting speculation over the preferred candidates.

Miliband surprised EU leaders by arriving for the celebrations, and later dined with a select group of foreign ministers and diplomats, according to The Daily Telegraph.

Miliband has insisted he is not running for the new job, ahead of a tough British election next spring, despite his name continuing to find favour among some in Brussels.

The head of the Socialist bloc in the European parliament said on Monday that Miliband had turned down the new post.

"Mr Miliband told me recently that he would not be a candidate, and I heard that he confirmed that over the weekend," said Martin Schulz, leader of the Socialist group, told AFP.

The BBC also said late Monday that Miliband had rejected the job.

Miliband's friends had told him there was still a small possibility that Prime Minister Gordon Brown might choose to stand down before the election, and he would be a natural successor to head the ruling Labour party, the BBC said.

Brown still backs former prime minister Tony Blair "100 percent" for the presidency job, his spokesman said Monday, as EU leaders prepared to decide the posts.