Brussels - The search for a new European boss threatened to overshadow key talks on the economy and on climate change at a European Union summit due to open in Brussels on Thursday. The name of former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was frequently mentioned in discussions about who should become European Council President, a post created by the EU's reforming Lisbon Treaty to give the bloc a stronger voice on the world stage.
EU heads of state and government planned to sound each other out about Blair's chances amid strong opposition from smaller member states such as Belgium and Luxembourg, which would prefer a low-profile moderator instead.
The president of the European Parliament, Jerzy Buzek, weighed into the discussion Thursday by arguing that Britain's refusal to join the bloc's common currency and its borderless Schengen area should not count against Blair.
But, echoing calls from European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso for a greater gender balance within the EU's institutions, Buzek also suggested that the job should go to a woman instead.
"A woman as first EU president would be a good idea," Buzek said.
No formal appointments were expected to be announced at the summit, however, as the Lisbon Treaty has been stalled by the Czech Republic's eurosceptic president, Vaclav Klaus.
Klaus, whose signature is the final obstacle to the treaty coming into force, is awaiting a decision by his country's constitutional court and is demanding political guarantees in connection with the text's charter of fundamental rights.
"People in Brussels are all asking: 'Will (the president) be Blair?' We are miles away from that question still," an official close to the negotiations told the German Press Agency
