Open Europe :Sarkozy wants impromptu EU summit to 'crown' Blair EU President next mon

[Politics.be]

Under the headline "Sarkozy demands ex-PM Blair's 'coronation'", the Sun reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy is pressing for a special EU summit to be convened to appoint Tony Blair as the EU's first President as soon as the Lisbon Treaty is ratified. Plans to select him at the EU leaders' summit in Brussels next week have been frustrated by Czech President Vaclav Klaus, due to his refusal to sign the Treaty, which creates the post. But EU leaders are confident Mr Klaus will finally approve it by early next month.



The Mail quotes a diplomatic source saying, "Blair is looking like the clear favourite and Sarkozy wants to get it settled quickly."



The Times reports that Shadow Foreign Secretary William Hague has been conducting a behind-the-scenes campaign to convince European ambassadors that Tony Blair would be a bad choice for EU President.



Hague's spokesman said: "Mr Hague wanted to leave the ambassadors in no doubt that the Conservative Party is opposed to the appointment of Tony Blair as president of the European Council and it would only underline the lack of accountability and legitimacy involved in the creation of the position in the first place".



The Economist's Charlemagne blog notes that German Chancellor Angela Merkel "is the key swing voter in the contest for president" and that "a pair of (relatively) senior German Christian Democrat