Kenny to hold talks with Dutch PM over Juncker appointment

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will hold talks with Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte tomorrow evening on the appointment of the next European Commission president, amid continuing disquiet about the candidacy of Jean-Claude Juncker.

The meeting between the Taoiseach and his Dutch counterpart will follow the gathering of a select group of EU leaders currently under way in Sweden.

Talks between British prime minister David Cameron and his Dutch, Swedish and German counterparts began this evening in the Swedish prime minister's summer residence and will continue tomorrow morning.

Mr Cameron already has the backing of Swedish prime minister Fredrik Reinfeldt who told the Financial Times that he was opposed to the so-called Spitzenkandidat system embraced by the European Parliament which advocates that the candidate of the biggest political group in the European Parliament should become the next European Commission president.

“We do not support the idea because it would make it impossible for any other candidate and rule out a lot of possible potential commission presidents,” the Swedish prime minister said. “We should take care of the balance between different institutions.”

But German Chancellor Angela Merkel has publicly backed Mr Juncker as the lead candidate.

EU sources in Brusels strongly refuted suggestions Mr Juncker would withdraw from the process, describing weekend reports as rumours “without any foundations.”

Meanwhile, Britain's deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, whose party is widely regarded as strongly pro-Europe, echoed Mr Cameron's opposition to Mr Juncker's candidacy.

"It's incredibly important we preserve the integrity, the authority and independence of the European Commission," the leader of the Liberal Democrats said. "We mustn't establish the precedent that the European Union commission president is hand-picked by the Parliament."

A former European Commission official and MEP, Mr Clegg is typically at odds with his coalition partner on EU matters.

“It’s precisely because I value Britain’s place in Europe that I’ve not only campaigned for reform, but in the 10 years I spent in Europe I’ve probably done more to make Brussels less bureaucratic, more open and more in line with Britain’s interests than any other party leader,” he said.

Former French finance minister and current managing director of the IMF Christine Lagarde appeared to rule herself out of the running for European Commission president on Friday.

“I am not a candidate, and the reason I am not a candidate is that I already have a job,” the IMF’s managing director told a conference in London.

Ms Lagarde, who was finance minister under Nicolas Sarkozy, would have to be nominated by Socialist president Francois Hollande in order to be considered for the role.

The reluctance of Europe to surrender the coveted role of IMF managing director could also weaken support for her nomination. Other possible candidates are Danish Prime Minister Helle Throning-Schmidt, who is married to the son of former Labour leader Neil Kinnock, and who is understood to be supported by Britain.

Her party saw a sharp drop in votes in the European Parliament elections, with the Dutch Freedom Party mustering a quarter of the votes. Sweden also saw a strong rise in support for euro sceptic parties. Mr Cameron said last week in Brussels that the EU could not "stick its head in the sand" as regards the results of the European elections which saw a strong rise in support for anti- establishment parties.