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PM to call vote on Juncker EU commission appointment PM to call 'unprecedented' vote on Juncker EU appointment
(about 3 hours later)
David Cameron will call for a vote on the next European Commission president if there is an attempt to rubber stamp Jean-Claude Juncker in the role. David Cameron will call for a vote from fellow EU leaders on the next European Commission president if there is an attempt to rubber-stamp Jean-Claude Juncker in the role.
No 10 sources say such a vote would be "unprecedented", as EU heads of government usually reach a consensus. Mr Cameron opposes the ex-Luxembourg PM, whom he sees as preventing EU reforms, and will demand a vote at a summit next week.
But a BBC correspondent said it was unlikely to go the way of the PM, who sees Mr Juncker preventing EU reforms. But correspondents say it looks likely Mr Juncker will get the job.
It comes as business leaders warn about EU financial curbs eroding "Britain's competitiveness". Meanwhile, business leaders have warned about EU measures affecting the City.
Writing in the Sunday Times, 54 people - including Conservative donors and two former ministers Lord Lamont and Lord Flight - said they were "extremely concerned" about the government's "difficulties" in preventing the introduction of new EU financial measures. The row over Mr Juncker hit the headlines a few weeks ago when Mr Cameron reportedly warned that the UK could leave the EU if Mr Juncker became president of the European Commission - the body which drafts EU laws.
They say the measures - including a financial transaction tax, bonus caps and bans on short selling - will hit the "unique global standing" of the City and the wider UK financial services industry. Mr Cameron wants a delay in the process in an effort to find a consensus candidate, but if his fellow 27 EU leaders are not even willing to consider alternatives to Mr Juncker, he will call a vote and require them to set out their positions clearly.
"As we enter a period of EU reform and renegotiation, we urge political leaders to remember the significant contribution that our industry plays in Britain's economic success," they said. "British officials have been clear... that if there was the political will to find consensus then the decision on commission president could and should be delayed," a source said.
In April, Europe's top court rejected a UK challenge to the introduction of the EU financial transactions tax. "But if leaders are not even willing to consider alternative names, despite their widely expressed misgivings, then a vote should take place.
'Alternative names'
BBC political correspondent, Chris Mason, said the letter "highlights the challenge David Cameron faces".
The prime minister has pledged to renegotiate the terms of the UK's membership if the Conservatives win the next election, putting the outcome to a vote of the British people in an in-out referendum in 2017.
But our correspondent said there was irritation in Downing Street that the European Parliament had too much say over the choice of the next commission president, as opposed to the heads of government.
Mr Cameron will meet with the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, on Monday in Downing Street to discuss the issue.
Sources say the PM could force a vote on Mr Juncker - the former Luxembourg prime minister who hopes to become commissioner - at a European Summit in Brussels on Friday.
"British officials have been clear... that if there was the political will to find consensus then the decision on commission president could and should be delayed but if leaders are not even willing to consider alternative names, despite their widely expressed misgivings, then a vote should take place," a source said.
"The prime minister believes it is important that each leader sets out their position clearly when such an important principle is at stake - handing power to the parliament through a back-room deal.""The prime minister believes it is important that each leader sets out their position clearly when such an important principle is at stake - handing power to the parliament through a back-room deal."
'Alternative names'
Mr Cameron, who wants to renegotiate the terms of the UK's membership of the EU, wants a reformer to take charge, whereas Mr Juncker is seen by some as a politician with an instinct for ever-closer European integration.
The responsibility for proposing a new president lies with Mr Cameron's 27 fellow heads of government, in a grouping called the European Council.
But under new rules, they must now take into account the results of the recent European Parliament elections. Those elections returned a centre-right majority, and Mr Juncker is the centre-right's candidate for the post.
Downing Street believes that the European Parliament now has too much say.
Mr Cameron will meet the President of the European Council, Herman Van Rompuy, on Monday in Downing Street to discuss the issue, ahead of a European summit in Brussels on Friday.
European CommissionEuropean Commission
Mr Cameron has previously described Brussels as "too big, too bossy, too interfering" and says Mr Juncker would not push through reform within Europe to return more powers to nation states. Both the Labour leader Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, have also said they do not want Mr Juncker to be the next leader of the commission.
He has been reported as saying Mr Juncker's appointment could destabilise the UK government. Left-wing backing
Both the Labour leader Ed Miliband and Nick Clegg, the Liberal Democrat leader, have said they do not want Mr Juncker to be the next leader of the commission. But on Saturday, Mr Juncker received the backing of nine left-wing heads of government.
Hesitation Speaking on their behalf, the President of France, Francois Hollande, said it was important to respect the spirit of the European parliament elections.
On Saturday, Mr Juncker, the centre-right's candidate for the post, received the backing of nine left-wing heads of government. Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has also backed Mr Juncker's bid - after some hesitation - and he also has support from other conservative leaders.
Speaking on their behalf, the President of France, Francois Hollande, said it was important to respect the spirit of the European parliament elections, which had returned a centre-right majority.
Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has also backed his bid - after some hesitation - and he also has support from other conservative leaders.
Mr Juncker was prime minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and one of the architects of the euro.Mr Juncker was prime minister of Luxembourg from 1995 to 2013 and one of the architects of the euro.
He is a strong advocate of a European "solidarity" union - an EU that strives to raise living standards in its poorest regions and sectors.He is a strong advocate of a European "solidarity" union - an EU that strives to raise living standards in its poorest regions and sectors.
City concern
Meanwhile, writing in the Sunday Times, 54 people - including Conservative donors and two former ministers Lord Lamont and Lord Flight - said they were "extremely concerned" about Britain's "difficulties" in preventing the introduction of new EU financial measures.
They say the measures - including a financial transaction tax, bonus caps and bans on short selling - will hit the "unique global standing" of the City and the wider UK financial services industry.
"As we enter a period of EU reform and renegotiation, we urge political leaders to remember the significant contribution that our industry plays in Britain's economic success," they said.
BBC political correspondent Chris Mason says the letter highlights the challenge David Cameron faces - "convincing people he can reform the UK's relationship with Brussels sufficiently to be able to argue Britain should remain within the EU, in a referendum he'd like to hold in 2017".