EU Leaders Meet to Elect President
Top leaders from the European Union’s 27 member states are likely to decide on the bloc’s first full-time president when they meet for an elaborate working dinner in the Belgian capital of Brussels on Thursday evening.
Reports in the international media while naming Belgian prime minister – Herman Van Rompuy – as the front-runner for the position, did not discount the possibilities of a last-minute upset.
Jean-Claude Juncker, Luxembourg’s prime minister, is also in the running and so is John Bruton, a former Irish premier.
Tony Blair, the former British prime minister, was the most high-profile name floated for the post, but his odds are reported to have diminished.
Angela Merkel, the German chancellor on Wednesday said that she was optimistic of a decide on the matter by Thursday evening.
Merkel has pledged to back for a common candidate along with French president – Nicolas Sarkozy.
(Based on Media Reports)
