PM 'Will Force Europe To Vote On Juncker'

Juncker A Wily Politician Who Enjoys The Game

Updated: 2:56pm UK, Friday 06 June 2014

By Robert Nisbet, Europe Correspondent

Jean-Claude Juncker is a familiar fixture in the 'Brussels bubble', known and admired for his political longevity, if not his charisma.

He was born in 1954 in Luxembourg as the continent was still stumbling from the rubble of the Second World War. His father, a steel worker and trade unionist, had been forced to serve in the Wehrmacht.

Juncker Jr. studied law at university but never practiced, honing his political skills by joining the centre-right Christian Social People's Party which fast-tracked him to a deputy's position (similar to a British MP) when he was just 30.

It was the last European Commission president to hail from Luxembourg, Jacques Santer, who took Juncker under his wing, helping him to secure influential ministerial positions including Minister of both labour and finance.

So, few were surprised when he assumed the top job as Prime Minister in 1995. What is extraordinary is how long he held the post: 18 years, leaving in 2013, making him the longest-ever serving EU leader.

As his grip loosened in Luxembourg, he maintained a firm toe-hold in Brussels, chairing from its inception the so-called Eurogroup of nations which use the single currency. It was Juncker who steered its members through some particularly choppy waters.

So why does the UK oppose his ascension to the Commission's top job?

Prime Minister David Cameron would like to see a reformer in the role, someone prepared to get his can-opener and prise open the lid of the tin marked "worms". The UK Government needs support from Europe's institutions – and its leaders - if it wants to negotiate looser ties to the mother ship, which it could then sell in a referendum

But Juncker is far from a reformer: Nigel Farage described him to me as an "arch federalist" which roughly translates into him wanting more Europe rather than less.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in Juncker's corner, as her party is in the European People's Party grouping, of which Juncker is the leader, but his candidacy is also opposed by Italy, Netherlands and Hungary (albeit for a variety of different reasons).

All 28 leaders will vote on the next commission president, but the German Chancellor believes a "qualified majority" will be enough to annoint Jose Manuel Barroso's successor - that means a weighted majority to represent the lion's share of EU citizens.

There is no set time frame on the process, which changed in 2009 after the Lisbon Treaty, to ensure the Euopean Council took note of the results of European elections.

The UK is threatening to walk from the union if Juncker is elected, but all sides of this spat can see the political advantages, at home and in Brussels, of playing this down to the wire.

Mr Juncker, as an experienced and wily politician, will appreciate the game.

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