Cameron bid to stop Juncker nomination fails
An attempt, led by British Prime Minister David Cameron, to block the nomination of federalist Jean-Claude Juncker as the next president of the European Commission, has failed.
He was outvoted by fellow EU leaders at a Brussels summit.
The vote came after the Prime Minister made a last-ditch bid to persuade the leaders of the other 27 member states to think again, warning them that they would "live to regret" the way in which the former Luxembourg PM has secured the EU's top job.
Mr Juncker's nomination - which must be confirmed by a vote in the European Parliament - was announced by European Council president Herman van Rompuy in a message on his official Twitter feed.
Decision made. The European Council proposes Jean-Claude Juncker as the next President of the European Commission #EUCO
— Charles Michel (@eucopresident) June 27, 2014
Mr Juncker's nomination was approved by a margin of 26-2, with only Mr Cameron and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban opposed, said British officials.
The vote represented a departure from the decades-old tradition that Commission presidents are chosen by consensus of national heads of government.
The PM insisted on a vote being taken and formally minuted, in order to force fellow leaders to put their cards on the table and have their support for the controversial Luxembourger recorded.
In an address to his continental counterparts moments before the vote, Mr Cameron warned that the installation of the long-time Brussels insider at the head of the Commission - which has powers to initiate legislation affecting all EU states and police the single market - would be "a sad moment for Europe".
Mr Cameron has argued over recent weeks that Mr Juncker is "the wrong person" to lead the Commission, and told the 27 other leaders he was "disappointed" they had reached the point where he was set to take up the post without securing the unanimous support of all EU states.
Backing the candidate put forward by the largest political grouping in the European Parliament risked setting a precedent under which the EU's top job could in future be in the hands of MEPs making backroom deals, rather than democratically-elected national leaders, he warned.
I've told EU leaders they could live to regret the new process for choosing the Commission President. I'll always stand up for UK interests.
— David Cameron (@David_Cameron) June 27, 2014
