Leaders to back Juncker, leaving Britain isolated

British Prime Minister David Cameron set out a last-ditch case against the nomination of Jean-Claude Juncker for European Commission president on Friday, trying to enforce a point of principle that raises the risk of Britain leaving the European Union.

Cameron sees the former Luxembourg premier as lacking the will and the skills to reform the EU and told fellow leaders bluntly they were about to make a mistake in backing him - warning of unspecified "consequences".

But he was set to be outvoted 26-2 if, as expected, he insists on an unprecedented vote among EU leaders. Germany's Die Welt newspaper called him "the loneliest man in Europe".

But calling Juncker the wrong man for the job, Cameron said as he arrived: "There are times when it's very important that you stick to your principles and you stick to your convictions even if the odds are heavily stacked against you rather than going along with something that you believe is profoundly wrong.

"And today is one of those days."

The dispute is one of the most public and personal the European Union has experienced in a decade, damaging efforts to present a united front at a time when the bloc is recovering from an economic crisis and keen to bolster its global image.

Despite Cameron's forthright opposition to Juncker, whose center-right political group won European Parliament elections last month, Britain has failed to convince almost any of the 27 other member states to support its position.

His sole remaining ally, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, reaffirmed on Friday that he would oppose Juncker if there was a vote.

The nomination will be discussed over lunch on the second day of an EU summit, which began on Thursday in the Belgian town of Ypres.

As well as the commission presidency, one of the EU's most powerful jobs with sway over legislation affecting 500 million people, the summit was to discuss energy policy.

Exit risks

Opinion polls show that many British voters support Cameron taking a hard line on Europe. With the prime minister battling to shore up support for his Conservative party and facing an election next year, that popular support is critical.

But it leaves Cameron in an uncomfortable position toward his fellow leaders, many of whom are now openly concerned about the possibility of Britain moving inexorably toward the exit.

Cameron, many of whose own Conservatives favor a British exit from the EU, has promised voters a referendum on leaving the bloc by 2017 - if he wins re-election next year.

(China Daily 06/28/2014 page7)