David Cameron in EU summit showdown over top job for Jean-Claude Juncker
European leaders gathered in Brussels on Friday to try and resolve a damaging row over Jean-Claude Juncker’s likely nomination as European Commission president which has left Britain isolated.
European leaders gathered in Brussels on Friday to try and resolve a damaging row over Jean-Claude Juncker’s likely nomination as European Commission president which has left Britain isolated and angry.
Although Juncker’s appointment is expected to be confirmed at the summit, Prime Minister David Cameron will force an unprecedented vote on the issue, playing out in the public eye a major disagreement about the EU’s future.
Cameron remained bitterly defiant as he arrived for the talks, accusing Juncker of being a man “at the heart of the project to increase the power of Brussels”.
“I know the odds are stacked against me, but it doesn’t mean you change your mind,” he added, knowing that virtually all of the other 27 EU member states would vote for Juncker.
Leaders are expected to try and appease Cameron, potentially by offering London a top job in Brussels, but the dispute threatens to fuel eurosceptic sentiment in Britain before a referendum on leaving the EU slated for 2017.