Juncker lines-up for European Commission President job

(AFP) Europe's biggest conservative political group has gone into battle to grab the job of European Commission President when it becomes vacant next year, with former Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker lining up with others for the post.

Leaders of the European People's Party (EPP), including German Chancellor Angela Merkel, agreed at talks ahead of a European Union summit to elect a candidate at a party convention in Dublin on March 6 and 7, said party president Joseph Daul.

Several prime ministers or former heads of government are said to be in the running, including Finland's Jyrki Katainen, Poland's Donald Tusk, and most recently Juncker, who served as premier of Luxembourg for 18 years until he lost elections in October.

After repeatedly denying interest in the job, Juncker told French daily Le Monde: "I'm ready if asked."

Ireland's Enda Kenny, who was frequently cited as a potential candidate, said he was "flattered" to have been mentioned but aimed to lead his Fine Gael into the next elections.

An EU diplomat stated that Juncker for his part was going for several jobs.

"He's put his hand up for the Commission but is also being suggested as a successor to Herman Van Rompuy," the former Belgian premier who heads the European Council of member states.

The president of the Commission -- the EU executive made up of 28 commissioners, one for each member state -- is currently former Portuguese premier Jose Manuel Barroso.

The EU diplomat, who asked not to be identified, said appointing Juncker to head the Commission would not go down well with some EU heads of state and government, including Merkel, due to his independent streak.

But another source said Juncker was more than likely to pick up one of the top jobs on the EU market in 2014 after European Parliament elections in May.

Former French cabinet minister Michel Barnier, currently the country's representative on the Commission, where he runs the Internal Markets division, has also signalled his readiness to take the top executive job if asked.

So has Luxembourg's Viviane Reding, the outspoken Justice Commissioner, but she would stand little chance if fellow Luxembourger Juncker decides to run.

Whoever is elected within the EPP will face competition from other European political groupings, notably from Germany's Martin Schulz, the European Parliament president, who has already been chosen to run on behalf of the Socialists, the second-biggest party in the parliament.

The Liberals meanwhile will have to chose between dour Finnish Economic Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn and volatile former Belgian premier Guy Verhofstadt, but the party stands little chance for a top job when pitted against the two powerful left and rightwing groups.

Neither does radical leftwing candidate Alexis Tsipras, a Greek politician known as a firebrand.

Schulz has said that Merkel's opinion will be of vital importance and that he believes she is not against his candidacy despite their divergent political views. "But I don't know what she'll decide," he said.

His party has joined Merkel's "grand" coalition, which could weigh in his favour. But the next Commission president will need to obtain a majority of votes from the new EU lawmakers elected in May.

The president's job is one of four top posts coming up for grabs, along with EU Council head, Parliament president and head of the EU's prestigious foreign service.

Jockeying for the jobs will involve national prestige, political clout and also possibly a little affirmative action to ensure at least one of them goes to a woman.