EU Council President

Reacting to the UK Europe minister's comment that Tony Blair would be the UK government's candidate for the future EU Council president (assuming ratification of the Lisbon Treaty), Greens/EFA Co-Presidents Rebecca Harms und Daniel Cohn-Bendit said:

"The suggestion of Tony Blair to become the EU's first Council President is absurd and would represent a backward step for the EU. If Barroso succeeds in staying on as Commission President, the EU's two top posts would be filled by zealous advocates of the Iraq War. Given that the Iraq War deeply divided the EU, Tony Blair can hardly be considered a compromise candidate. He has also shown little real enthusiasm as the Special Envoy to the Middle East. 

His Thatcher-inherited neoliberal politics sowed the seeds for the current financial and economic crisis. In 2004 he vetoed the nomination of Guy Verhofstadt as Commission President, who was clearly a better choice than Barroso."