Leaders must not be ‘railroaded’ over next EC head - Cameron

European Union leaders must not be "railroaded" by the European Parliament in choosing the next President of the European Commission, British Prime Minister David Cameron has said, hours before crucial talks open in Brussels.

Leaders gathering in Brussels this evening “should be seizing the opportunity to start heeding” the message delivered by EU voters in the European Parliament elections, which saw significant gains for Eurosceptic parties.

However, Mr Cameron has sought to rebuff attempts by the European Parliament's three main groupings - the European People's Party, the Party of European Socialists and the Liberal ALDE - to take the lead on selecting a replacement for Jose Manuel Barroso.

Tonight's meeting of the European Council should begin the process of deciding the EU's priorities over the next five years, before deciding on the names of those who could fill the high-profile role.

European Union leaders must first give “a very clear direction on what the EU should be doing more of in terms of what voters care about”, said a No. 10 Downing Street spokesperson.

Priorities should be decided first; then names, she said: “We need to follow the correct procedure for that, which is that the EC has the right to nominate, that we shouldn’t be railroaded by the parliament.

“Particularly when the turnout was down in a majority of member states it is important that the European Council takes it time to agree what they want the EU to focus on in the next five years and who are the right people to do that job,” she added.

However, Mr Cameron does want fellow EU leaders to consider other candidates. So far, the name of the Finnish Prime Minister, Jyrki Katainen has been mentioned most often, though Taoiseach Enda Kenny's name is mentioned also.

Today, Downing Street declined to respond to occasional speculation that Mr Cameron favours Mr Kenny, though some quarters have suggested that the two men have spoken about the position. "We are not talking about names," Mr Cameron's spokesperson told The Irish Times.

The Lisbon Treaty gave the European Parliament the right to vote on the selection of the next head of the European Commission, but London objects to attempts by MEPs to take even more influence over the selection.

“It is important for the leaders to reach an agreement on who they want to nominate and then the European Parliament will vote on that nomination,” she said, “The European Council should start the process set out in the Lisbon Treaty, fully respecting that that goes to a vote in the European Parliament.”

Speaking during No 10’s daily lobby briefing, the spokesperson said: “The point that the PM has been making is that tonight’s dinner to really discuss the outcome of the European Parliament elections and what this means for the EU.

“It is clear it cannot be business as usual, the EU needs to change,” she said, noting French President Francois Hollande’s declaration that the EU “should be effective where it is needed and withdraw from where it is not necessary”.