(Bloomberg) -- The European Union's Brexit negotiator Michel Barnier sought to dispel speculation that he's running an unofficial campaign to lead the bloc's executive arm, saying that he supports the bid of the center-right's official candidate Manfred Weber.
“Let me be clear, my short answer is yes,” Barnier said at a conference in Bratislava, Slovakia, when asked if he supports Weber's candidacy for the presidency of the European Commission. Barnier enjoys the formal backing of French President Emmanuel Macron for the powerful role, even though he's not officially a candidate.
EU's Political Twister Seen Delaying Choice of New ECB President
With Brexit talks in complete hibernation, Barnier has been touring European capitals, meeting leaders and giving speeches on broad topics related to the future of the EU. This has raised eyebrows among his colleagues in the group of EU center-right parties, which have nominated Weber for the commission post.
Still, as EU leaders prepare to discuss appointments at a summit later this month, they've made it clear they're all still up for grabs. And because of the opaque way some of the horse-trading around the jobs is conducted, Barnier doesn't even have to declare he's interested.
In addition to the commission presidency, EU leaders are due to decide who's going to become the president of the European Council, who will be presiding over their meetings, the president of the European Central Bank, which sets monetary policy for the euro area, and the bloc's foreign policy chief, a role for which Barnier's name has also been floated.
To contact the reporter on this story: Nikos Chrysoloras in Brussels at nchrysoloras@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Chad Thomas at cthomas16@bloomberg.net, Richard Bravo, Ian Wishart
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