The Socialist bloc in the European Parliament objected Sunday to Portugal's centre-right prime minister, Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, as the new European Commission president.
The Party of European Socialists (PES) said the new chief of the European Union executive should not automatically be drawn from the ranks of the centre-right, which returned this month as the biggest bloc in the EU assembly.
PES president Poul Nyrup Rasmussen said in a statement: "Europe needs a capable and qualified leader of the commission.
"This is also a fundamental precondition to begin closing the gap between ordinary citizens' worries and the European Union's political line," the Danish former prime minister said.
The EU's Irish presidency has convened an extraordinary summit of EU leaders for Tuesday to anoint Durao Barroso as the successor to Romano Prodi, after they failed to strike a deal at a summit a week ago.
Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said the Portuguese leader enjoyed "overwhelming support" from other EU heads of government for the high-profile post.
But the PES, the second-biggest group in the European Parliament, wrote to EU governments to set out its objections and demand that its voice be heard.
"We have to widen the choice beyond right-wing candidates only," the party's letter said.
"It is more important for Europe to find the right person for this position, rather than somebody from the right at any price."
The new commission chief must be endorsed by the EU legislature next month before he can take office in November.
Durao Barroso is sure to win the blessing of the centre-right European People's Party. But other forces in the parliament have yet to declare their stand on his candidacy.
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