David Cameron and Angela Merkel were today locked in a stalemate over who will next be appointed President of the European Commission.
The Prime Minister began a second day of talks with the German, Dutch and Swedish premieres by stating that the European Union had to change.
At a press conference at Harpsund, near Stockholm, he said the union should be “more competitive, more open, more flexible [and] less interfering.”
But German Chancellor Ms Merkel re-stated her backing arch-federalist Jean Claude Junker to be the next president, an appointment Mr Cameron finds incompatible to his hopes for reform.
The Prime Minister also said EU nations’ leaders should decide who is the next president and not the European Parliament, which also backs Mr Junker.
He said: “We have an opportunity with the new European Commission taking office to put it firmly on the path to reform.
“The European Council, as the group of democratically-elected leaders of nation states, must, I believe, be the ones in the driving seat on this agenda.
“We should stipulate clear priorities for the EU for the next five years, with the overriding priority of promoting jobs, growth and prosperity.”
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said the four leaders had agreed the EU’s future direction must be set before any decision on top jobs.
While confirming her support for Mr Junker, Ms Merkel was careful to say that discussion of the Commission presidency was not central to the talks in Sweden.
