Merkel: Germany, France To Back Same EU President Candidate
BERLIN -(Dow Jones)- Germany and France will support the same candidate to
become the European Union's first president in the 27-member bloc, German
Chancellor Angela Merkel said Wednesday.
"Germany and France will vote jointly on this issue and not opposite to each
other," Merkel said, following a two-day meeting of her cabinet in Meseberg.
"We are in contact over this. I have no results to report yet, but I am
optimistic that we will see a result tomorrow evening."
EU leaders will meet in Brussels Thursday to choose a president.
Herman Van Rompuy, prime minister of Belgium, is widely seen as the front
runner for the EU's top post, followed by Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter
Balkenende.
-By Andrea Thomas, Dow Jones Newswires; +49-30-288-8410; andrea.thomas@
dowjones.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
11-18-090900ET
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