EU Leaders Meet on First Constitution, Commission Appointment

European Union leaders have opened a crucial two-day summit in Brussels in hopes of striking a deal over a new EU constitution designed to facilitate decision-making in an enlarged bloc of 25 members. But the leaders must still bargain over key points of the document and overcome differences on who should head the union's executive body, the European Commission. The term of current European Commission president Romano Prodi ends in October, and the EU leaders have until next month to find a successor. But the front-runner, Belgium's liberal prime minister Guy Verhofstadt, has been rejected by the British, who regard him as too much of a European federalist. Though he is backed by EU heavyweights France and Germany, the Belgian leader has also run into opposition from Italy and Poland, which, like the British, remember his strong opposition to the Iraq war. One name nearly all EU leaders can agree on is Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker, an experienced and respected Christian Democrat who won re-election on Sunday. But Mr. Juncker has ruled himself out as a candidate for Europe's top job, preferring to govern his 450,000 countrymen to watching over the fate of 450 million Europeans. The center-right forces in the European Parliament, which hold the biggest bloc of seats there, are pushing EU External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten for the job. He is a former head of Britain's Conservative Party and the last governor of Hong Kong, but he is opposed by the French, who regard his French-language skills as not being up to par.