Angela Merkel has thrown her weight behind Jean-Claude Juncker for the next European commission leader, dealing a blow to David Cameron's attempts to block Luxembourg's former prime minister from taking up the role.
The German chancellor said at the National Catholic Congress in Regensburg: "I will now lead all negotiations in the spirit that Jean-Claude Juncker should become president of the European commission."
Both Merkel and Juncker's parties are members of the European People's party (EPP) bloc, the centre-right group that gained the most seats in Sunday's European parliament elections.
David Cameron, whose Conservative party left the EPP in 2009, as well as Hungary and Sweden's prime ministers have opposed Juncker, lobbying for a more reformist candidate. » | Philip Oltermann in Berlin | Friday, May 30, 2014
Merkel spricht sich klar für Juncker aus »
