Patten's Name in Frame for Eu Top Job

Chris Patten emerged today as a possible compromise candidate for the EU commission presidency, as the leaders of the 25 member states sat down in Brussels to thrash out a new constitution and agree on a new president.

The Belgian prime minister, Guy Verhofstadt, is still France and Germany's first choice to replace the incumbent, Romano Prodi. But tonight the Italian prime minister, Silvio Berlusconi will formally put forward Mr Patten's name for the role.

Tony Blair is currently leading the opposition to Mr Verhofstadt, with the supported of Italy and others, criticising him as too federalist and too anti-American.

Today's talks got underway at 2pm in the Belgian capital, and will continue through dinner tonight, when Mr Berlusconi will propose Mr Patten.

The summit is scheduled to conclude on Friday evening, however if an agreement is likely on the constitution, talks could continue on into Saturday.

Mr Patten's name appeared briefly on a list of informal candidates but then faded, on the assumption there was little chance of the president being appointed from a country not in the single currency and therefore seen as not fully committed to the EU.

None of the other contenders - Luxembourg's prime minister, Jean-Claude Juncker; Austria's chancellor, Wolfgang Schussel; and the the outgoing president of the European parliament, Irishman Pat Cox - have secured broad support.

But Mr Patten's nationality (and the fact that he speaks only basic French) count against him, with many EU leaders, notably the French president, Jacques Chirac; and German chancellor, Gerhard Schr öder.

On the other hand, he has been impressive as the EU's external relations commissioner, and has made many speeches lambasting the British attitude towards the EU.

No statement on the ongoing constitutional negotiations was due today from either the prime minister or the foreign secretary, Jack Straw, but the chancellor, Gordon Brown, last night issued a ringing warning in the City on "fatally flawed" proposals for greater tax harmonisation across the EU.

Mr Blair's official spokesman stressed last night that Downing Street had no idea whether a deal was possible during the Brussels talks.

No 10 sources highlighted government fears that a proposed charter of fundamental rights guaranteeing the right to strike could allow a return to secondary picketing and wildcat strikes; all outlawed under Margaret Thatcher.

With the British government appearing increasingly confident of maintaining its right of veto over the self-proclaimed "red lines" (of tax, social security, foreign policy and defence) the outgoing European commission president, Romano Prodi, today declared that a successful constitution could be antidote to Euroscepticism and apathy.

In an open letter to EU leaders as they gather for the summit in Brussels, Mr Prodi wrote that the strengthening of "overtly anti-European positions" and last weekend's low election turnout cannot be ignored.

But he made it clear he believes the answer is to press on with the "political project", rather than change course to reflect public disquiet and disinterest.

He wrote: "The message [from the polls] is plain and simple: many Europeans feel the union does not come up to their expectations and so they saw no point in voting. Others think the answer lies in falling back on the nation state, set against Europe.

"We must respond to the disenchantment of the former and the illusions of the latter. The answer can only be found by formulating a clear political project that is implemented by effective institutions that can truly take decisions and act."

The summit will be Mr Prodi's last before his five-year term as commission president ends, and he urged EU leaders to choose a replacement "who can represent the European general interest, so the union can be effective and respected both within and beyond its borders".

During his annual Mansion House speech in the City last night , Mr Brown again struck a calculatedly sceptical note on the eve of negotiations, again concentrating on Britain's "red lines" rather than the potential benefits of the constitution.

He issued a demand for greater privatisation across Europe, while praising labour market flexibility.

The chancellor also called for the abolition of "wasteful state aids", promised to tackle "unnecessary and wasteful bureaucracy and red tape" and denounced "old, fatally flawed assumptions of tax harmonisation and federalism".

He said the EU had no choice but to accept the liberalisation of product and capital markets - opening up markets in electricity, utilities, telecommunications and financial services - while introducing new labour market flexibility.

In the wake of Labour's poor showing in the European elections and the rise of the hardline Eurosceptic UK Independence party, he said that it was up to pro-Europeans in Britain to make the case for economic reform.

"The best contribution pro-Europeans committed to Britain leading in Europe can make to the cause of Europe is by ensuring that in Europe - indeed in every debate including the constitutional debate - we face up to rather than duck the difficult decisions about economic reform."

Mr Blair's domestic situation is precarious, with Ukip's strong showing in the European elections tempting the Conservative leader, Michael Howard, to yesterday dismiss the red lines as "red herrings" and demand that the prime minister reject the constitution outright.

Mr Blair made a dramatic u-turn earlier this summer by assenting to a UK referendum on the constitution, if and when it is agreed.