Portuguese Pm Accepts Eu's Top Job

Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, the Portuguese prime minister, today announced that he had decided to accept an invitation to become the next president of the European Commission.

"I will accept the invitation I was given," the 48-year-old, a former Portuguese foreign minister, told reporters in Lisbon.

He was expected travel to Brussels, where his appointment to the EU's top job was due to be confirmed at a meeting of the bloc's 25 leaders, later today.

The Irish prime minister, Bertie Ahern - whose country currently holds the rotating EU presidency - has spent weeks searching for a candidate acceptable to all member states. He offered Mr Barroso the job on Sunday after saying the Portuguese prime minister had unanimous support in EU capitals.

The Guardian described Mr Barroso as a compromise figure who "found favour chiefly as a 'lowest common denominator' candidate who aroused few objections, but little enthusiasm either".

He has been a vocal supporter of US policy on Iraq and has also backed deeper EU integration, although British officials were keen to stress that he was closer to Britain's position on the federalism debate.

The prime minister, Tony Blair, had urged Mr Barroso to accept the nomination when it became clear that France would block attempts to put the former Hong Kong governor Chris Patten forward for the post. Mr Blair said: "I am sure he [Mr Barroso] would do an outstanding job".

The current commission president, Romano Prodi of Italy, is due to step down when his five-year-term ends at the end of October.

Mr Barroso's revelation that he will succeed the Italian comes midway through his four-year term as prime minister of Portugal. No date has yet been set for his departure from the government.

He announced his decision following meetings with his cabinet, senior officials in his Social Democratic party and the Portuguese president, Jorge Sampaio, earlier today.

Mr Sampaio must now decide whether to allow the Social Democrats to name Mr Barroso's successor as prime minister or call an early general election.

Mr Barroso is not seen as a European visionary, either of the federalist or the nationalist variety. Earlier this year, he said: "I'm a reformist, not a revolutionary, a centrist, not a free-market fundamentalist."

He is known as a tough economic reformer and has maintained a rigorous approach to Portugal's public finances, establishing measures to slash the country's ballooning deficit. Steps taken have included cutting public sector jobs and revising labour laws.