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| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Cameron: 'Juncker odds stacked against me' | Cameron: 'Juncker odds stacked against me' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| David Cameron has said the "odds are stacked against me" in the battle to prevent Jean-Claude Juncker becoming the next European Commission president. | David Cameron has said the "odds are stacked against me" in the battle to prevent Jean-Claude Juncker becoming the next European Commission president. |
| EU leaders are set to confirm their backing for the Luxembourg leader later despite opposition from the UK. | EU leaders are set to confirm their backing for the Luxembourg leader later despite opposition from the UK. |
| Speaking at the EU summit in Brussels, Mr Cameron said he believed Mr Juncker was not the "right person" for the job. | Speaking at the EU summit in Brussels, Mr Cameron said he believed Mr Juncker was not the "right person" for the job. |
| The prime minister vowed to "stand up" for his beliefs despite acknowledging he was likely to be in a minority. | The prime minister vowed to "stand up" for his beliefs despite acknowledging he was likely to be in a minority. |
| Mr Juncker has the support of most of the EU's 28 member states with even allies of Mr Cameron, such as Sweden and the Netherlands, saying they will not oppose his candidacy. | Mr Juncker has the support of most of the EU's 28 member states with even allies of Mr Cameron, such as Sweden and the Netherlands, saying they will not oppose his candidacy. |
| 'Wrong man' | 'Wrong man' |
| Mr Juncker is the preferred candidate of the European People's Party (EPP), which won the most seats in last month's European elections, but Mr Cameron says it should be EU leaders not the Parliament who make the decision. | |
| He had also argued that Mr Juncker's track record of supporting closer European integration meant he was not the right person to help Europe address its future economic and structural challenges. | He had also argued that Mr Juncker's track record of supporting closer European integration meant he was not the right person to help Europe address its future economic and structural challenges. |
| "It's the wrong person," Mr Cameron said. | "It's the wrong person," Mr Cameron said. |
| "Jean-Claude Juncker has been at the heart of the project to increase the power of Brussels and reduce the power of nation states for his entire working life. He is not the right person to take this organisation forward." | "Jean-Claude Juncker has been at the heart of the project to increase the power of Brussels and reduce the power of nation states for his entire working life. He is not the right person to take this organisation forward." |
| 'Splendid isolation' | |
| Asked whether he was likely to lose the argument, he replied: "I know the odds are stacked against me but that does not mean you change your mind. | Asked whether he was likely to lose the argument, he replied: "I know the odds are stacked against me but that does not mean you change your mind. |
| "It means you stand up for what you believe, you stick to your principles and act accordingly." | "It means you stand up for what you believe, you stick to your principles and act accordingly." |
| The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said Mr Cameron believed that choosing Mr Juncker would send a message that it was "business as usual" in Brussels and make it harder for the UK to get the changes it wanted to its relationship with the EU. | The BBC's political editor Nick Robinson said Mr Cameron believed that choosing Mr Juncker would send a message that it was "business as usual" in Brussels and make it harder for the UK to get the changes it wanted to its relationship with the EU. |
| But he said that while Mr Cameron once thought he could assemble a coalition to block Mr Juncker, Hungary was now the only other country that could stand alongside side him in opposing him. | But he said that while Mr Cameron once thought he could assemble a coalition to block Mr Juncker, Hungary was now the only other country that could stand alongside side him in opposing him. |
| The UK prime minister faced finding himself in "splendid isolation," he added, which was not a "good place to be". | The UK prime minister faced finding himself in "splendid isolation," he added, which was not a "good place to be". |
| The Labour Party shares Mr Cameron's concerns about Jean-Claude Juncker's candidacy but Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander has accused the prime minister of "mishandling" talks with other EU leaders, saying he should have focused on building alliances instead of publicly criticising Mr Juncker. | The Labour Party shares Mr Cameron's concerns about Jean-Claude Juncker's candidacy but Shadow Foreign Secretary Douglas Alexander has accused the prime minister of "mishandling" talks with other EU leaders, saying he should have focused on building alliances instead of publicly criticising Mr Juncker. |
| 'Telephone diplomacy' | |
| Edward McMillan-Scott, a former Tory MEP who defected to the Lib Dems in 2010, said Mr Cameron's decision to pull the Conservatives out of the EPP, which includes Germany's centre-right Christian Democrats, in 2009 had rebounded on him. | |
| "David Cameron burnt his boats by leaving the mainstream Christian Democrat, conservative group in the European Parliament, the party of Angela Merkel," he told the BBC News Channel. | |
| "The consequence is that he has no real friends. He is not part of any network in Europe any more. Therefore, it is all telephone diplomacy and it has not worked. We will see that later today." | |
| Asked whether defeat for Mr Cameron could make a British exit from the EU more likely, as some have suggested, Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said: "I think in the UK some people really seriously need to wake up and smell the coffee. | Asked whether defeat for Mr Cameron could make a British exit from the EU more likely, as some have suggested, Finnish Prime Minister Alexander Stubb said: "I think in the UK some people really seriously need to wake up and smell the coffee. |
| "I think David Cameron is a very principled man and he has felt strongly that Juncker is a little bit too federalist for his liking, but I think we can all make amends, we can all solve the situation." | "I think David Cameron is a very principled man and he has felt strongly that Juncker is a little bit too federalist for his liking, but I think we can all make amends, we can all solve the situation." |