Eu Commission President

[Coldicote]

Much is being said about David Cameron’s failed bid to block Jean-Claude Juncker’s election as EU President. News reports so often miss an important point. What is Mr. Juncker likely to do that our PM is so opposed to?

[Canary42]

He's against any reform I believe. Sorely needed reform in Cameron's opinion.

[Kathyan]

I also believe he wants more integration of member countries.

[New Judge]

He is an arch-federalist who believes that the end game for Europe is a single federal state. Mr Cameron himself may not be too opposed to that but he knows that many people in the UK are. Mr Juncker is also contemptuos of the electorate and their views, dismissing votes (such as the French refusal to agree to the EU proposed Constitution) as an irrelevant inconvenience.

[Gromit]

Junckers major flaw is that he believes in the European Union. Cameron doesn't. Cameron wants all the benefits of being a member, but he doesn't want to follow the rules.

Junckers wants to take the EU forward, Cameron wants to take it back. Cameron wants to renegotiate the Maastricht Treaty which we agreed to 22 years ago.

The funny thing is, Cameron has not said what changes he wants. He has made some broad statements but nothing specific. We do not know what the British position is. If we are not being told what we are trying to change, how can we tell if the renegotiation has been successful or not.

Junckers is a trained lawyer and his ability to hammer out a deal is well known. When trying to get Britain to join the €uro, Junckers proposed 19 different deals to Tony Blair, who fortunately rejected them all.

[askyourgran]

karenkay quite of lot of the UK do not want to be in Europe as it is now, and under Junckers lead as president we will be even further under the thumb. Cameron is only voicing what the majority of us think here...there has to be reforms to suit our purpose in the EU, as it is it is an expensive, unregulated behemoth. I don't know much about this new man but he is certainly not popular with Dave, so I will trust his judgement on this.

[boxtops]

I for one don't want to be part of a federated EU. There's too much interference from Brussels already - the sooner Dave takes us out, the better.

[Gromit]

Boxtops,

You may have a long wait if you think Dave will bring us out. The Conservatives have a very bad record on Europe...

1973 - Tories frogmarch the UK into the EEC without a referendum.
1975 - Tories campaign to stay in the EEC during a Labour referendum.
1983 - Tories win election, despite Labour's pledge to leave the EEC.
1986 - Tories sign SEA.
1992 - Tories sign Maastricht.
1995 - Tories begin to negotiate Amsterdam.
2007 - Tories give 'cast-iron pledge' to give Britons a referendum on Lisbon.
2010 - Tories break pledge

[mikey4444]

2015...Tories lose General Election !

[Coldicote]

A lot of interesting answers here thank you - but what a mess! I'm old enough to remember the Second World War. The end of it in 1945 gave rise to much talk about a European Common Market and a European Union and from this the EU was formed. It's objectives were to bring the nations of Europe closer together, create prosperity and above all prevent further wars. The powers that be may make changes but should try to hold it together. Don't lose sight that there hasn't been another major European war for nearly 70 years.

[New Judge]

Yes and that's despite the EU, Coldicote, not because of it.

The EU is creating disharmony among its members particularly where immigration is concerned. It also is not helping with its dealing of the financial crisis where peripheral nations have become financially enslaved to the core.

Furthermore, the EU does not "create" prosperity. Quite the reverse, in fact. All its bloated, unproductive bureaucracy does is to suck wealth from the member states and uses it to pay inefficient French farmers and the like. It also funds numerous agreeable dinners for the euromaniacs where they can discuss and decide matters behind closed doors without the tiresome chore of having to have matters scrutinised by elected representatives. Its idea of creating prosperity is to take money from the richer nations and dole it out to the poorer ones.

Other than that it's a fine organisation !!!