Stockholm -- While Jose Manuel Barroso seeks to secure a second term as head of the European Commission, a new battle has broken out for a post that doesn't even exist yet -- that of EU president.

The question of who will secure the prize of Europe's top job will be one of the main issues of Sweden's six-months at the EU helm which got underway Wednesday.

The post of President of the European Council is enshrined in the EU's reforming Lisbon Treaty, which can't come into force until all 27 member states have ratified it. So far only 23 nations have completed that process.

Whoever is picked for the job would serve a two-and-a-half-year term, renewable once.

The new top job is also aimed at finally answering former US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger's famous 1970 question: "Who do I call if I want to call Europe?"

If the Lisbon Treaty does get the green light, notably at a second Irish referendum on the subject due in October, it will be up to the member states to pick the first EU president.

One of the leading, if undeclared, candidates so far is ex-British Prime Minister Tony Blair, the perfect choice for those seeking a high-profile former national head.

However there are those, like the Swedes, who would prefer a more neutral figure, one less likely to push forward their own agenda.

Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt described a tricky role for the future incumbent, saying they would have to strike "a balance between those who want a strong personality and those who want a person only presiding the European Council".

That must also be done without putting the head of the European Commission "in the shadows", he added.

Small and medium-sized countries, Sweden included, "are less interested in this strong leader because they see a risk that they will be dominated by the big countries," he told journalists this week.

 1 2 Next >