Merkel's conservatives back Juncker for European Commission chief
Jean-Claude Juncker - Photo EU Council
(BERLIN) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives agreed Monday to back former Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker in the running for a new European Commission president, a senior party official said.
Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU) unanimously supported Juncker as the European conservative party's chief candidate to head the EU executive branch, said CDU general secretary Peter Tauber.
The centre-right European People's Party (EPP) will meet in Dublin on March 6 and 7 to nominate its candidate.
Current Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso steps down on October 31.
Parliamentary parties are lining up their lead candidates for May European parliamentary elections who will also be the frontrunners to take over from Barroso.
Juncker, who led the eurozone group of finance ministers through the worst of the debt crisis, is seen as one of the top names in the running for the EPP's pick.
Germany's Martin Schulz, president of the European Parliament, is in the running for the job of Commission president on behalf of Europe's Socialist parties.