Favourites for top EU jobs

(BRUSSELS) - Here is a list of figures linked with the two top EU jobs created under the Lisbon Treaty.

National leaders are expected to meet next week to come up with consensus candidates.

It is a complicated process with the leaders seeking to find a political and geographical balance.

A key factor for deciding on the first EU president will be whether they go for a high-profile high-octane figure or a more modest candidate to play more of an administrative and consensus-building role.

1. President of the European Council

HERMAN VAN ROMPUY: The 62-year-old Belgian prime minister is well versed in the diplomatic art of keeping feuding factions together, as he presides over a coalition government formed from Dutch-speaking parties from the Flemish north and the francophones of the southern region of Wallonia.

That success may be his main handicap. Many Belgian officials fear that losing him to the EU could plunge the country into a fresh crisis.

JAN PETER BALKENENDE: The Christian-Democrat Dutch government chief said last week that he is not a candidate. Nevertheless, EU horse-trading form suggests he could yet become a 'reluctant' compromise name.

His detractors point out that he was in charge when Dutch voters rejected the EU constitution -- the Lisbon Treaty's predecessor -- in 2005.

JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER: Europe's longest-serving leader, Luxembourg's prime minister has said he will take the post if asked. But he could easily become the immovable object that runs into Tony Blair's irresistible force, with doubts also expressed over a sluggish reaction to the global financial crisis.

TONY BLAIR: The 56-year-old former British premier is the heavyweight candidate but his star appears to be falling in Europe. He has the clout to talk nose-to-nose with leaders in China, Russia and the United States. But his role in the Iraq conflict, and opposition based on a series of British opt-outs from core EU policies, such as the euro, suggests it may prove impossible to form a consensus around his candidacy.

WOLFGANG SCHUESSEL: The 64-year-old former Austrian chancellor maintains good relations with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Some nations reproach him for opening his coalition government to the extreme right party of Joerg Haider.

JOHN BRUTON: The 62-year-old former Irish prime minister currently holds the key role of EU ambassador to the United States. He is said to be interested and his name has begun to be mentioned.

PAAVO TAPIO LIPPONEN: The former Finnish premier is also a relative unknown on the global stage. But a column in the Financial Times, setting out his views on the EU's institutional future, has been interpreted as a declaration of interest.

VAIRA VIKE-FREIBERGA: Latvia's 'Iron Lady,' the former president has a colourful life story, but at 71, diplomats rate her chances as slim even if the symbolic value of appointing a woman will tempt some.

2. High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy

The job of the foreign affairs supremo can only, by definition, be settled in tandem with the top job. British Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said he is not available, but as Blair's chances dim his seem to be rising.

Ex-communist and former Italian foreign minister Massimo D'Alema, 60, could get the nod if Miliband isn't chosen, or doesn't accept, and the European socialists secure the post.

Other names mentioned in despatches are Sweden's foreign minister, Carl Bildt, Austrian counterpart Ursula Plassnik and Finland's EU commissioner for enlargement, Olli Rehn.

In both cases, the history of EU jobs jockeying has often thrown up a surprise winner emerging at the post. Portugal's EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso being a case in point in 2004.