DHAKA: German Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she wants former Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker to become the next EU Commission president.

But some European leaders have voiced opposition to the move.

Correspondents say the UK government sees Juncker as too much of an EU federalist. It pointed to the need for "a lengthy process to find consensus".

Juncker belongs to the European People's Party, which won the most seats in the European polls last week.

The centre-right party, which also includes Mrs Merkel's Christian Democrat party, won 213 out of 751 seats in the European Parliament and chose Juncker as its candidate for the presidency succeeding Portugal's Jose Manuel Barroso.

MJuncker's main rival is the Socialist candidate Martin Schulz.

Source: BBC

BDST: 1015 HRS, MAY 31, 2014