EU chief Barroso launches bid for 2nd term
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso made an official bid today for a second five-year term as EU chief.
Barroso said he was honored to have been asked to take up a second term by Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer, whose country holds the presidency of the 27-nation European Union.
Fischer told reporters he would go to the member nations to build consensus on Barroso's bid before an EU summit next week in Brussels. All 27 EU leaders must agree on the choice of the head of the EU's executive.
Barroso had been lobbying French President Nicolas Sarkozy, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other leaders in recent months, seeking to secure a second term. Most leaders have already endorsed him.
But he had waited for results from weekend European Parliament elections before making a final decision. Those elections gave center-right parties a boost.
Barroso had been a center-right prime minister in Portugal.
"The outcome of the European Parliament elections ... makes it possible to clarify my own intentions," Barroso said.