金融时报:欧盟“总统”的热门人选

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2021年11月26日

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欧盟“总统”的热门人选

欧盟即将产生一位新的欧洲理事会主席，也就是位高权重的“欧盟总统”。这位总统是干什么的？目前有哪些热门人选？简历上的哪些内容，可以帮助一国领导人竞聘“欧盟总统”？

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

European Council 欧洲理事会，是欧盟28个领导人的峰会，理事会主席就是欧盟元首

Balt [bɔ:lt] 波罗的海国家的居民

European Commission 欧盟委员会，欧盟的“内阁”也就是行政部门

win over 争取到，说服

flying colours 胜利

European Council presidency race is wide open with six contenders(817 words)

By Peter Spiegel in Brussels

The mounting consensus that Italian female foreign minister Federica Mogherini will be chosen as the EU's next foreign policy chief has turned attention to a race for the final big EU job, the presidency of the European Council.

According to EU diplomats, the contest is wide open, with as many as six candidates still in contention. A number of officials say the job is likely to go to a country from central and eastern Europe, a bloc that has long resented not securing a top job since joining EU in 2004.

But officials say a group of northern countries are pushing back, noting that Nordic members have not had the top jobs either – and they have been in the EU for much longer.

With Italy winning the foreign policy post, and Spain poised to see economy minister Luis de Guindos appointed to the presidency of the eurogroup of eurozone finance ministers, the fight to head the council of heads of state of EU members is shaping up to be a north versus east contest.

The east

Donald Tusk, Polish prime minister. Mr Tusk was urged to throw his hat in the ring by Angela Merkel, German chancellor last month, but he said he was not interested. But diplomats say the Poles have been active in the run-up to last Saturday's summit, and David Cameron, the UK prime minister long viewed as Mr Tusk's biggest stumbling block because of their differences over EU migration policies, phoned him on Tuesday to mend fences. Still, Mr Tusk speaks neither English nor French well, and many wonder whether he can manage the diplomatically difficult job of brokering deals between 28 prime ministers.

Valdis Dombrovskis, former Latvian prime minister. A member of Ms Merkel's centre-right political grouping, the unassuming Mr Dombrovskis successfully navigated one of the toughest crisis-era austerity programmes, becoming something of a Brussels model when the Latvian economy bounced back robustly in 2010. Given tensions with Russia, many see choosing a Balt as sending a strong signal to Moscow. But Mr Dombrovskis is almost unknown outside his native country, and his lack of charisma also raises questions of whether he could broker deals between the EU's prime ministers.

Andrus Ansip, former Estonian prime minister. He is the only member of the Liberal party family (centrist, 3rd largest group in European Parliament, after the two biggest groups from centre-right and centre-left) in the running, and there are mounting concerns that the European Parliament could hold up approval of a new European Commission. By choosing Mr Ansip, leaders could win over the Liberals in parliament, who are a smaller group than in the past but still retain a key swing vote. Unlike the outgoing commission, where Liberals held some of the most powerful positions such as trade and economics, very few Liberals have been nominated to the new commission.

The north

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Danish prime minister. Although the new focus has been on the east, diplomats say Ms Thorning-Schmidt's candidacy is still very much alive. At the July summit, François Hollande, the French president, said a candidate from a non-euro country was fine for him, and Ms Merkel said party membership should not be considered. Both statements led many to believe Paris and Berlin were clearing the way for Ms Thorning-Schmidt, a Socialist from a non-euro country. She is also the only contender in the race who speaks both English and French fluently, and has the highest international profile of all the candidates. Still, Ms Mogherini's selection hurts her chance: the two are both centre-left women.

Jyrki Katainen, former Finnish prime minister. Long seen as the most likely fallback candidate, diplomats say Mr Katainen's name remains in the mix. A close ally of Ms Merkel, Mr Katainen has worked to repair strained relations with the eurozone's south, which viewed the Finn as a hardliner on austerity during the crisis. Long active in the EU's centre-right political grouping, any southern resistance could be offset by his ties to centre-right prime ministers in Portugal, Spain and Greece. Italy has long been viewed as Mr Katainen's strongest opponent, but with Italian prime minister Matteo Renzi winning Ms Mogherini's selection, he no longer is in a strong position to object. Mr Katainen remains a dark horse, but could still be the compromise choice.

Enda Kenny, Irish prime minister. Like Mr Katainen, Mr Kenny's name continues to float among EU diplomats negotiating over top jobs, even though he has denied any interest in leaving Dublin. Like Mr Dombrovskis, Mr Kenny became a symbol to many eurozone leaders of a successful, austerity-laden bailout programme when he led Ireland out of its three-year rescue this year with flying colours. Still, many believe he lacks the gravitas for the council job and Ireland is not really viewed as part of the fiscally prudent north.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

1.According to the article, what is the council president's job?

A.Broker deals among 28 national leaders.

B.Carry o

C.ut EU and eurozone's financial policies.

D.Make EU's foreign policies.

答案(1)

2.Why the council president is likely to be chosen from Eastern or Northern Europe this time?

A.Nordic countries are good examples of prudent economy.

B.An EU leader from the east is a signal to Russia.

C.These countries had not held the top job for years.

答案(2)