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Romanian President Klaus Iohannis is seeking to become the next European Council president, according to people familiar with his plans, vying for the post that will likely be vacated early due to Charles Michel’s unexpected announcement that he’ll run for a seat in parliament.
Iohannis joins a small list of former EU leaders — including Italy’s Mario Draghi and Luxembourg’s Xavier Bettel — whose names have been floated as possible candidates for the job, which is one of the European Union’s most senior. The council president chairs the meetings of the 27 EU leaders and represents the bloc on issues related to foreign policy.
Michel’s announcement has thrown the process of allocating the EU’s senior roles — a complicated system that takes into account candidates’ nationality and political affiliation — into chaos, kicking off the inevitable horse-trading months ahead of schedule. Typically, negotiations begin following the European elections, after which the posts of European Commission president, council president and others are selected....
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