Nov 16, 2009, 13:41 GMT
Riga/Paris - European Union presidential candidate Vaira Vike-Freiberga called on Monday for a transparent selection process for the newly-created post rather than an appointment made behind closed doors.
Speaking in Riga at a news conference alongside Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis, the former national president said, 'Somewhat more transparency and openness would be advisable.'
'It should be made known to the public at large who is competing for the job and the governments should have a choice rather than having one single candidate presented to them,' she said. 'That seems to me to be an elementary aspect of democracy.'
Vike-Freiberga added that by not insisting that candidates present their credentials to the European public, a 'wonderful opportunity' was being missed for the EU to display its democratic credentials.
'This is why I was prepared to go public - because it should be known who is being presented for the job,' she said.
Switching between Latvian, English and French, Vike-Freiberga denied that her age, 71, was any barrier, and she reminded journalists that the EU could have no discrimination on grounds of age, gender or sexuality.
'I have absolutely the qualifications that this job requires. My personal experience and qualities give me every right to appear as a candidate,' she said in response to a question from the German News Agency dpa.
Vike-Freiberga is the leading female candidate for the post, in a field which includes ex-British prime minister Tony Blair, Belgian prime minister Herman Van Rompuy, Luxembourg premier Jean-Claude Juncker and the Netherlands' Jan-Peter Balkenende.
However, the field is opaque and not even officially declared, let alone voted upon by the public.
Earlier, Vike-Freiberga told the French daily La Croix: 'The (EU) treaty does not require that candidates declare themselves beforehand, but that would be desirable.'
'It must not be the case that Thursday evening (when the EU head is expected to be chosen in Brussels), the 27 nations come up with a name like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat.'
Vike-Freiberga noted that there was no procedure in place for selecting an EU president.
'It is now being created,' she said. 'It must be as transparent as possible.'
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