Jose Durao Barroso

Speaking after his unanimous nomination June 29 for the presidency by the 25 EU leaders, Durao Barroso said the EU needs "strong" leadership, as well as "balance between the big and the small, the rich and the poor."

The EU leaders' unanimous decision to put Durao Barroso at the top of the EU executive ended weeks of acrimony over who would succeed Italy's Romano Prodi, who steps down at the end of October.

Durao Barroso was picked after nearly a dozen other candidates were rejected in haggling among the EU members that mirrored divisions over the Iraq war.

The Japan Times Weekly: July 10, 2004
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