US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton welcomed former British Prime Minister Tony Blair to the US State Department and assured him US support for the appointment as EU President. Blair, a representative of the Middle East Quartet, visited Canada earlier in the week. There has long been speculation that the former prime minister would seek the new role of long-term president of the European Council of Ministers, due to be created under the Lisbon Treaty. The appointment could be made at an EU summit later this month. The Lisbon Treaty takes effect when Poland and the Czech Republic follow other member states in ratifying it. While he has the support of Britain's Labour government and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Germany's Angela Merkel is unlikely to support Blair. Other candidates could include Dutch premier Jan-Peter Balkenende and Finland's Paavo Lipponen.
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