Germany Denies Agreement On Verheugen For New Commission Job

BERLIN, July 22 (AFP) - The German government denied a report on Thursday that it had the support of France and Britain to put forward Guenter Verheugen as the new European commissioner for the internal market.
The website edition of Focus magazine said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, French President Jacques Chirac and British Prime Minister Tony Blair had agreed to push for the nomination of Verheugen, who since 1999 has been the European commissioner for enlargement.
It added Schroeder expressed his support for Verheugen in a letter to former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, whom EU lawmakers on Thursday confirmed as the next head of the enlarged European Commission.
But a government spokesman denied that any such agreement existed and said any decision would be made solely by Durao Barroso.
Germany currently has two European Commissioners - Verheugen and current internal market chief Frederik Bolkenstein - but will only be allowed one in the new 25-member state system.