Cameron, Merkel in high-stakes standoff over EU succession

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A struggle over who should be the next president of the European Commission has turned into a high-stakes political showdown over the future of the European Union, pitting Germany against Britain, with British Prime Minister David Cameron warning his country could leave the EU if it doesn't get its way.

The process for naming the next European president – usually done via murky backroom negotiations among leaders of member countries – was supposed to be clearer this time around, with the main centre-right and centre-left parliamentary blocs each naming a preferred candidate ahead of last month's European elections. The centre-right European People's Party won the largest share of the vote across the 28 member states, and Luxembourg's Jean-Claude Juncker seemed on course to succeed the outgoing Jose Manuel Barroso.

Enter Mr. Cameron. Shaken by the rise of the UK Independence Party, which won the largest share of the British vote in the EU-wide elections on May 25 – pushing Mr. Cameron's Conservatives into third place – Mr. Cameron has thrown his political weight into blocking Mr. Juncker's appointment. Mr. Cameron, who has vowed to try and reform the EU before an in-or-out referendum on British membership promised for 2017, reportedly told EU leaders last week that Britain couldn't remain in a union headed by Mr. Juncker. The 59-year-old Luxembourger is a longtime proponent of expanding Brussels' powers; Mr. Cameron wants to see the EU bureaucracy shrink.

Mr. Cameron also faces parliamentary elections next year in which he needs to win back conservative voters who have drifted to UKIP if his party is to have a chance of holding off a resurgent Labour Party.

After a meeting Tuesday with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and other centre-right leaders at the Swedish government retreat of Harpsund, Mr. Cameron said that pressing ahead with Mr. Juncker's appointment could tip the British public opinion against staying in the EU. "The decision about whether to stay in Europe or to leave will be for the British people in a referendum by the end of 2017. Obviously the approach that the EU takes between now and then will be very important."

After Labour announced it was also opposed to the appointment of Mr. Juncker, Mr. Cameron tweeted Monday that "all major UK parties are now united on one point: Jean-Claude Juncker should not be President of the European Commission."

But Ms. Merkel, backed by German public opinion that believes the results of the European election need to be respected, emerged from the Harpsund summit to say she still supported Mr. Juncker's appointment.

"I have said that for me Jean-Claude Juncker is the candidate for the office of Commission president and that I want to have him as the Commission president," Ms. Merkel told a news conference following her brief summit with Mr. Cameron, and the Swedish and Dutch prime ministers.

Asked about Mr. Cameron's warning that Britain could leave the EU, Ms. Merkel – who many view as Europe's de facto leader – said such pressure ran contrary to the European spirit. "Threats are not a part of it," she said. "It's not part of the way we act."

Following the May 25 vote, which also saw Euro-skeptic parties place first in France, Denmark and Greece, Mr. Cameron has been working the phones with the continent's other right-wing leaders, looking to build a consensus with enough votes in the European parliament to veto Mr. Juncker's appointment. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi and Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban are believed to support Mr. Cameron's position. The Swedish and Dutch leaders left Tuesday's meeting in Harpsund without taking public positions on Mr. Juncker's candidacy.

On June 4, Mr. Juncker used his own Twitter account to declare that he was "more confident than ever that I will be the next European Commission President." He's gone silent on the topic since then.