Blair 'must break EU job silence'

Momentum is building behind the former Prime Minister to take on the role, which will be created when the Lisbon Treaty is fully ratified.

With the Czech president expected to put the final signature to it imminently, speculation is now mounting over who will take on the post.

Although Mr Blair has not confirmed whether he wants the job, senior Labour figures including Foreign Secretary David Miliband have publicly championed him.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who has said he will back Mr Blair if he chooses to stand, was reported on Monday night to have told senior civil servants to lobby behind the scenes.

The Guardian said Mr Brown's most senior adviser on Europe, John Cunliffe, and Britain's EU ambassador Kim Darroch were "taking soundings at senior levels".

Downing Street said that was "speculation" as renewed focus was put on the issue by the meeting of EU heads of government in Brussels at the end of the week.

Europe minister Chris Bryant joined the championing of Mr Blair, telling BBC2's Newsnight: "We need a far more effective Europe on a global stage and if you want that then you probably want somebody like Tony Blair because they would be able, quite simply, to make a far more effective case around the world."

EU leaders attending a summit in Brussels later this week are bound to discuss the plan behind the scenes, even though the issue is not on the formal agenda.

Not every EU government is yet convinced about the need for a powerful representative, with some smaller countries voicing concern about the prospect of a British figurehead for the EU.