According to the European Policy Forum based in London, the EU's High Representative would be, in Britain's view, the "dream" European Commission President. Scotsman.com reports:

Mr. Solana, currently the EU’s foreign policy “high representative”, gets nine out of 10 in an assessment by the London-based European Policy Forum, which describes him as “a dream candidate for the UK” Read about it here.

Keep in mind, we're talking about the EU Commission President here, not the actual EU Presidency. I've noticed people often confuse these two offices. The difference is, the Commission President is appointed by the EU heads who meet in the European Council.. The EU President, on the other hand, is one of the EU heads. These leaders -- now 25 -- take turns holding the EU Presidency every six months.

Nevertheless, the EU Commission President is a powerful office. But, is it powerful enough for a man like Javier Solana? I don't think so. You see, the Commission President has very limited powers when it comes to foreign and security policy. That's why the office of High Representative, the office Solana now holds, was created in the first place. The EU heads wanted someone running their foreign and security policy that they -- the EU heads -- could control without interference from the EU Commission or EU Parliament. 

But if they're not careful, what began as a friendly little serpent may become a fearful dragon. You see, I believe Solana is fast becoming a threat to those EU heads who put him in power. In fact, I believe that may be the real reason Britain wants so badly to see Solana become the next Commission President and not the EU's new Foreign Minister. If Solana were to become the Commission President, Britain may feel Solana would be back in a box where the EU heads could control him. In other words, I believe Britain would like someone less formidable holding the powerful new Foreign Minister post. 

Let's look at a couple of decisions about Solana since May.

EUbusiness 05-17-04: On Monday defense ministers approved proposals by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana for up to nine such groups (battle groups), each comprising 1,500 troops, by 2007, with some forces available as early as next year. Under the latest proposals, 1,500-strong contingents would be deployable within 10 days and able to stay on the ground for a few months. A typical scenario in which they would be deployed would be in response to a UN request, said an aide to Solana Read about it here.

Guardian 06-12-04: EU leaders are to give the green light to the creation of a European diplomatic service to increase the union's voice on the world stage ... It is to be set up by Javier Solana, the EU's current foreign policy chief, who now seems certain to become its first fully-fledged foreign minister Read about it here. 

As I said, these are just a couple of recent decisions. If you recall, Solana is also working behind the scenes setting up structures that will coordinate security and police information gathered from all 25 member states under him. After all, Solana also has a mandate to fight the EU's war against international terror.

Now it's being reported Solana would be Britain's "dream" Commission President. But, something's not being reported.

Britain's dream is becoming a nightmare.