'France and Italy vying for same EC post' - FT

(ANSA) - ROME, JUN 27 - France and Italy are vying for a prominent place in the economic sector of the next European Commission, if possible a vice president, the Financial Times reported Thursday.
    It said "the fight has been exacerbated by personal animosity between the two countries' leaders," rightwing Giorgia Meloni and centrist Emmanuel Macron.
    "French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni are at loggerheads because both are vying for the same prize: a powerful Commission vice-president in charge of trade, competition and industrial policy," the British financial newspaper writes.
    The Commission posts are set to be divvied up at the European Union summit in Brussels today and tomorrow.
    Italy's outgoing representative is the former centre-left premier Paolo Gentiloni, who holds the economic affairs portfolio.
    Meloni has reportedly tapped European Affairs, Cohesion, South and National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) Minister Raffaele Fitto, a member of her Brothers of Italy (FdI) party, as her hopeful candidate for a top EC post.
    The Italian premier has blasted the deal between the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), the Socialists and Democrats (S&D) and the liberals to assign the top EU jobs - European Commission chief, European Council president, and foreign policy chief - to their candidates as allegedly the work of "oligarchs" who are allegedly ignoring the will of the European electorate which pushed the right to strong gain in last months European elections, making her Conservatrives and Reformists Party (ECR) the third biggest group, just outstripping the liberals.
    According to that deal, former German defence minister Ursula von der Leyen of the EPP will continue as EC chief while former Portuguese prime minister Antonio Costa will become Council president, and Estonian Premier Kaja Kallas will become High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy.
    The trio is to be put to the Thursday-Friday European Council meeting for approval.
    EPP chair Manfred Weber of Germany said Thursday it was crucial to include Italy in the talks on the new EU posts nominations.
    (ANSA).