Czech PM Babis: Timmermans absolutely unacceptable as Commission chief

[July 02, 2019]    PRAGUE (Reuters) - Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis said on Tuesday that Frans Timmermans was absolutely unacceptable as the new president of the European Commission.

Czech Republic's Prime Minister Andrej Babis arrives to take part in a European Union leaders summit, in Brussels, Belgium July 2, 2019. REUTERS/Piroschka Van De Wouw

"We have said that we do not want Mr Timmermans as European Commission president for various reasons. It is unacceptable for us, it would be total catastrophe," Babis said as he arrived for a meeting of EU leaders in Brussels.

Babis also said he had spoken in favor of several rerepresentatives from the European People's Party as well as current European commissioner Margrethe Vestager from Babis's liberal ALDE faction.

He said Slovakia's Maros Sefcovic would be a good candidate for the European Union's top diplomatic post.

(Reporting by Jan Lopatka and Robert Muller; Editing by Kevin Liffey)

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