Schröder pledge to back Blair on EU appointment Â

The German Chancellor, Gerhard Schröder, has promised to support Tony Blair's plan to appoint a powerful figurehead to represent the European Union on the world stage and drive through the EU's agenda.

Mr Schröder'spledge, understood to have been made at a low-key meeting with Mr Blair in London shortly before Christmas, put him at odds with Joschka Fischer, the German Foreign Minister. Mr Fischer is a member of the convention on the future of Europe – which is drawing up a blueprint for how an expanded 25-nation EU will work. He has opposed the British proposal.

Mr Fischer wants to give more power to the European Commission, comprised of bureaucrats, rather than the European Council, which is composed of the 15 national leaders. Britain and France want to strengthen the council to put national governments firmly in the EU driving seat.

Differences erupted this week when Denis MacShane, Britain's Minister for Europe, accused Mr Fischer of wanting to give "all power to a new kind of European kaiser, who will tell all the other European institutions what to do". His remarks have gone down badly in Berlin, where they have been seen as straying beyond diplomatic niceties.

But British ministers are confident of seeing off the Fischer plan and winning support for the Blair model of a head of the European Council.

With France's President, Jacques Chirac, already backing the idea, the support of Mr Schröder and Mr Blair would give the idea a strong chance of approval when EU leaders agree a new governing EU treaty next year. Several of the 10 countries due to join the EU next year have signed up to the plan. "The ground is shifting in our direction," a senior British source said yesterday.

Some small EU states, who look to the Commission to defend their interests, are wary of the "Mr Europe" proposal, fearing it would downgrade the Brussels Commission. In an attempt to placate them, Britain is to relaunch the proposed appointment as "Chair of the European Council" instead of "President" to counter the suggestion that the holder would take over the EU leadership role from the Commission's president.

When the convention finalises its blueprint this summer, Britain is likely to reject Mr Fischer's call for the Commission president to be elected by the European Parliament, but will probably back France's halfway house plan for the post to be elected jointly by parliament and congress, a new body to be composed of MEPs and members of national parliaments.