Gordon Brown has backed his old rival Tony Blair to become Europe’s first sitting president – but the former British Prime Minister's chances seem to have dwindled.

Gordon Brown has backed his old rival Tony Blair to become Europe’s first sitting president – but the former British Prime Minister's chances seem to have dwindled.

EU chiefs in Brussels have now reached a deal which paves the way for the Lisbon Treaty, agreeing to last-minute demands from the Czech Republic over a charter on human.

But leaders of the 27-country bloc moved no closer to agreement on a new president, with insiders indicating Mr Blair was unlikely to assume the high-profile job.

Repeating his support for the former Labour leader, Mr Brown said: “Britain has someone in Tony Blair who would make an excellent president of the Council of the European Union.

"And I think it’s the right thing to say that we are prepared to support Tony Blair.

“But equally at the same time I recognise that there is no completion of the ratification process, that we are not in a position (to) and will not be processing formal applications for some time.

"And I recognise also there are many candidates to come forward.”

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