EU leaders in Brussels have nominated former Luxembourg PM Jean-Claude Juncker to be president of the European Commission, in a blow to the UK, reports BBC.
Prime Minister David Cameron called it "a serious mistake". "This is going to be a long, tough fight," he said.
He had pushed for a vote on Mr Juncker - breaking with tradition - and 26 out of 28 countries backed him.
Only Mr Cameron and Hungarian PM Viktor Orban voted against him. Mr Juncker is also likely to win a vote by Euro MPs.
Mr Cameron believes Mr Juncker is too much in favour of closer political union and might block EU reform.
"This is a bad day for Europe... it hands new power to the European Parliament," Mr Cameron said.
"This whole process has simply reinforced my conviction that the EU has to change."
It is the most powerful job in Brussels - the Commission the drafts EU laws, oversees national budgets, enforces EU treaties and negotiates international trade deals.
Mr Cameron objected to the way Mr Juncker, a 59-year-old veteran of Brussels deal-making, was put forward. He was lead candidate of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), which won last month's European elections.
EU backs Juncker to head Commission in blow to UK
FE Team | Published: June 28, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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