EU won't block World Bank head nominee

Europe buried misgivings over Washington’s nomination of Iraq war architect Paul Wolfowitz to head the World Bank on Wednesday, making clear that it would not stand in his way.

European Union leaders pressed, nevertheless, for a meeting with the U.S. deputy defense secretary before the end of March to hear his views on the multinational development bank’s role.

“The realpolitik of the situation is that in all likelihood Mr. Wolfowitz will be appointed as chairman of the bank,” Irish Finance Minister Brian Cowen told a news conference after a summit of European Union leaders in Brussels.

Wolfowitz’s nomination to succeed James Wolfensohn as World Bank president shocked many Europeans, who know him best as an advocate of using U.S. military power to invade Iraq.

More than 1,300 European aid organizations have put their names to a statement of concern about Wolfowitz’s nomination, saying his appointment risked turning the bank into a “tool of the current controversial U.S. foreign policy.”

No European government spoke out openly against the choice but diplomats say many were uneasy, especially after the appointment of another hawk, former under secretary of state John Bolton, as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.

German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, one of Europe’s fiercest opponents of the invasion of Iraq, said he had spoken to President Bush on the matter some time ago.

“I told him that I believed Europe’s enthusiasm would be limited but that the appointment would not fail because of Germany,” Schroeder told a news conference. “My impression is that is also the case for others in Europe.”

‘Competent and likeable’
Others at the summit indicated there would be no objections to Wolfowitz’s nomination, which comes at a time when Europe is seeking to heal rifts with the Bush administration and wants U.S. backing for former EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy’s bid to head the World Trade Organization.

“We said he was a good candidate from the very beginning ... it seems to me he is well-read, competent and likeable,” Italian Economy Domenico Sinicalco told reporters.

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Polish Foreign Minister Adam Rotfeld, whose country is one of the United States’ closest European allies, described Wolfowitz as a “very positive and clear-cut person” and said world public opinion would be pleasantly surprised.

The World Bank provides soft loans, policy advice and technical assistance to reduce poverty in developing countries.

The views of European nations on its president matter because, although the Washington-based institution works by consensus, together they have a 30-percent voting share on its board. The United States has the largest share with 17 percent.

Traditionally, Washington names the head of the World Bank while Europe appoints the head of the International Monetary Fund, but both sides like to have a say on the posts.

A senior EU official said there may be a meeting with Wolfowitz next Tuesday, before he is approved.

“Hopefully, if he can before March 31 when he’s due to be instated ... (EU) development ministers or others will have an opportunity to discuss with him in an informal way what he intends to do and how he intends to go about it,” Cowen said.

A spokesman for the EU’s executive Commission said Humanitarian Affairs Commissioner Louis Michel would probably not see Wolfowitz until he visits Washington on April 17.