A quote from the BBC, 6 May 2008
 
Nicolas Sarkozy has withdrawn his backing of Tony Blair to become the first president of the European Union, senior sources have told the BBC. The French president is understood to have changed his mind after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel. It is thought he feels EU opposition to the former UK prime minister is too strong because he backed the Iraq war. [...]
 
Instead, the sources say the top job could go to the current president of the commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, or the prime minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker.
 
BBC Europe editor Mark Mardell however said the British government has a distaste for Mr Juncker, who is seen as far too keen on more European integration, and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown would probably veto him.

 
A quote from The Financial Times, 7 May 2008
 
Other names that crop up include Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Denmark’s premier, and Wolfgang Schüssel, the former Austrian chancellor. A consensus exists that the presidency must go to a serving or former head of government.