PARIS, June 17 (UPI) -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair has been offered the presidency of the European Union in a move many say betrays British Chancellor Gordon Brown.
Blair was offered the post as first-ever EU president by newly appointed French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris last month, The Sunday Mail reported.
The discussions between Sarkozy and Blair are said to have been secret, and Blair is accused of "knifing" Brown, who has struggled to emerge from Blair's political shadow, the British newspaper said.
French political sources said Blair is Sarkozy's preference for the "face" of the EU, the Mail reported. Blair retires as prime minister this month but the EU presidency isn't expected to become available in 2009.
The Mail reported that the meeting, which took place at an upscale Paris restaurant, was attended by Sarkozy's wife, a sign of how close the Blair and Sarkozy families have become.
