Jean-Claude Juncker won't seek EU presidency again

Feb. 11 (UPI) -- European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker on Saturday announced he will not see re-election to a second term as head of the European Union's executive branch in 2019.

Juncker, who was elected in 2014, made the announcement on German radio.

Juncker is the former prime minister of Luxembourg and has led the European Union's executive branch on a platform of deepening ties between member states. His received wide support in the European Parliament in 2014, except from the United Kingdom bloc, which opposed his proposals for closer ties.

The European Commissioner is not elected by popular vote, but rather a majority of the 751-member European Parliament.

Juncker was also a vocal opponent of the so-called Brexit referendum on leaving the EU, which Britons passed last year, to the surprise of many across Europe.

In addition to announcing he would not run again, Juncker questioned whether anyone overseeing Britain's exit from the EU would be able to adequately represent the interests of the remaining 27 member-states in negotiations over new economic and diplomatic ties with London.

He warned the British government would seek to exploit the differing agendas of various European countries to gain an economic advantage after it formally leaves the union.

"The other EU 27 don't know it yet, but the Brits know very well how they can tackle this," he said. "They could promise country A this, country B that and country C something else and the endgame is that there is not united European front."'

"Do the Hungarians and the Poles want exactly the same thing as the Germans and the French? I have serious doubts."