Former European Parliament President Antonio Tajani, left, and MEP Guy Verhofstadt | Emmanuel Dunand/AFP via Getty Images Wanted: Another EU president Verhofstadt, Sassoli and Tajani all said to covet leadership role in conference on Europe’s future.

The race is on to be the EU’s next president.

The new bosses of the European Commission, Council, Parliament and Central Bank have barely taken office but already there’s a new top job up for grabs: presiding over the Conference on the Future of Europe.

Guy Verhofstadt, the liberal MEP and former Belgian prime minister, emerged as an early front-runner for the prestigious post. But Parliament officials say current Parliament President David Sassoli is interested in the role and that his predecessor and fellow Italian, Antonio Tajani, also seems to be angling for the job — even though his office denies such an ambition.

One Parliament official described the battle as a "turf war" between two Italians. Another said it was an “Italian mess.”

The tussle in the legislature is part of a bigger battle over control of the conference, being waged between the EU's three main institutions — the Council, the Commission and the Parliament.

Some EU diplomats and officials are skeptical about devoting large amounts of time and energy to a project that could easily be seen as a navel-gazing exercise.

The conference has its origins in an open letter from French President Emmanuel Macron to “citizens of Europe” back in March, setting out his vision for the future of the Continent. He proposed setting up a “conference for Europe” by the end of the year to “propose all the necessary changes to our political project, without any taboos, not even treaty revision.”

That timetable looks certain to slip but the idea has been taken up by the EU’s key players — albeit with varying degrees of enthusiasm. At a summit in Brussels on Thursday, leaders of the EU's member countries signaled backing for a conference that would start next year and end in 2022. But, judging by the language they’re preparing to sign off on, they do not appear overly thrilled by the concept.

“The European Council recalls that priority should be given to implementing the Strategic Agenda agreed in June, and to delivering concrete results for the benefit of our citizens,” they declared in written conclusions, referring to the leaders' own blueprint for the coming years. "The Conference should focus on the development of our policies in the medium and long term so that we can better tackle current and future challenges."

Some EU diplomats and officials are skeptical about devoting large amounts of time and energy to a project that could easily be seen as a navel-gazing exercise. They are also wary of any talk of changing the EU’s governing treaties — a notoriously difficult task that requires the approval of all member countries, in some cases via referendum.

Some also recall with a shudder the Convention on the Future of Europe, which was charged with drawing up a European Constitution — a project that ended in spectacular failure in 2005 with rejection by French and Dutch voters.

But Macron and others have argued that the EU has to revamp its decision-making and think more strategically about its policies to become more agile and competitive on the global stage.

Franco-German plan

Berlin has not been notably keen on the conference. But France and Germany found enough common ground to present a brief blueprint last month for a two-year conference which would look at both political structures and policy. The conference could be "chaired by a senior European personality," advised by "a small Steering Group," consisting of representatives of the EU institutions, member states, experts and civil society," their paper proposed.

Finding that "personality" will not be easy — but it's clear the Parliament thinks it should be someone from its ranks.

The Parliament has been the most enthusiastic backer of the conference among EU institutions. Parliament officials have suggested the conference should be held on its premises. The EU chamber has also set up a working group on the conference and all MEPs are set to vote on a resolution on the subject as early as next month. The Constitutional Affairs Committee has been tasked with leading the legislative work on the conference.

MEPs see the conference as an opportunity to advance ideas they have long cherished, such as the Spitzenkandidat or "lead candidate" system for choosing the Commission president and transnational lists of candidates for European Parliament elections.

Members of other political groups in the Parliament argue Verhofstadt would be a poor choice because of his support for much greater European integration

The Commission also envisions the conference lasting two years from next year and has appointed Dubravka Šuica, the Croatian commissioner for democracy and demography, as its point person. But, in her political guidelines, Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that "should there be a Member of the European Parliament put forward to chair the Conference, I fully support this idea."

Verhofstadt, a former Belgian prime minister, was widely thought to be in line for the job, as a kind of compensation for stepping down as leader of the liberal ALDE group in the Parliament. That move allowed the group to morph into Renew Europe — a new bloc including Macron's La République En Marche party and led by Dacian Cioloş, a former Romanian prime minister.

Renew Europe says it supports Verhofstadt for the conference presidency. "Our candidate is Guy, and Renew Europe will play an important role in this conference," said a group spokesperson.

Going off the Hof?

Elysée officials officially support Verhofstadt but Macron's camp does not seem particularly attached to him— or even to have a strong preference for which institution runs the conference. An official close to the French president described the battle over the leadership as "a minor power struggle" and said "political bickering" over the conference was "rather offensive."

"Whether it is the Parliament or the Commission who leads, we don't really care," the official said. "I just want this to exist as a political product and that citizens be at the heart of the project."

Members of other political groups in the Parliament argue Verhofstadt would be a poor choice because of his support for much greater European integration. "I don't believe that he is the ideal person if the Parliament want this conference to be useful," said one Parliament official. "His federalist ideas will not please the Council."

Another complained: "Who decided that Verhofstadt would be the chair? It was never discussed."

Multiple officials said Tajani, the former Parliament president and prominent member of the center-right European People's Party, appears to want the helm of the conference as he chairs the Constitutional Affairs Committee, known as AFCO.

Sassoli, Tajani's successor from the center-left Socialists & Democrats, is also reported to be interested in the job.

"Tajani decided it would be for him," the first Parliament official said. "He doesn't accept that he is no longer the Parliament president."

But Tajani's office denied that assertion. “President Tajani is the chair of the AFCO committee and as such he is a member of the working group of the conference," a member of his office said. "We are not interested in any leadership, we stick to our role. Our commitment is to bring the AFCO ideas and proposals to the working group — nothing else, nothing more."

"We want the conference to lead to some concrete reforms," the official added.

Sassoli, Tajani's successor from the center-left Socialists & Democrats, is also reported to be interested in the job. He chairs the Parliament's working group on the conference. As Parliament president, he could be seen as a neutral figure and represent the Parliament as an institution.

A senior Parliament official declined to comment directly on any aspirations Sassoli may have but said: "For now, Sassoli is leading the working group on the conference and he is a reference point on the issue for the Commission and Council."

Officials say the Parliament's Conference of Presidents of senior MEPs will meet on December 19 to finalize preliminary work on the conference

Some say Sassoli could not combine being president of the conference with his current post.

"Being Parliament president and chair of such a conference seems difficult," said German MEP Daniel Freund from the Greens group. "Leading the Parliament is more than a full-time job."

"If this is about finding a thought leader who is bringing his vision on the future of Europe, I genuinely hope this is a broad debate," Freund said. "The candidate must come with ideas on where we go next."

Freund said the Greens would like to propose a gender-balanced team of two co-presidents. That's the model used by the Green group in Parliament and Green parties in many countries.

Officials say the Parliament's Conference of Presidents of senior MEPs will meet on December 19 to finalize preliminary work on the conference — and perhaps even try to agree on its future leadership.