Cameron benoemt 'realist' als Europese minister (en)
UK Prime Minister David Cameron i has ditched his strongly eurosceptic shadow minister for Europe in favour of a more moderate voice as Europe minister in his new government.
David Lidington is seen as a ‘euro-realist' by party members, rather than the arch critic that the MP responsible for the dossier in opposition, Mark Francois is.
His appointment is being viewed as a concession within the coalition with the pro-European Liberal Democrats, although it is a ministerial position outside the cabinet.
Mr Francois was the architect of the split of the British Conservatives from the mainstream centre-right European Peoples' Party in the European Parliament to form the right-wing anti-federalist European Conservatives and Reformists grouping with the Law and Justice (PiS) of Poland, the Civic Democratic Party (ODS) of the Czech Republic, and, most controversially, the hard right For Fatherland and Freedom/LNNK of Lithuania.
Mr Lidington previously has worked as an advisor to Douglas Hurd, and supported then prime minister John Major in the 1990s during the passage of the Maastricht Treaty.
Right-wingers immediately denounced the move, predicting there would be "trouble" over Mr Lidington's placement.
The job announcement comes as the new prime minister settles in with his colleagues in Europe, having spoken to European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso i and European Council President Herman Van Rompuy i by phone on Sunday.
Mr Cameron stressed his support for a "practical and engaged relationship" with Europe and hoped to form a "close partnership" with the two presidents, according to Downing Street.
The Conservative premier also spoke to his centre-right counterparts in some other EU member states, notably German Chancellor Angela Merkel i, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and Swedish Prime MInister Frederik Reinfeldt.
His conversation with Mr Sarkozy was "very warm", the Guardian reports.
Nevertheless, the prime minister is already facing ripples in his new government over Europe, eurosceptic MPs already calling for a referendum on the Lisbon Treaty when the document returns to the UK parliament in the next few weeks for an amendment over the number of MEPs in the EU chamber.
Tory MP, Douglas Carswell, a prominent voice amongst the party's eurosceptics, said he and a number of fellow MPs would attempt to force a plebiscite on the treaty.
"Given that we've given an undertaking as a party to hold a referendum if there was any further revision to the European treaties, we need to honour the promises that were made before the election and stick to that, and hold that referendum," he told the BBC i.
The amendment to the treaty alters it to reset the number of MEPs from each member state.
The UK Foreign Office however describes the alteration as a "technical adjustment."
"This is a technical change to the treaty relating to numbers of MEPs and would not transfer any power to the EU," said the British department.