Tehran, Feb 9, IRNA – Britain's relationship with the EU is a complicated one and those leading it are often talked off, but who are the top Brussels bureaucrats David Cameron is battling with to strike a deal on the UK’s membership of the EU.


These six profiles provide background on the EU’s key political leaders ahead of the UK’s upcoming in/out referendum on Europe, according to express.co.uk.
Brexit campaigners have already slammed Cameron’s draft deal and are uniting together to form a cross-party super group.

1. Jean-Claude Juncker
The President of the European Commission, the EU’s executive branch, has been a key player in working out a deal for Britain.
Mr Juncker served as prime minister of Luxembourg for nearly 20 years and took charge of the European Commission in 2014, despite UK opposition.
Nevertheless Mr Juncker wants to keep Britain in the EU and has said one of his key priorities is to “give an answer to the British question”.

2. Donald Tusk
The President of the European Council – a summit of leaders of EU member states –has published a draft deal aimed at keeping the UK in the EU.
The former Polish prime minister’s controversial new settlement looks at concerns raised by Cameron but requires approval from all member states.
Mr Tusk, a pragmatic centralist, has warned that there are still more “challenging negotiations ahead” in order to reach a compromise.

3. Frans Timmermans
The First Vice President of the European Commission has been engaged in negotiations with British government officials.
The former Dutch foreign minister supports the UK’s drive for greater competitiveness and has pledged to cut the EU’s red tape.
The commissioner has launched a ‘better regulation’ agenda, which aims to improve the EU law-making process.

4. Martin Schulz
The President of the European Parliament has been a fierce critic of Cameron’s efforts to renegotiate Britain’s membership.
The veteran German politician has argued that the UK’s demands have tested the patience of the EU and said Britain should be allowed to quit if it wants to.
MEP Mr Schulz, who insists he supports the UK remaining in Europe, is one of the leading federalists in the EU.

5. Mario Draghi
The President of the European Central Bank has been responsible for dealing with the fallout from the Eurozone’s debt crisis.
Mr Draghi, who took on the role in 2011, previously worked at Goldman Sachs and the World Bank, as well as serving as governor of the Bank of Italy.
The Italian economist and banker was ranked eighth on a list of the world’s most powerful people published by Forbes in 2014.

6. Federica Mogherini
The EU’s foreign affairs chief, known as the High Representative, works on issues such as the migration crisis, Iran’s nuclear policy and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The former Italian foreign minister is a centre-left politician and also serves as Vice President of the European Commission under Mr Juncker.
Ms Mogherini spoke about the need to bring peace to war-torn Syria during the Syrian donor conference in London in February 2016.

By IRNA