Brussels  - European Union leaders on Thursday backed Portuguese politician Jose Manuel Barroso for a second five-year term as president of the European Commission.

"What can I say to you, except that I'm extremely proud of the unanimous support - more than proud, I'm moved," a visibly elated Barroso told journalists.

The Czech and Swedish governments, who are respectively the current and incoming holders of the EU's rotating presidency, have received a "strong mandate" to negotiate with the political groups in the European Parliament "to pave the way" for Barroso's nomination, Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer said.

Barroso said that his immediate priorities, if his nomination is confirmed, would be to tackle the ongoing financial crisis and international negotiations on climate change, which are set to come to a head in December in Copenhagen.

"We need more Europe, not less," he said, calling for more joint action and more responsibility, though not more bureaucracy.

Barroso, 53, has headed the EU's executive since 2004. The Brussels-based commission is charged with drafting new EU legislation and making sure that member states obey current laws.

The conservative politician, who stepped down as Portuguese prime minister to take up his current post, has long been the front runner to head the commission until 2014.

His hand was greatly strengthened at elections to the European Parliament at the beginning of June, when centre-right parties who had backed his reappointment achieved sweeping gains.

"The support for Barroso was clear in the European Parliament elections," Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt pointed out.

While he has the overwhelming backing of EU leaders, Barroso is not yet guaranteed a further five-year term in the bloc's Brussels headquarters.

The final word on his appointment belongs to the European Parliament. Ahead of the summit, the head of the socialist group - the second largest in the Parliament - said that the party would oppose Barroso's reappointment.

However, the socialist group suffered a stinging defeat in the elections and has not yet managed to put together a credible coalition to block Barroso.

Key centre-left prime ministers, including Gordon Brown of Britain and Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero of Spain, have already endorsed Barroso, indicating that socialist forces in the Parliament could themselves be split.

The Czech and Swedish presidencies will use all the arguments they can to make sure that the Parliament backs Barroso, Fischer said.

Barroso stressed that "Europe has to be a cross-party project" and that it had to be "political, but not too partisan."

"When we go to the Parliament, I will try and present a programme that will have the broadest political support, as I did five years ago - with less support there than I have now," he said.

Under current EU rules, his new mandate should start in November. However, it is not yet clear whether his next commission will be elected under the terms of the EU's current Nice Treaty or under the revising Lisbon Treaty, which the bloc is struggling to ratify. (dpa)