The European Parliament (EP) on Thursday gave its backing for former Portuguese prime minister Jose Manuel Barroso to become the new president of the European Commission (EC), the executive arm of the European Union (EU).

Barroso won 413 votes in the first plenary session of the Strasbourg-based EP after the biggest-ever enlargement of the EU on May 1 from 15 to 25 members.

A total of 711 out of the 732 EP members cast their votes with 251 against, 44 abstentions and three invalid votes, EP President Josep Borrell told the European assembly.

Barroso will form the new EC, a college of 25 commissioners, in the next three months and will take office on November 1 to succeed outgoing EC President Romano Prodi whose five-year term ends October 31.

Barroso was chosen as the president-designate at a special European Council in Brussels on June 29. He resigned as Portuguese prime minister in July in preparation for his new post.

(Xinhua News Agency July 23, 2004)