Miliband says he is ready to ‘stay and fight’ for the general election. Some however have been analytical of Miliband’s true intentions. BBC’s Europe Editor Gavin Hewitt states in his blog that an element of ‘political flirting’ may be coming into play.

Hewitt states that Miliband has on some occasions pandered to his eligibility for the EU foreign minister position: ‘For a man who insisted he did not want the job he gave every appearance of running for it. He gave a series of interviews and a detailed speech on Europe’s place in the world. And yet he has counted himself out.’

When asked about his views by German foreign minister Guido Westerwelle, Mr Miliband said: ‘I am committed to Britain and I am committed to the Labour government… And so when the choice came to me about whether to stay in Britain or leave Britain, there was only one answer, it is to stay and fight for the kind of Britain I believe in.’

The EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs, or the EU foreign minister as it is informally known, is one of two top jobs created by the Lisbon Treaty. The other is the EU presidency, which Tony Blair is a front-runner for.

Decisions on the posts are to be made by 19 November. According to Hewitt, Tony Blair was a favourite but his support of the invasion of Iraq may taint his eligibility along with the fact that Britain opted out of accepting the euro.

The vote will be taken by all 27 member states and a qualified majority vote will decide the final candidates for both positions. Under the Treaty, the recruitment of an EU foreign minister and president will help aid the smooth running of the European Council and encourage stability in key EU policy areas.

With the Lisbon Treaty taking effect on 1 December, a third post for Secretary-General for the Council Secretariat will be decided at the summit.