HELSINKI: EU Commissioner Olli Rehn is considering a bid to stand as leader of the European Parliament’s center-right group in the next parliamentary elections, he said in an interview published Saturday.

The announcement from Rehn, the EU’s economic affairs commissioner and a key architect of the eurozone’s bailout policy, raises the stakes in a looming battle for the leadership of the party ahead of European parliamentary elections scheduled for May 2014. “I am ready to consider the candidacy of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe, should there be support,” Rehn told Finnish newspaper Helsingin Sanomat.

“Among the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe there is an ongoing debate about the main candidate for the next European election. For my part, I am interested in European responsibilities in the future if there is enough confidence,” added the Finnish politician.

The Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe will meet in November in London to draw up their list of candidates, according to Helsingin Sanomat.

The current party leader, former Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, has no plans to step down, and German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle has also expressed interest in the position.