Britain, France and Germany will back Danish prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen to succeed Jaap de Hoop Scheffer as secretary-general of Nato, a German newspaper reported today.
Mr Scheffer is due to step down in July, and the Sueddeutsche Zeitung daily said British prime minister Gordon Brown, French president Nicolas Sarkozy and German chancellor Angela Merkel had agreed Mr Rasmussen should replace him.
A German government spokesman said Nato was still discussing the matter and that no decision had been made yet.
Others tipped as potential successors include Polish foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski, Norway's foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere and former British defence secretary Des Browne.
In recent months speculation has built up in Danish media that Mr Rasmussen, who still has 2-1/2 years of his current term in office to run, could be in line for the Nato job.
Mr Rasmussen has consistently rejected the suggestion he could step down this year when asked about the reports. His office was not immediately available for comment today.
Mr Scheffer, a former Dutch foreign minister, took up the post at the start of 2004, and his four-year term was extended so he could oversee NATO's 60th anniversary celebrations this year.
Reuters