LONDON (AFX) - The creation of an elected president for the European Union would be ludicrous and Britain would use its veto to block it, European Minister Peter Hain. "I think the election of a president of the European Union, especially as proposed by some citizens of the European Union, is frankly a barmy idea," Hain said. Reports have suggested that the appointment of an elected president is one of several proposals due to be considered by the EU's Convention when it meets in March to look at the future of the 15-member bloc. The Convention, to be headed by former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing, as agreed at last month's Laeken summit in Belgium, is due to present proposals for consideration at the Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC) expected to take place in 2004. Hain's comments came in response to a question from opposition Conservative party member Teddy Taylor who asked what powers such a president would have. Proposals to appoint a president "will be opposed by the British government and I think that any suggestion that comes through the convention will not actually fly at the IGC because, remember, the convention does not bind the IGC," Hain said. "We will have a say there and we will, if necessary, exercise a veto," he added. Downing Street also indicated that Prime Minister Tony Blair was against the idea. "The Laeken declaration set out a whole range of different questions. It didn't give answers," Blair's official spokesman said later. "Any treaty change would require unanimity at the IGC in 2004. Clearly, there are ideas in there which are more acceptable, and questions we would find it easier to say 'yes' to, than others," he added. "These things, in the end, will become a negotiation, but I think we gave a pretty clear indication at the time of the Laeken summit that that is something that would not necessarily find approval," he said.