Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio on Saturday denied that he made a deal with Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso that would allow the latter to contend for the presidency of the European Commission (EC), European Union's (EU) executive body.

"I've heard about agreements, deals etc., but this does not exist," Sampaio said ahead of a ceremony to commemorate the Day ofthe Armed Forces in the northern city of Viseu.

The political situation will be analyzed at an "appropriate" time, he said.

Reports said previously that Durao Barroso had accepted in Brussels the candidacy to replace the outgoing EC boss, Romano Prodi, after Sampaio promised that he will not call early elections if the prime minister quit to take the EU's top job.

Sampaio also recommended prudence until the candidacy of Durao Barroso is formally made at an European Council meeting Wednesday.

Analysts said that the resignation of Durao Barroso will unleash a political crisis in Portugal.

The Communist Party favors early elections in the wake of the PM's resignation, but Durao Barroso's Social Democratic Party backs a constitutional replacement that would let Vice President Pedro Santana Lopes to head the government.

The ruling coalition, formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Popular Party, came into power in 2002. The next parliamentary elections are scheduled for 2006.

The Socialist Party, Portugal's main opposition party, beat the ruling coalition in the European parliamentary election earlier this month by winning 44.53 percent of the vote and 12 seats in the European Parliament. Portugal has 24 seats in the 732-member European Parliament in the election.

France and Germany had insisted that the next EC president should come from a "core" EU state.

Source: Xinhua