European Union leaders have unanimously endorsed Jose Manuel Barroso for a second five-year term as president of the 27-nation bloc''s executive body, the European Commission.

The leaders voted at a summit in Brussels on Thursday, but Barroso''s candidature also needs the approval of the European Parliament at a session early next month. Barroso, whose mandate expires in November, said he was "extremely proud" to have won the EU''s support.

"I believe that in a time of crisis we need more than ever a strong EU and a strong European Commission," he said.

Barroso, 53, is a Portuguese member of the centre-right European People''s Party.

Analysts say his candidature could face opposition from socialist, green and liberal groups in parliament, over criticism of the European Commission''s ineffective policies amid the financial crisis.

Thursday''s summit focused on discussing principles for creating new supranational financial supervisors.

The leaders also discussed natural gas supplies from Russia, and called on Russian energy giant Gazprom and Ukraine''s Naftogaz to reach a long-term agreement on secure supplies. Before the summit, an EU coordination group on gas held a meeting attended by representatives of both companies.

Later on Friday, Barroso is expected to give his assessment on the gas supply situation, based on a report made by a group of experts that returned from Russia and Ukraine last week.