France wants Draghi as EU Commission chief after von der Leyen, newspaper says

MILAN (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron is lobbying other European leaders to agree on former European Central Bank president and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi as the next president of the European Commission, an Italian newspaper reported on Friday.

According to la Repubblica, which cited diplomatic sources in Paris and Brussels, Macron has informally approached German Chancellor Olaf Scholz over Draghi's candidacy, which the paper says would also have the backing of U.S. President Joe Biden.

Macron's office said it had no comment on the report and Draghi was not immediately available for comment.

The current European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, whose mandate expires next year, could become the new NATO secretary general, a role that will come free in the spring, the newspaper said.

Draghi, 76, was asked by von der Leyen in September to draw up a plan to spur the EU's economic competitiveness as it faces challenges such as the transition to greener energy.

It remains to be seen whether he would accept the role as Commission chief and whether he would have the backing of the Italian government, la Repubblica said, while noting that he has recently been making more public comments on Europe's future.

(Reporting by Claudia Cristoferi, editing by Gavin Jones and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)