UK says no automatic EU right to top IMF job

BRUSSELS, July 9 (Reuters) Europe must not assume it will automatically nominate the next head of the International Monetary Fund, and other parts of the world should have a chance to field candidates, Britain's finance minister said today.

''I don't think Europe can simply say 'that position is ours and we are not prepared to discuss it with anyone else','' Alistair Darling told the Guardian newspaper in remarks released by his office.

The UK Treasury called for an ''open and transparent process'' in which the Fund's board published criteria and a timetable for the appointment process. It declined comment on France's nomination of former Finance Minister Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Reuters SBA VP0144