The incoming Commission president, Mr José Manuel Barroso, has made clear that he wants some EU governments to withdraw their nominees for the new Commission. Denis Staunton reports from Rome
In Rome, where European leaders signed the EU's constitutional treaty yesterday, Mr Barroso said he could find a "better team" than the one he withdrew from consideration by MEPs this week.
"We need more time so I can go back to some of the prime ministers so that I can get better choices . . . I'm sure I can get a good team, an even better team, that deserves strong support," he said.
The leaders did not address the Commission crisis in formal talks yesterday but it was the focus of many discussions in the margins of the lavish ceremony on Rome's Capitoline Hill.
The Dutch Prime Minister, Mr Jan-Peter Balkenende, whose country holds the EU presidency, said it supported Mr Barroso in his effort to make changes to the team.
"The general feeling is that we express our support for the president-designate Barroso and his determination to find a solution with all due speed to form a Commission that can count on widespread support and get the job done," Mr Balkenende said.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said most leaders hoped the new Commission could be presented to the European Parliament by mid-November but he suggested that more than one commissioner was likely to be withdrawn.
"I think those who supported Barroso will say that they need changes on the other side. So you're going to see a more extensive switch. How extensive, I don't know," he said.
The outgoing Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, who had been due to end his five-year term tomorrow but is staying on as a caretaker, said Mr Barroso had told him he hoped to have a new line-up ready for the November 17th parliament plenary session.
The German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schröder, also said he believed the problem could be resolved within two weeks, adding: "It's not a crisis - not yet."
The Italian nominee, Mr Rocco Buttiglione, whose statements on homosexuality, marriage and immigration sparked the crisis, is expected to be withdrawn. Other nominees who could face withdrawal include Hungary's Mr Laszlo Kovacs and Latvia's Ms Ingrida Udre, both of whom also faced criticism from MEPs.
The Italian Prime Minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, had a 40-minute meeting with Mr Buttiglione yesterday after telling an Italian newspaper earlier this week: "If we are included in a batch of sacrifices, then that won't be a problem."
Mr Ahern said Mr Buttiglione's comments during his European Parliament hearing were unwise and he rejected claims that the Italian conservative was being persecuted because of his religious faith.
"In any of these things it's the way you put it and the way you say it. There's no doubt the way he put it and said it was bound to cause trouble. There's no doubt about that . . . Now you get into an argument that he's being victimised because he's a Catholic but I don't think that's what it's about," he said.
Yesterday's signing ceremony, a lavish event directed by the film-maker Franco Zeffirelli and accompanied by the music of the Irish singer, Enya, was held in the hall where the Treaty of Rome was signed in 1957.
The Taoiseach and Mr Berlusconi were the only leaders who do not currently hold a presidential role in the EU to speak during the ceremony.
"The negotiations on the constitution challenged the credibility of the Union. We had committed ourselves to reaching agreement," Mr Ahern told the leaders. "Nobody expected this to be simple, during what was a testing time internally and externally. Once again, Europe proved that it could function effectively."
The EU's new constitution must be ratified by all 25 member-states, many of which plan to hold referendums. The Taoiseach said he had not yet decided on the date for Ireland's vote but hinted that it could be as late as 2006.
"I'm not going to take a chance by jumping in quickly as we did in Nice 1. Then you don't have a proper debate. I think it's good from the country's point of view that we spend a bit of time exercising people's minds about Europe, what it's all about, what it's doing," he said.