Mr José Manuel Barroso has told the European Commission that he supports the appointment of the former taoiseach, Mr John Bruton, as the EU's next ambassador to Washington, The Irish Times has learned. Denis Staunton reports from Brussels
Mr Bruton already enjoys the backing of the Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, the External Relations Commissioner, Mr Chris Patten, and the Commissioner in charge of personnel, Mr Neil Kinnock.
The entire Commission must approve the appointment, a move that could come as early as next week, but officials say that Mr Bruton, a former taoiseach and leader of Fine Gael, is now almost certain to get the full-time job.
In this event, Mr Bruton will have to give up his Dáil seat, resulting in a by-election in Meath. There could also be a second by-election in the next Dáil session if a TD is appointed as Ireland's next European Commissioner.
Mr Barroso, who is expected to be confirmed as the next Commission President by the European Parliament next week, told the Commission earlier this month that he would be happy to see Mr Bruton occupying the Washington post.
Mr Bruton's appointment is part of an effort by the Commission to boost the EU's political profile in Washington. EU foreign ministers agreed last year that the next EU ambassador should be a senior politician rather than an official.
Mr Patten made Mr Bruton his candidate for Washington some months ago, partly in the hope that the former taoiseach will draw on Ireland's experience of lobbying successfully on Capitol Hill.
A member of the Praesidium of the Convention that drafted the EU's constitutional treaty, Mr Bruton is a vice-president of the conservative European People's Party (EPP), of which both Mr Patten and Mr Barroso are members.
The choice of Mr Bruton has met with some opposition within the Commission, not least because Ireland is already well represented at the top of the Brussels bureaucracy.
Mr Bruton's supporters argue that his appointment should not mean that any of the most senior Irish Commission officials, who include the secretary general, Mr David O'Sullivan, and the director general for environment, Ms Catherine Day, will have to leave their present positions.
Some officials and EU diplomats are sceptical about the idea of enhancing the status of the EU ambassador in Washington, who has often been treated as a poor relation by other European ambassadors in the city.
The Commission is due to approve a number of diplomatic appointments when it meets next Tuesday. Officials said yesterday that procedural complications could delay the consideration of Mr Bruton's appointment until the Commission meeting after that, at the end of August.