A SPECIAL summit of the 27 EU leaders may take place on November 12th following Czech ratification of the treaty, by which time the identity of the next Irish commissioner may be known, Government sources said last night.
That view was echoed by Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin, who said the Irish nomination for commissioner would be known shortly, an indication that Taoiseach Brian Cowen is close to making a decision on Charlie McCreevy’s successor in EU president José Manuel Barroso’s cabinet.
The identity of half of the commission (the membership of which remains at 27 following the guarantee given to Ireland) is now known.
The Czech government yesterday said that it would announce its commissioner next week.
In the wake of the Irish Yes vote in the second referendum on the treaty, the new commission was originally expected to be unveiled at the EU Council meeting in Brussels last week, but was delayed because of the ongoing refusal of Czech president Vaclav Klaus to sign the treaty into law. A new meeting of leaders will take place in November, with the 12th now being suggested as a possibility.
Following Mr Barroso’s letter in October specifically requesting a greater number of women commissioners, former justice minister Máire Geoghegan Quinn has emerged as the favourite to become Ireland’s new commissioner.
The other contenders are the former president of the European Parliament Pat Cox, former Labour leader Ruairí Quinn, and the head of the EU’s civil service, Catherine Day.
Tánaiste Mary Coughlan has also been spoken of as a contender.
Asked about the matter in Cork yesterday, she declined to comment other than to say it was entirely a matter for the Taoiseach.
Ms Geoghegan-Quinn, who lives in Luxembourg, has been a member of the EU’s Court of Auditors for over a decade. She was seen as a close colleague of Mr Cowen’s when both served under Albert Reynolds as taoiseach.
However, some Fianna Fáil sources have said that her absence from national politics and prominence for such a long period may count against her.
As against that, Mr Cox’s connections with Fianna Fáil are more tenuous, notwithstanding his support for Eoin Ryan in the European elections and the leading role he played in the second Lisbon referendum.