Mr Pat Cox confirmed this morning he is in the running to succeed Mr Romano Prodi as president of the European Commission.
Speaking to RTÉ Radio, Mr Cox said he was aware the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, was in the process of presenting a list of potential candidates to EU leaders during his tour of European capitals this month.
"As I understand it, in terms of various names being speculated upon - and there's quite a large list of names - my own name is there but, as you well know, it's not the only one," Mr Cox said.
Mr Cox (51) announced this month he was stepping down as president of the European Parliament and would not stand in next month's European elections. A centre-right Liberal Democrat and former member of the Progressive Democrats, he has made no secret of his ambition to be Ireland's next European Commissioner.
Other names in the frame for the top job in the Commission are Belgian Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt, British External Relations Commissioner Chris Patten and Portuguese Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner Antonio Vitorino.
EU leaders are due to select a successor to Mr Prodi, who steps down in November, at a summit in Brussels on June 17th and 18th.