Ireland would lose its automatic right to appoint a member of the European Commission in a compromise proposed by the Irish European Union presidency. The proposal is aimed at securing a deal on the constitutional treaty next month, writes Denis Staunton in Brussels.
Under the plan, which was sent to all EU capitals last night, each member-state would nominate one commissioner until 2014, when the number of commissioners would be reduced to 18.
This would mean that about one- third of member-states would not be represented in the Commission during each five-year term.
"The presidency recalls that in previous discussions several delegations have expressed interest in the concept of an 18-member college, which would, in a Union of 27, result in a situation where the nationals of any one member-state were present in two out of every three colleges," the presidency said.
Irish officials said yesterday that, if foreign ministers approve the compromise next week, the presidency would table it as a formal proposal.
They stressed that a final agreement on the future size and composition of the Commission will only come as part of an institutional package at the end of the negotiations next month.
The document sent to capitals yesterday made clear that, in a reduced Commission, all member-states would be treated equally.
"Irrespective of which option is chosen, in the presidency's view it will be essential to ensure, and to make entirely clear in the constitution, as was agreed in the Treaty of Nice, that a reduced Commission would be appointed on the basis of strictly equal rotation among the member-states," it said.
The Convention on the Future of Europe proposed a two-tier Commission in which only half of the commissioners would have voting rights.
The presidency said yesterday that this option did not enjoy support among the member-states.
The Irish presidency's move came as the Taoiseach rejected a suggestion from the French that the treaty could come into force if more than four-fifths of the member-states ratified it.
Speaking in Malta yesterday after a meeting with the Maltese Prime Minister, Dr Lawrence Gonzi, Mr Ahern said that all treaty changes would continue to require the unanimous approval of all member-states.
"This issue was discussed extensively in the convention and the consensus was that unanimous ratification should continue to be required for Treaty change.
"The presidency agrees with this approach and does not propose to bring forward any new initiative in this area. The key objective of the presidency is to achieve agreement on the new constitutional treaty," the Taoiseach said.
Mr Ahern said that, if EU leaders agree on the treaty next month, he does not anticipate a problem in ratifying it.
"However, if there is a problem with ratification, in one or more of the member-states, the council will then have to consider the situation at that stage," he said.
The Chancellor of Germany, Mr Gerhard Schröder, and the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, said in Paris yesterday that they did not expect a problem with ratification.
Mr Chirac said, however, that EU leaders could review the issue at a summit if any country did reject the treaty.
"In the convention's annexes which were approved by all participants, there is already an examination procedure for the European Council if there is such an incident. If that happens, we see what's best to do," he said.
A European Commission spokesman, Mr Stefaan de Rynck, yesterday backed the Taoiseach's suggestion that unanimous consent was needed for the constitution to come into force.
He said that a non-binding declaration attached to the constitution would have EU leaders discuss the issue if four-fifths of the member- states had ratified the document after two years and one or more had run into difficulties.
"The declaration has no legal value, it has a high political value, of course," he said.