The Government is to make a final push this week to try to secure as high profile an EU commissioner role as possible for former finance minister Michael McGrath.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen is expected to speak to Taoiseach Simon Harris on the phone in the coming days, where the Fine Gael leader will make the case for Mr McGrath in the distribution of jobs at the top of the powerful EU institution.
Ms von der Leyen is currently choosing which portfolios to assign to prospective commissioners nominated by each EU country, with a decision expected by the middle of next week.
Ireland has nominated Mr McGrath as its next EU commissioner, with the Government stating that it was seeking to secure a finance-related job for the Fianna Fáil politician.
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Speaking in Poland on Thursday, Mr Harris confirmed he was due to discuss the commissioner roles with Ms von der Leyen this week. “This would be normal in advance of the commission being formed, that the president would reach out to heads of government and I look forward to that opportunity,” he said.
Mr Harris said he would be making the case that Mr McGrath was a competent candidate who had high level experience in Government. “Ireland has nominated a person of substance, a person with political experience, a person who has served as a finance minister,” he said.
“To be honest, jobs and who gets what is interesting on one level, it’s not unimportant. But the most important issue is that the new commission hits the ground running. There are real issues facing Europe, the world, and we need a competent top team in place to get on with it,” Mr Harris said.
The Taoiseach said he was confident Ms von der Leyen would put together the “best team” of commissioners. “Whatever portfolio Michael McGrath ends up with I know he will play a very real and significant role in the commission,” he said.
A number of factors are believed to be working against Mr McGrath being given a prominent finance-related commissioner role.
The Government ignored a request from Ms von der Leyen for countries to propose two names, with at least one being a woman, so she could put together a gender-balanced team of commissioners.
Fianna Fáil’s four MEPs also voted against the German politician in a European Parliament vote that confirmed her reappointment as president of the EU’s executive arm for another five years.
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As one of the first countries to formally nominate its candidate for commissioner, the Government did not consult the commission president beforehand about who they planned to put forward, which it is believed caused annoyance.
Ms von der Leyen has been meeting prospective commissioners for one on one interviews over the past fortnight, with her meeting with Mr McGrath taking place early last week.
Mr Harris rejected any suggestion Ireland’s relationship with Ms von der Leyen had frayed in recent months. “I have a very good relationship with president von der Leyen, we’re both from the same European political party. I know Ursula, she is an excellent president of the commission,” he said.
The Fine Gael leader was speaking in the city of Rzeszów, Poland, where he met Polish prime minister Donald Tusk, after returning from an official visit to Ukraine.
Speaking to journalists afterwards, Mr Tusk said he hoped Ireland would back proposals for the EU to fund a European air defence shield, aimed at protecting the east of the bloc from future threats posed by Russia.
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