Barroso backs one Commissioner per member state

The Irish request to hold on to its commissioner's post beyond 2014 yesterday has won the backing of the European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso.

Speaking to the press yesterday in Brussels before a crucial two-day summit starting tomorrow, Mr Barroso said he supported the Irish demand for each member state to retain its commissioner.

If this gets the green light from the whole of the EU, it will also mean Malta retains its commissioner on a permanent basis. The issue is expected to be raised in tête-a-tête talks tonight between Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and Mr Barroso in Brussels.

The possible loss of a commissioner was one of the major concerns of Irish voters when they voted against the EU's Lisbon Treaty in June. The Irish are now expected to announce a second referendum next autumn on condition that member states permit them to alter some conditions.

Mr Barroso said the rules of the Lisbon Treaty made it possible for each member state to have a seat on the Commission and that he would support such efforts if it meant the treaty came into effect.

"I am prepared to reach a compromise if it's an important condition to get the Lisbon treaty. There will be no ratification if this principle is not accepted... For the Irish it's a sine qua non," Mr Barroso said.

Mr Barroso said he also understood why the issue of commissioners was important to the Irish, saying that small or average-sized countries could find it difficult to identify with the Commission's activities if there were no members of their nationality.

The current text of the Lisbon Treaty, ratified by most member states, says that from November 2014 "the European Commission shall consist of a number of members corresponding to two thirds of the number of member states, unless the European Council, acting unanimously decides to alter this number".

This means that all member states, including Malta, will not have a commissioner for one term every 15 years. A Commission term lasts five years.

Under the present rules, dictated by the Nice Treaty, Malta is in a worse position as it has no guarantee that it will have a commissioner in the next Commission, which is expected to be appointed next year. In fact, the Commission would have fewer members than member states.

The European Council would not have the power to change this unless it held a complicated inter-governmental conference, which is unlikely to happen in the short term.