Commissioner Joe Borg to stay on... at least for now

Malta's incumbent in the post of European Commissioner, Joe Borg, is expected to stay on "for a few more months" as the Commission's mandate is likely to be extended due to uncertainty over the Lisbon Treaty, informed sources in Brussels have told The Times.

Malta has still to nominate its next Commissioner, seen as a race between Dr Borg, Social Policy Minister John Dalli and Malta's Permanent Representative to the EU, Richard Cachia Caruana. Member states were expected to start sending their nominations to Commission President José Manuel Barroso soon after the Irish referendum victory earlier this month but the process has been stalled by the intransigence of euro-sceptic Czech President Vaclav Klaus, who has yet to sign the new Treaty.

Commission sources yesterday said letters from Mr Barroso inviting member states to submit their nominees were withheld at the 11th hour due to the latest hitch.

"It seems that member states will now have more time to decide who to send to Brussels as it is expected that the current Commission will stay on for some more months due to the lack of clarity about what is going to happen to the Lisbon Treaty," the sources said.

"This means that Malta's Prime Minister can temporarily postpone his decision for at least a few more weeks," the sources said.

The Commission's five-year mandate runs out at the end of this month. However, as the new Treaty is not yet in place, it is not known by which rules the new EU executive will be appointed.

Under the current Nice Treaty, the size of the Commission has to be reduced and not all member states will be entitled to have a Commissioner.

However, it would be one Commissioner per member state under the Lisbon Treaty. The Lisbon Treaty only needs to add the signature of the Czech President as his country's parliament, as well as every other EU member state, has given the treaty the green light.

The issue is due to be discussed at length at an EU summit next week in Brussels, however the way out of this complicated institutional hiccup has already been informally conceived in the EU's corridors of power.

EU sources said that leaders are expected to endorse a proposal to extend the mandate of the current Commission, although no definite time frames are expected.

"The Council will not state by how many months the mandate of the current Commission is to be extended as this will depend on developments on the Lisbon Treaty," the sources said.

However, Brussels insiders say the Commission could end up maintaining its caretaker role until as late as March - six months beyond its original mandate.

Apart from Treaty ratification, the process of appointing a new EU executive entails the nomination of new commissioners, the delegation of their portfolios by President Barroso, the laborious hearings before MEPs and the approval of the whole Commission by the European Parliament in plenary.

Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, who is keeping his cards close to his chest, is not the only head of state who has not made any official nomination. Indeed, only a handful of member states, particularly small ones, have made their nominees public. The larger member states, which normally get the most important portfolios, have not announced any decisions.

Germany, France, the UK, Spain, the Netherlands and Poland are all postponing until clearer information from Brussels emerges.

Sources close to Castille yesterday said that although all three names are still in the running, the potential nomination of Social Policy Minister John Dalli has gained ground since he signalled his interest in the post in a recent interview.

"A John Dalli nomination would create an opportunity for some changes within the Cabinet although these could be minimal," the sources said.

Dr Gonzi will be representing Malta at next week's summit in Brussels.