Former Foreign Minister Michael Frendo has suggested that the European Union makes use of a clause in the Lisbon Treaty allowing EU member states - if there is unanimous agreement - not to reduce the number of European Commissioners after 2014.
Writing in the Irish Sunday Tribune, Dr Frendo acknowledged that one of the anxieties of Irish voters during the referendum on the Lisbon Treaty, which was rejected, "was the loss, albeit on a rotational basis, of an Irish Commissioner".
In an article entitled It's Not Too Late To Make Lisbon Palatable To Irish Tastes, Dr Frendo said that the Irish apprehension over the reduction in the number of commissioners was justified.
"The loss of someone around the Commission table who 'knows best' his or her country is a legitimate concern. This is particularly true of smaller states. Moreover, as I submitted many times, as a 'conventionnel' in the European Convention and later in the inter-governmental conferences, reducing the number of commissioners results in a loss of authority and credibility for the Commission, a credibility all the more needed to balance out the new president of the council," he wrote.
Dr Frendo argued that this question could be addressed without reopening the text of the Lisbon Treaty.
"Full use must be made of the clause, put in the constitutional treaty (at the last minute of the inter-governmental conference) and repeated in Lisbon, which says that if all the member states agree unanimously, they may decide not to activate the clause that reduces the number of commissioners. This providential last-minuter provides, within the treaty itself, a legal mechanism for member states to carry on with the same system of one commissioner per member state beyond 2014," he said.
Dr Frendo said a political decision by all European leaders at the next European Council committing to activate this clause after the ratification of the Lisbon Treaty should "show the Irish public that Europe is open to their concerns".
He also suggested that the EU could go further and "resurrect" an idea that was launched by former French President Valery Giscard d'Estaing at the European Convention, namely the idea of a Congress of Europe every one or two years in which the national parliaments of the member states, together with others, are given the opportunity to ponder and comment on the state of the union.
"While reopening the text of the Lisbon Treaty must not be on the table, European leaders should be open to a last-ditch further distillation of the package, preparing the way for the Irish authorities to ask the question on a new deal. Having laboured through a long and tortuous road to achieve this change aimed at ensuring a successful Europe, it would be unwise to falter now. One further distillation could produce the right taste for Irish lips," he wrote.
Dr Frendo said the Irish were entitled to the same respect that France and the Netherlands commanded with their no to the treaty on a European Constitution.
"Disregarding the sensitivities of one of the member states, large or small, is contrary to the spirit that has brought and kept the EU together. Such an insensitive 'bulldozing' attitude would alienate even those many Irish who voted for the ratification of the treaty," he argued.
Dr Frendo is a former member of the European Convention on the Future of Europe.