The European Commission's representation office in Malta will be headed by a woman, The Times has learnt.

Following interviews held in Brussels in the past weeks, the European Commission has short-listed three female candidates and the appointee will be chosen by the end of this month.

Commission sources said the shortlisted candidates are Joanna Drake, former president of the IVA movement and a Nationalist Party candidate during the European Parliament elections; Marlene Bonnici, who occupies the position of director general, planning and priorities coordination at the Office of the Prime Minister, and Marie Briguglio, an environmental economist by profession who is also involved in the production of television programmes.

The final selection will be made by the Commission executive and will have to be approved by the college of commissioners.

The appointee will step into the office formerly occupied by Ronald Gallimore, who led the Commission's delegation in Malta during the delicate phase of accession negotiations with the EU. Mr Gallimore relinquished his post a few months ago and has now retired.

More than 30 applications were received by the Commission for this high-profile post which carries a substantial financial package. The list included current and former Maltese ambassadors, university professors, permanent secretaries and other senior government officials.

The successful candidate will head a small team of EU officials in Malta currently based at the representation office in Ta' Xbiex. The sources said one of the first undertakings of the new head would be to try to find new office space for the mission.

The Commission would like to move into Valletta by the year's end in order to be more accessible to the public. In fact, the main function of the representation officer is to act as a source of EU information to the Maltese citizens. At the moment Malta's EC office is headed by Axel Bunz, who is based in Brussels.