A VOTE which could reconfirm José Manuel Barroso as European Commission president has been provisionally scheduled for September 16th in the European Parliament.
A meeting took place in Strasbourg yesterday of the Conference of Presidents, which consists of the leaders of the various political groups within the parliament and its new president Jerzy Buzek.
While a draft agenda for the next meeting was agreed upon, the decision to provisionally schedule a vote for the 16th may be revisited in early September.
Mr Barroso, a Portuguese member of the centre-right EPP, was formally nominated by all 27 heads of state to stay on as commission president for another five years earlier this month.
Opposition to his candidature within the parliament resulted in a delay in scheduling a vote by MEPs.
His candidature is opposed by some groups, such as the socialists, on ideological grounds. Mr Barroso recently placed himself in a “reformist of the centre” role in an interview with The Irish Times.
Sources say the delay is an example of groupings “flexing muscles” in an attempt to wring concessions out of Mr Barroso.
His bid has also been complicated by the Irish No to the Lisbon Treaty. There is some opposition on procedural grounds, with an insistence that the nomination procedure follow rules set out in the treaty.
Meanwhile, the Irish MEPs’ membership of various parliamentary committees was confirmed yesterday by the parliament’s office in Ireland.
Of the Fine Gael MEPs, Gay Mitchell will sit on the development committee, Jim Higgins on transport and tourism, Mairéad McGuiness on agriculture and rural development, as well as petitions, and Seán Kelly on regional development.
Fianna Fáil MEP Pat “the Cope” Gallagher takes a place on fisheries, with Brian Crowley on the industry, research and energy committee and Liam Aylward on agriculture and rural development.
Labour’s Proinsias de Rossa will sit on employment and social affairs. Nessa Childers is now a member of the environment, public health and food safety committee, with Alan Kelly on internal market and consumer protection.
Independent MEP Marian Harkin sits on employment and social affairs and socialist MEP Joe Higgins on international trade.
The parliament went into recess for the summer yesterday.