Bruton wants commission president to be elected

Former taoiseach John Bruton has called for the direct election in all EU member states for the president of the European Commission.

Mr Bruton, now the commission's ambassador to the US, said an election would provide the union with an infusion of direct democracy and give its citizens a common sense of identity.

The position, currently filled by the choice of the 25 heads of state, didn't have to be a powerful one, he said. In Ireland, presidential elections were keenly contested even though the position had limited powers.

Addressing a meeting organised by the European Commission representation in Dublin, Mr Bruton said Ireland had a vested interest in globalisation. Having gained more than most from the phenomenon, we stood to be worst affected if it got into trouble.

The EU, as the only multinational democracy in the world, was in a position to manage the growth of globalisation, which was under threat, he said. An earlier period of rapid global expansion, between 1880 and 1914, was not resumed after the first World War, he pointed out, because it was felt the benefits had been spread disproportionately.

Similar inequalities were emerging during the current phase of globalisation. In 1980, for example, the salary of chief executives in the US was 42 times that of the average industrial worker; today, that multiple was 431. "That gap is too wide. It doesn't create the necessary moral conditions in which people are prepared to make short-time sacrifices for the long-term benefit," he said.

Ireland had reaped the benefits of investment in education and training in the past and the next phase of development would involve more investment in these areas. However, this would take a different form, including the provision of retraining for people who lost jobs in mid-life.

Mr Bruton said the threat to world peace was also a threat to globalisation. However, an "arc of opportunity" now existed for peace in the Middle East if the Israeli/Palestinian conflict could be resolved.

On climate change, he said the Kyoto Protocol would have to be replaced by a longer-term agreement that involved all nations, including the US and China.