Irish MEP warns EU President on `two-tier Union'

Any attempt to remove the right of smaller member-states to appoint a European Commissioner would have to be put to a referendum in the State and would be extremely hard to sell to the electorate, Fianna Fail MEP Mr Gerry Collins ail Munster MEP, told the Commission's President yesterday.

Responding to Mr Romano Prodi's presentation of Commission priorities for the next five years, Mr Collins said the danger of enlargement proposals was that once the number of member-states reached 25, some states could lose their right to nominate a commissioner.

He warned that any attempt to introduce "a two-tier Union" would be "very difficult to support" and said he did not believe there was support for it within the EU. While the members were prepared to support EU enlargement and the streamlining of its institutions, the views of the EU's 370 million people should be respected.

Earlier Mr Prodi said one of the key challenges was the preservation of human rights and, in this regard, he defended his message of congratulations to the new Austrian Chancellor, Mr Schussel.

Severely criticised for congratulating the chancellor because the new Austrian government was supported by the right-wing Freedom Party, led by Mr Jorg Haider, Mr Prodi said the message was mindful "of the need to be courteous" and was delivered in the light of similar messages to other European heads of government upon their taking office.

But he added: "We shall keep a close watch on the situation in Austria."

A proposal to establish a new European food authority has been criticised for not containing enough power to regulate the industry. The proposal, contained in a white paper on food safety, was criticised in Strasbourg yesterday by the Leinster MEP Mr John Cushnahan.