THE EU: The Government has rejected charges that the European Commission will become a two-tier institution if proposals from the Convention on the Future of Europe are accepted, writes Mark Hennessy, Political Correspondent
The convention has proposed that each member-state should have a Commission place, though only 15 would have a right to vote at any one time.
The Minister of State for European Affairs, Mr Dick Roche, insisted that the Commission would, in time, become "a 30-member college, even though only 15 of them will vote at any one time".
"There will not be a situation where 15 commissioners have a vote and the other 15 sit around twiddling their thumbs. There is more than sufficient work for 30 members," said Mr Roche.
The Government, he said, was "seriously allergic" to the proposal that an EU foreign minister would sit on both the European Council of Ministers and on the Commission.
The new qualified majority voting envisaged by the convention, which is concluding its work, did not "overly concern" the Government, said Mr Roche.
He was speaking to a meeting of the Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs, chaired by Fine Gael Dublin South Central TD, Mr Gay Mitchell. The gathering was also attended by convention delegates and MEPs.
The convention's proposals to reshape the European Union will go before EU leaders in Greece next month, though they will not come into force until 2009.
Paying tribute to the work done by Mr Roche, the former Taoiseach, Mr John Bruton, said: "He was a very effective trades unionist for smaller countries." Involvement in the convention, said Mr Bruton, had been "one of the most enjoyable experiences of my life". "I hope we have done a good job for Ireland. History will judge that."
Former Labour leader, Mr Ruairí Quinn, said the Irish team had produced "an extraordinary, combined effort", though he complained that the work had been largely ignored by the media.
Delegates to the convention, including Mr Bruton and Green Party TD, Mr John Gormley, disagreed strongly over the future of the 1957 Euratom Treaty on the use of nuclear power.
Mr Bruton said the treaty had increasingly been used by the European Court to discipline poorly performing nuclear operators. "If there is anything that will close Sellafield, it is Euratom."
However, Mr Gormley, supported by Fianna Fáil TD, Mr Pat Carey, and Fine Gael MEP, Ms Mary Banotti, urged that the treaty should be subject to "a sunset clause" in 2007.
Labour MEP Mr Prionsias De Rossa said the language in the treaty was "40 years out of date" and was drafted at a time when countries were more supportive of the use of nuclear power.
Mr Bruton also urged the Government to adopt a practical approach in the coming inter-governmental talks towards greater justice and home affairs co-operation between EU member-states.
"We have an interest in ensuring that an Irish citizen is treated properly before a Polish court and that Internet scams do not operate from poorly regulated countries." He supported the decision to drop the word "federal" from the text. "Even though I am a federalist, I am glad it has gone. It has an allergic effect on some people."