EU: Talks on a new constitutional treaty for the European Union in Luxembourg have shown broad support for the retention of each member-state's right to nominate a member of the Commission. Denis Staunton reports from Luxembourg
The Minister of State for European Affairs, Mr Dick Roche, said that most ministers who spoke at the second session of the Inter-Governmental conference (IGC) rejected a proposal in the draft treaty for a Commission composed of voting and non-voting members.
""It seems to me that it's a formula that will probably be rejected. In other words, if you're in, you're in," he said.
Mr Roche said that although some of the EU's larger member-states argued that a Commission of more than 25 members would be too large, most ministers disagreed. "Nobody is looking for a Commission that does the representational role that the Council does but the feeling generally is that the link between the member-states and the Commission is very healthy one," he said.
The ministers backed the appointment of an EU foreign minister, who would combine the roles currently occupied by the External Affairs Commissioner, Mr Chris Patten, and the EU's High Representative on Foreign Affairs, Mr Javier Solana. Disagreement remains, however, about such a figure's status within the Commission and on the question of whether he or she should chair meetings of EU foreign ministers.
EU leaders will discuss the draft treaty when they meet in Brussels later this week. Among the most difficult issues under discussion is a proposed change in the EU voting system, replacing weighted votes in the Council of Ministers with a "double majority" - a majority of member-states comprising more than 60 per cent of the EU's population.
Spain and Poland have warned that they will block the new treaty rather than agree to such a change, but 250 Polish artists and academics yesterday distanced themselves from their government's position. "We do not want to be the state in a common Europe that makes integration more difficult and becomes a symbol of conservatism and particularism," they said.
The signatories also criticised Poland's support for an explicit mention of Europe's Christian tradition in the new treaty.
"We want a Europe of common values such as freedom, equality and solidarity but we don't have to name their sources because we don't want to offend or exclude anyone," they said.