Ministers try to break deadlock on WEU EU merger

THE Foreign Ministers of the European Union last night made another attempt over dinner to break the deadlock in the Inter Governmental Conference over controversial proposals to merge the Western European Union with the EU.

The Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Spring, said before the discussion that he saw no sign of any significant change in the balance of forces on the issue. In Rome two weeks ago, he made it clear Ireland would be prepared to veto the proposals.

With an alliance of the four neutrals, Austria believed to be wavering, and Britain, Denmark and Portugal appearing solid, few believe the proposal has any chance of succeeding.

During the afternoon, the ministers at the special IGC "conclave" debated proposals to reform the Commission with a broad consensus of 14 to one accepting the principle that each country will be able to retain one commissioner. Several ministers strongly rejected the UN Security Council model of a permanent core of members with an outer tier of elected members.

France was still insisting on its proposal to reduce the numbers to 10 or 12.

There was also broad support for strengthening the powers of the president to select commissioners, allocate portfolios, and reshuffle them. But ministers expressed concern at the idea of commissioners without portfolio - a suggestion from the Commission itself - and urged the presidency to develop the idea by specifying clearly what sort of tasks such commissioners could have.

Mr Spring said the principle of equality among commissioners was one to which Ireland was strongly committed.

Today, the meeting will attempt to agree text on employment and the social dimension of the EU.

It is now almost certain that a special summit will be convened in Noordwijk on May 23rd in a bid to hasten the IGC process and to allow leaders to get the measure of the new likely leader of the British delegation, Mr Tony Blair.