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Fri 11 Nov 2009Government sets sights on EU budget and innovation portfolios
THE GOVERNMENT has set its sights on the budget and innovation portfolios in talks over Ireland’s seat on the incoming European Commission, according to EU sources.
With Taoiseach Brian Cowen expected to nominate former Fianna Fáil minister Maire Geoghegan-Quinn for the post, sources in Brussels say these two mid-ranking portfolios have come to the fore. Final talks on the allocation of portfolios will not begin until deadlocked EU leaders choose the first president of the European Council and the bloc’s new high representative for foreign affairs, who will also serve as a vice-president of the commission.
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