EUROPEAN COMMISSION president José Manuel Barroso has said he supports allowing each EU state to retain its commissioner if the measure can save the Lisbon treaty.
He has also said the EU executive could continue working for a month or two after its term ends on October 31st, 2009, to help Taoiseach Brian Cowen ratify the treaty.
"The commission can live with fewer members. If one member state can't ratify the treaty and already said no in a referendum because they don't want to lose this option, well the question: is do you want the Lisbon treaty?" he said yesterday at a briefing on tomorrow's EU leaders' summit in Brussels. "There will be no ratification if this principle is not accepted . . . For the Irish, it's a sine qua non," he added.
Mr Barroso said there was empirical evidence that showed it is possible for the EU executive to work effectively with 27 or more members. He said there was also a positive aspect to the Irish demand for all states to retain a commissioner because it would keep the principle that every member state was represented.
Mr Cowen, who met Mr Barroso in Brussels last week for talks, is insisting all EU states sign up to a political commitment at the summit to allow all member states to retain a commissioner after 2014. The controversial proposal faces opposition from several member states such as the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg, who argue that a commission of 27 members or more following future enlargement is unworkable.
Mr Barroso's support for the proposal should help the Government persuade all EU leaders to support a package of legally binding concessions on the commissioner, taxation, neutrality and social/ethical issues and to meet Irish concerns.
Under the Lisbon treaty, it is envisaged that the number of commissioners would fall from 27 to 18, with member states getting the right to appoint a member on the basis of equal rotation. But there already exists a clause in the treaty that enables this reduction to be overturned if EU leaders agree via a unanimous decision at the European Council.
German chancellor Angela Merkel says she has an "open mind" on the commissioner issue, while French president Nicolas Sarkozy is open to the concession if it can save the treaty, which needs all 27 states to ratify it before it can come into force.
Mr Barroso threw Mr Cowen a potential lifeline ahead of the summit by offering to extend the term of the current commission. This potentially clears the path for the Government to hold a second referendum in October 2009 without the complication of having to appoint a new commission under Nice treaty rules. "If there is a need for a prolongation of the commission for some weeks . . . it is perfectly feasible. What is not acceptable is that we have two treaties in force or that we have no treaty," said Mr Barroso.
Under the Nice treaty, there is a legal obligation for the number of commissioners to be lower than the number of member states in any newly appointed commission in 2009.