MINISTER FOR European Affairs Dick Roche has said that European leaders should get over the “foolish and childish beauty contest” to fill the key posts of president of the European Council and high representative for foreign affairs and instead choose the people who are best qualified.
Mr Roche expressed impatience at the process yesterday when appearing before the Oireachtas Committee on European Affairs.
“It’s time for all the shadow boxing and the dance of the seven veils to finish and for the candidates to come forward,” he said.
Mr Roche said that both roles needed to be clearly defined. He said they should be a mixture of both chairman and chief, and said he personally favoured the term secretary general.
He hoped the president was chosen by consensus rather than by vote, where the political blocs put up their best men. He added: “What is required is not a prima donna or star performer but somebody who has the capability of bringing Europe along,” he said.
On the high representative position, he backed Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s support for the Finnish commissioner for enlargement Olli Rehn as candidate for the new EU role of high representative.
“There has been less debate on the high representative job. It’s critically important, it is vitally important that the person, man or woman, has a track record, with previous experience and proven ability, to show that have a capability of doing the job,” he said.
Minister of State for Overseas Development Aid Peter Power, who also addressed the committee, accepted there had been reductions in the overseas aid budget but said Ireland still had the fifth highest pro-rata payment in Europe.