Sir, - Brian Crowley MEP (July 12th), has made a timely and well argued intervention in the debate about EU institutional reform which is now gathering pace. Last week I attended a meeting in Brussels representing the Oireachtas on the inter-governmental conference with representatives of the parliaments of the member-states and applicant countries.
A clear division emerged between the Commission, the applicant countries and some member-states on the way forward. Commissioner Michel Barnier was very blunt in his assessment that enlargement will not be successful without a subsequent reduction in the number of commissioners, while recent talk of a two-speed Europe has left many of the smaller states nervous about the agenda of the larger ones.
The debate allowed me an opportunity to restate Ireland's position on the number of commissioners following enlargement. Ireland's right to nominate a commissioner provides our small country with a strong and influential link and while an Irish-appointed commissioner owes their first loyalty to Europe the sense of Irish pride that a small post-colonial country can have equal power and influence with much larger member-states is a fundamental issue for us. It was apparent from the debate in Brussels that several small applicant countries agreed with the Irish position but acknowledged that there was little they could do to influence the IGC from outside the union.
Recent public statements by President Chirac and Chancellor Fischer should stiffen public resolve to maintain our equal status within the European institutions as it is inevitable that once the right to nominate a commissioner is lost, coupled with the proposed reduction in Irish MEPs from 15 to 11, the trickledown effect at all levels of the Brussels bureaucracy will effectively dilute Irish influence. The unequivocal opposition to this proposed "reform" by the Taoiseach and in recent days the reiteration by the Foreign Affairs Minister, Brian Cowen, of the Irish position should be applauded. - Yours, etc.,
Senator Paschal Mooney, Member, Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Seanad Eireann, Dublin 2.