I propose to take Questions Nos. 1 to 11 together.
The Tánaiste and I met with the President designate of the European Commission, Mr. Romano Prodi in Dublin on Thursday last, 27 May. This was the latest in a series of meetings between the President designate and Heads of State or Government. In the light of the recent coming into force of the Amsterdam Treaty provisions, Mr. Prodi is in a significantly stronger position than his predecessors in forming a Commission. We discussed the shape of the Commission and the need for balance in designing portfolios. Mr. Prodi outlined his plans for reform of the Commission services and we also discussed the balance of relationships between the institutions of the EU. I made the general point that it should be no part of the purpose or effect of Commission reform to reduce in any way the Commission's role as established under the treaty.
As I have already indicated to the House, the Tánaiste and I did not discuss any names in regard to the Commissioner to be nominated by Ireland. Mr. Prodi said that he was still developing his general programme and, accordingly, as regards portfolios, he indicated that he would not make a decision until after the European elections. He pointed out that Commissioners across the range of portfolios will require key political and administrative skills. In addition, it is his intention to match the portfolios to be distributed with the personal experience and attributes of individual nominees. In this way, he hopes to form a strong Commission with a much more equally matched set of portfolios than in previous Commissions.
Mr. Prodi expressed his confidence that Ireland would nominate a candidate who would be of sufficient calibre to take a high profile position. I reminded him that Ireland has established a good tradition of nominating very able personalities who have done well in handling important portfolios in the Commission and indicated that this is a tradition we wish to uphold. While I look forward to working with Mr. Prodi and discussing with him the wide range of issues facing the EU, on this occasion, apart from the above topics, we did not discuss any other matters.
I received the letter, normally issued in advance of a European Council by the Presidency setting out its priorities, from Chancellor Schröder yesterday, 31 May. These priorities include the situation in Kosovo, the European employment pact, institutional reform - specifically the handling of certain issues which were not resolved at Amsterdam, and common foreign and security policy, including the nomination of the high representative for CFSP. The Chancellor indicated that the summit will review developments with regard to European security and defence. He also proposes an exchange of views with Mr. Prodi on the future work of the Commission and the required reforms. He has also listed duty free as a matter for discussion at Cologne. I spoke with Chancellor Schröder by telephone last night. Our conversation focused on the issues outlined in his letter. I also spoke yesterday with the Austrian Chancellor, Mr. Viktor Klima, on the range of issues due to arise at the summit.
I received a letter last Friday, 28 May, from the French Prime Minister, Mr. Lionel Jospin, on duty free. In essence this called for a re-examination of the duty free issue at Cologne with a view to seeking an extension beyond the end of June.
I met with the President of Portugal, Dr. Jorge Sampaio, in Government Buildings yesterday. I also attended a State dinner held in honour of the President Sampaio last night and hosted a lunch for him today. During our meetings, we discussed the current situation in Kosovo, Ireland's economic performance and EU issues, in particular institutional reform and enlargement.
We also discussed the position of East Timor. I commended the President for what has been achieved as a result of the agreement with Indonesia signed in New York on 5 May. The Portuguese Government has been central in promoting the peaceful resolution of the situation in East Timor. I expressed our full support for the proposed EU joint action and UN proposals for providing substantial humanitarian and other assistance to the Timorese people. I look forward to the resolution of the constitutional referendum to be held on 8 August. Finally, I will meet briefly with Prime Minister Blair in Cologne tomorrow evening prior to the start of the summit.