Vol. 478 No. 5
16 Mr. R. Burke asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs the progress, if any, which has been made during the term of the present Government, particularly during the Irish Presidency of the EU, to guarantee the right of every EU member state to appoint a Commissioner in an enlarged EU. [11479/97]
The Intergovernmental Conference, which opened in Turin in March 1996, remains set to conclude at the Amsterdam European Council in June. The composition of the Commission is one of a number of sensitive institutional issues being discussed at the conference on which the final outcome is not likely to become clear until the very final stage of the negotiations.
As the Deputy is aware, Ireland has repeatedly made clear at the Intergovernmental Conference its very firm view that the further enlargement of the Union should not have any implications for the right of every member state to nominate a full member of the Commission. We believe that it is central to the legitimacy and effectiveness of the Commission that each member state should continue to be entitled to nominate a full member of the Commission. Members of the Commission, of course, do not act as national representatives. It is, however, important that the Commission, in reaching its decisions, should be fully aware of the sensitivities in all member states and be seen to be aware of those sensitivities. Our view is shared by many other member states.
During Ireland's Presidency of the European Union in the latter half of 1996, we sought, in chairing the Intergovernmental Conference, to advance the negotiations as effectively as possible across the full range of issues under consideration at the conference.
