Roche plays down Sarkozy’s suggestion of shared commissioner

THE Government has played down reports that French President Nicolas Sarkozy suggested Britain and Ireland could share an EU commissioner.

European Affairs Minister Dick Roche dismissed the reports as “speculation” and took yet another swipe at the groups who campaigned for a No vote in the Lisbon referendum.

Under the Lisbon treaty, Ireland would have retained its commissioner until 2014, when a new system would have come into place. Under that new system, the number of commissioners would have been cut from 27 to 18, but all member states were to be treated equally, meaning each country, including Ireland, would have had a commissioner for 10 of every 15 years.