Treaty key to having permanent role on commission

THE key to Ireland retaining a commissioner is to ratify the Lisbon treaty, because, under the current treaty, it is quite probable Ireland will not have one, said president of the European Parliament Hans Gert Pottering.

If giving every country its own commissioner was what was required to get the Lisbon treaty ratified then that is what must happen, he said at the start of the EU summit considering Ireland’s list of requirements.

“It is ironic that, if Nice exists, Ireland quite probably will not have a commissioner. If Lisbon is in force, it’s possible that Ireland can have one,” he said.