Commissioner: Treaty could damage legitimacy of EU

THE provision in the Lisbon Treaty to have commissioners from just two-thirds of member states could affect the democratic legitimacy of the European Union, according to commission vice-president Margot Wallstrom.

Under the terms of the treaty, member states will lose their commissioner for five years in every 15 in an effort to make the body more streamlined.

But Ms Wallstrom, who is very much in favour of the treaty, said a system has to be found to ensure countries are not left out in any way when they do not have a commissioner.

Member states nominate commissioners and while they pledge to serve the interests of the EU overall, they are a vital link between the commission and their home country.

Ms Wallstrom, addressing the Irish Institute of European Affairs in Brussels, said she had concerns about the new arrangement.

“Whatever we win in efficiency we might lose in democratic legitimacy because we need someone who can speak their own language and be acceptable to their people and stand up for them,” she said.

However, the rotating system had been agreed and would affect both big and small member states and all would have to be treated equally, she said.

“We have only started to reflect on how it can work in practice with losing a commissioner and we have to find a system — this is the down side and definitely it is a problematic thing but there will be a lot of structures that will have to be adapted,” the commissioner said.

Ms Wallstrom, who is in charge of the commission’s communications strategy, said that she wanted Irish people to vote in June on the basis of facts and knowledge and not on the basis of fear and ignorance.

Many of the objections being raised by the “no” campaigners were simply myths, such as the introduction of tax harmonisation, or that it compromises Ireland’s neutrality, or the bogeyman of a militaristic EU sweeping young Irish men and women off to war.

In practice the choice is between two treaties — the Lisbon Treaty with the reforms it will bring or the present Nice Treaty, with its well-known shortcomings, Ms Wallstrom said.

The treaty is proving a hit on the Debate Europe online forum, where two of the top-five topics are to do with Ireland and the Lisbon Treaty.

* http://europa.eu/debateeurope/index_en.htm