Pressure on Cowen to nominate a woman commissioner

THERE are less than 10 days to go before EU leaders debate a new Commission. They may decide to let the current college continue for another few months until it becomes clear whether Czech President Vaclav Klaus will ever sign the Lisbon Treaty.

However, currently each country is finalising its nomination and word from Dublin is that Taoiseach Brian Cowen has turned his attention to the next Irish commissioner. His thoughts on the matter are known only to a very few at this stage, but we do know that he is under pressure to nominate a woman.

Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso, in an effort to practise the equality the EU preaches, is attempting to have his college of commissioners representative of the general population with the same number of men as women.