Two EU presidents proposal rejected

A JOINT proposal by France and Germany to have two presidents of the European Union was rejected by the smaller members at the Convention on the future of the EU in Brussels.

It received limited support from Britain and Spain, while Italy has still to make its position clear. However, there was support for having the European Parliament elect the president of the Commission. At present the decision on who gets this job is taken by the leaders of the member states.

The smaller and medium sized countries are uniting to ensure the strength of a united France and Germany does not produce an EU that would tilt the balance of power towards the larger countries.

At a pre-convention meeting of the smaller countries hosted by Ireland the reaction to the double presidency idea varied between complete hostility to a definite lack of enthusiasm, according to Ireland’s Europe Minister Dick

Roche. He welcomed the idea of electing the president of the Commission. The minister presented a proposal to the convention on having the President of the Commission elected jointly by the European Parliament and members of national parliaments.