Ireland is expected to secure the presidency of the European Parliament early in the new millennium after an agreement between the Liberals' parliamentary group headed by Mr Pat Cox and the parliament's largest grouping, the European People's Party (EPP).
Mr Cox, the Munster Independent MEP, will become Ireland's first president of the European Parliament half-way through the new parliament's five-year term.
His appointment to the presidency from the end of 2001 is the result of a ground-breaking agreement announced yesterday between the Liberals and the EPP, to which Fine Gael is affiliated.
The Liberals (ELDR) will next week back the French EPP nomination for the presidency, Ms Nicole Fontaine, for the first half of the five-year term of the parliament. In return, the EPP members will support the nomination of the Liberals' newly re-elected leader, Mr Cox, for the second half. Between them the two parties have 284 votes out of the required 313, with the balance certain to be made up by miscellaneous rightwing and centrist MEPs. Their vote might be strengthened further by the expected support of the expanded Green-Autonomist group's 48 votes.
Mr Cox described the agreement with the EPP, which is limited to the presidency, as a joint approach on the controversial issue of MEPs' salaries and conditions. Collaboration on appointments to committees was an important "break with the cosy bipolar consensus" that has dominated the parliament.
However, the presidency agreement is something of a blow for the European Parliament's other major grouping, the Socialists. Their contender, former Portuguese president, Mr Mario Soares, had previously anticipated succeeding to the role.
Mr Cox won compliments during the debate of confidence in the Commission in January. The news was welcomed yesterday by the Fine Gael group leader, Ms Avril Doyle MEP, and its Munster MEP, Mr John Cushnahan. Mr Cushnahan said that it was a "well-deserved success in personal terms for Pat Cox whose achievement will bring credit not only to himself but to all the Irish MEPs and to Ireland".
