EU: Germany and France have proposed a new form of leadership for the EU, under which the Commission President would be joined by a powerful President of the European Council.
Under the proposal, which was agreed between Germany's Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schröder, and the French President, Mr Jacques Chirac, on Tuesday evening, the Commission President would be elected by the European Parliament. The new post of President of the European Council, or EU President, would be chosen by EU leaders and would serve for a term of 2½ or five years.
The EU President would organise and chair meetings of EU leaders and co-ordinate the work of the Council of Ministers, as well as representing the EU abroad. The agreement between Paris and Berlin could have important implications for the Convention on the Future of Europe, which is drafting a constitutional treaty for the EU.
Until now, Berlin has resisted the idea of an EU President, arguing that creating such a new role could undermine the authority of the Commission President.
But Mr Schröder said that, by allowing the European Parliament to choose the Commission President, the Commission would receive greater democratic legitimacy while the Parliament would be given greater authority.
"For the integration and deepening of Europe, the Commission has a special role. That is why it was our aim to strengthen the Commission and give it greater legitimacy," Mr Schröder said.
Critics complain that giving the EU two leaders would confuse citizens and create competing bureaucracies. But some big states, led by France and Britain, believe that the EU's rotating presidency, which changes hands every six months, is inadequate in a union of 25 countries.
The proposal to appoint an EU President received a further boost yesterday, when the Danish Prime Minister, Mr Anders Fogh Rasmussen, signalled that his government was preparing to drop its opposition to the plan. But Mr Rasmussen said that a system should be devised to ensure that all member-states, large and small, received equal treatment under any new arrangement.
"A possible element in such a construction could be, for example, the establishment of three 'electoral groups' comprising large, medium and small countries. The position as President of the European Council would then be taken in turns by these electoral groups. This procedure ensures equal representation between large and small countries," he said.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said last night he remained unconvinced of the merits of appointing an EU President. The Government also opposes the election of the Commission President by the European Parliament, favouring instead the creation of an electoral college made up of national parliamentarians and MEPs.
Mr Rasmussen also endorsed the proposal to establish an electoral college to choose the Commission President.
"An appropriate composition of this electoral college could be half national parliamentarians, half members of the European Parliament. The right to nominate must rest with member-states' Governments. A certain number of countries - for example, five - must act as nominators for a candidate. After the election in the electoral college, the appointment must be confirmed by qualified majority in the European Council. This procedure will ensure that a new Commission President has the confidence of member-states," he said.
British Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, said: "The British government welcomes very much the proposals which have been made by the French and German governments."
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm in Brussels, expressed reservations. "There are potential problems in the fact of having two centres of power on an equal basis. We have to study how such a system could function properly," said a spokesman.
France and Germany will next week publish joint proposals on the EU's future. Deals between Paris and Berlin, which have traditionally taken different approaches to European integration, often form the basis for compromises acceptable to all member-states.
