Ireland gains major concession

So, it seems that Ireland has scored a notable victory at today’s European Council in persuading the other Member States to revert to the system whereby every Member State has a member of the European Commission.

It will be recalled that this was a major issue in the Irish referendum, and any attempt to respond to the concerns expressed by the ‘No’ voters would have to address this issue, among others.

Nonetheless, I am surprised that every other country agreed to give up on this so quickly. All governments had agreed that the size of the European Commission should be cut down, as successive enlargements of the European Union turned the Commission from a compact executive into a miniature assembly. Several governments were reported as being reluctant to giving up on this reform.

However, at least it is a change that affects every country equally, and reverting to one Commissioner per country can be done without amending the Lisbon Treaty (whereas it cannot be done under the current treaties, which require a smaller Commission as of next year).

Meeting the other Irish concerns will require further negotiation, but at least the Irish government has come up with a list of demands. The other Member States must meet these concerns and show that they are not ignoring, but responding to, the ‘No’ vote in the Irish referendum.