All Annotations of 16.06.08: Irish No raises questions over EU commissiion size[Preview]

saved byProf. Dr Wolfgang Schumann on 2008-06-16

• Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty has left EU diplomats scratching their heads over the size of the next European Commission. Under current rules, the number of commissioners in the bloc's executive should be capped but it is unclear how.
• "It turned out that the biggest question mark is over the number of commissioners as there should soon be a cut in their number but it is not stated specifically down to which number," one diplomat told EUobserver, referring to the appointment of the next commission, due in the autumn of 2009.

• But while the new treaty would have meant that from 2014 each member state would be without a commissioner for five years in any fifteen year cycle. Under the Nice Treaty, which is in effect now, a reduction in size of the commission must be made next year.

  
  
  

  The Nice rules state that if the number of member states reaches 27, the number of commissioners appointed in the subsequent commission would be reduced by the Council [representing member states] to below 27.