The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, yesterday gave the first public acknowledgement that the Government would support the nomination of his predecessor, Mr Spring, to a new key EU foreign policy post.
A spokesman for the Minister said the two met yesterday to discuss the issue but that Mr Spring had not yet sought the backing of the Government, or even formally declared an interest in the job yet.
The job is being established under the Amsterdam Treaty to co-ordinate the Union's Common Foreign and Security Policy under the ambit of the Council of Ministers.
It is the product of the frustration of member-states at perceptions that the Union's diplomacy lacks coherence and credibility and also lacks the weight of its economic power.
Speculation about the post was deeply premature, the Minister's spokesman warned. Diplomatic and political sources admit however, that the Department of Foreign Affairs has taken soundings from several foreign ministries and that there is some interest in Mr Spring's candidacy.
Mr Spring's undoubted handicap is Ireland's non-membership of NATO - some would see appointing a neutral as sending the wrong signal about the direction of EU security policy. Mr Spring was yesterday unavailable for comment.
