The Government faces a vital but tricky decision in coming days on who to nominate as European Commissioner following the resignation of the entire body earlier this week. The institution is central to Ireland's participation in the European Union. This will become even more the case as the Commission is reformed to take account of the resignation crisis and renewed with a fresh mandate from the beginning of next year. There is a strong case for appointing a political heavyweight with suitable international experience if Ireland's influence is to be preserved in a very changed European environment.
Whether it will be possible to find such a person will partly depend on how rapidly a decision needs to be made. It is expected the European Council at Berlin next week will decide on whether to appoint an interim Commission president to last out the rest of the year or to nominate someone for the next five years. If they opt for the latter arrangement, the outgoing Commission, including Mr Padraig Flynn, would presumably stay on in a caretaker role, perhaps until June, while the next president is selected. That would allow the newly-elected European Parliament to exercise its ratification role. Member-states could then appoint interim commissioners (most of whom would be the present incumbents) until the end of this year, or nominate as interim candidates people who would also seek agreement with the incoming President of the Commission to serve a full term.
It would probably suit Ireland's interests best to stretch the process out until June in order to allow everyone concerned more time - even at the risk of incurring public ire in some states by keeping the outgoing Commission on as caretakers. It would certainly be preferable to nominate an Irish candidate to serve a full term rather than make an interim appointment, if that is possible. The Treaty of Amsterdam, which comes into effect in May, gives the Commission President the right to agree a name with each member-state. This may well involve a discussion about several potential candidates. It seems certain that the Commission's portfolios will be reorganised into senior and junior positions. If a smaller state is to retain influence in these circumstances, it is all the more important to nominate people with strong political and international experience.
Despite his excellent record and substantial achievements as a commissioner, Mr Flynn's row with the Government over the £50,000 cheque he received from Mr Tom Gilmartin and his involvement with the Flood Tribunal, make it both impossible and undesirable that he would be reappointed. But he has had the political stature to do the job and to develop the Social Affairs portfolio into a progressive policy centre. His successor must have the same skills. Given the unpredictability of Irish politics, which could mean it would have to nominate twice in the space of a few months, the Government should recall the circumstances in which Mr Flynn himself was nominated by a Fianna Fail-Labour Government but endorsed by the incoming Fine Gael-Labour-Democratic Left one - a valuable exercise in cross-party consensus. There are several potential nominees from within the Fianna Fail-Progressive Democrat coalition family who could do the job very well, including the former commissioner, Mr Ray MacSharry or Mr Desmond O'Malley. But Ireland's and Europe's interests would also be well served by opposition figures such as Mr Dick Spring, Mr Alan Dukes - or by another former commissioner, Mr Peter Sutherland.