EUROPEAN COMMISSION: SEMINAR ON INSTITUTIONAL SET-UP OF AN ENLARGED EU.

Taking up the conclusions of its general contribution in May, the Commission should confirm its desire to integrate the High Representative for CFSP within the Commission as Vice-President, and confer "special status" on the post. The debate should focus on the definition of this "special status", in particular the link between the High Representative and the Council, with which he should share his right of initiative, the Commission not demanding exclusive rights in this area. This "special status" might notably involve a different appointment procedure to that of the other Members of the Commission.

The procedure for the appointment of the Commission President is another question raised in the working paper, which touches on the two approaches identified within the Convention (see separate article in this Section): either election by the European Parliament, or by a Congress of European and national MPs. Given the extreme sensitivity of this subject - notably in view of a contrary trend gathering pace in several Member States backing the maintenance of the Council's prerogatives in the area of CFSP and the election of an EU President - the Commission team should, at its seminar, indicate the date on which it believes it will be tactically most appropriate to present its contribution on the EU's institutional architecture.

Monitoring application of the principle of subsidiarity, one of the key subjects before the Convention, will also be discussed. A consensus should emerge within the EU executive board on the scope for granting national MPs a right to...