Poland 'should be considered' for a senior EU post

Polish EU affairs minister Mikolaj Dowgielewicz says one of the EU's top jobs should go to a candidate from a former east European country.

His comments come ahead of this week's summit in Brussels where EU heads of state may give their seal of approval to a second term for commission president José Manuel Barroso.

Speaking at a breakfast briefing in Brussels on Tuesday, Dowgielewicz said it was time one of the senior posts in the EU went to someone from a 'new' member state, like Poland.

He said it was important there was "regional equilibrium" now that the EU's top jobs are being shared out following the European elections.

"It would be understandable if, 20 years after the fall of communism, that Poland or another of the 'new' members, was given an important EU post," he said.

"This is not merely a case of us saying 'it is time we had the top jobs' but, rather, to send out a signal that Europe is united and that Europe is equal."

Dowgielewicz, an aide to Pat Cox during his term as parliament president, said Poland already had a "serious candidate" for one of the EU's leading posts.

Jerzy Buzek, a former Polish PM, is expected to share the five-year term with German Socialist Martin Schulz.

Warsaw is not only fighting for this post but will, according to pundits, also try to secure an influential economic portfolio in the new commission.

This is a job that, it is thought, would appeal to Danuta Hübner, current regional policy commissioner and newly-elected MEP.

Addressing the European Policy Centre debate, Dowgielewicz also said it was important this week's summit makes it clear who the next commission president will be.

He said, "We understand that political discussions are ongoing and the complexity of the situation. But the clear message we will be taking to the summit this week is that we need, if not legal, then political certainty about who will head the next commission."

Polish PM Donald Tusk, he said, has already given his backing to Barroso.

He said that other Polish "priorities" for the second half of this year included ratification of the Lisbon treaty and further progress on the EU strategy for the Baltic Sea region.

Turning to the fifth anniversary of Poland's accession to the EU, he said the country's membership had proved "very sound and successful".

Dowgielewicz, former spokesman for commission vice president Margot Wallström, also described Poland's 0.8 per cent GDP growth in the first quarter of this year as "quite remarkable".

EU funds to Poland had proved the "airbag" which had protected the country from the ravages of the downturn, he said.

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