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Foreign Minister Simon Coveney will not be Ireland’s new EU commissioner as the government has proposed the names of Mairead McGuinness and former Fine Gael adviser Andrew McDowell.
According to government sources, the Council of Ministers held a disembodied meeting before lunch on Friday in which the ministers discussed and approved the names of the two nominees.
In a tweet, Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said that Taoiseach Micheál Martin briefed her on the nominees, one of whom will replace Phil Hogan as EU commissioner.
“I will interview them early next week about their qualifications for the job,” he said.
Ms McGuinness is seen as the front runner for the position, as Tánaiste Leo Varadkar told her parliamentary party that she would be a politician appointee rather than an official, as is the case with McDowell.
He has just finished his four-year fixed term as Vice President of the European Investment Bank.
According to sources, Coveney’s interest in the position dropped significantly in the past 48 hours when it became clear that he would not retain the commercial portfolio and the government would introduce two names, one female and one male.
Coveney’s silence and refusal to formally discard has sparked some anger and Brussels-based sources have criticized “secondary channel” discussions to see what portfolios were on offer.
“The Commission and President Ursula von der Leyen were furious at the approach that was being taken,” said a source.
Speaking about the selection process, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said: “I am very happy that he did not let his name carry on.”
“One thing I can say about it is that Simon Coveney is someone of enormous ability and he certainly would have been a first-class commissioner had he decided to move on.”
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