EU-top over Iers referendum en nieuw mandaat voor Barroso (en)
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU leaders will gather in Brussels on Thursday and Friday for a summit at which they hope to pave the way for Irish voters to say yes to the bloc's new set of institutional rules as well as nominate the next president of the European Commission.
The two issues have been occupying the political and legal minds in Brussels for the last month as they both concern the future workings of the bloc.
The leaders are expected to sign off a series of guarantees - on tax, so-called ethical issues and neutrality - as part of an overall package designed to persuade Irish citizens to vote yes to the Lisbon Treaty in a second referendum, expected late September or early October.
While diplomats say the texts themselves are - after weeks of negotiations and fine-tuning - unlikely to be controversial, their legal format remains an open and controversial question.
Ireland wants them to be attached as protocols to a future EU treaty, enshrining them in EU primary law. But this is a step too far for some countries, who do not want to risk having the Lisbon Treaty debate re-opened in national parliaments.
Instead, they are pushing for a legal decision by heads of state and government that would be recognised under international law. This would be legally binding but not part of EU law.
The Barroso question
Member states are also due to make a decision on commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso i, who covets another five years in the same position.
As the only candidate for the post and coming from the centre-right political family that won the European elections, the European People's Party, the Portuguese politician is almost certain to get the nod.
But as with the Irish question, it is the legal detail that is tricky. He himself had been hoping for full formal backing at the summit that he will hold the post until 2014.
However, parliament - where Barroso's policies are disliked by left-wing deputies - is objecting, saying this would effectively mean he has been appointed without it having been consulted. Bilateral meetings between the EU presidency and leaders of the political factions in the parliament will only take place next week.
The draft conclusions from the meeting say that the European Council "underlines its intention to nominate" Mr Barroso but formal approval will only take place "later."
Diplomats have indicated that the most likely solution is to try and get the legal process wrapped up in July either by special written procedure or an extraordinary summit. This solution will also depend on whether member states want to give Mr Barroso immediate and full rein over future commission portfolios and whether MEPs are satisfied with his political programme.
In addition, it remains unclear whether Mr Barroso will need a second vote in the autumn by parliament when and if the Lisbon Treaty comes into force, but there appears to be little appetite to tackle this particular aspect of the problem at this summit.
"There will be a strong wish not to alienate, not to provoke the European Parliament" one EU diplomat remarked, before adding: "but I can't imagine that we simply postpone this decision until September as some are proposing."
The Barroso conundrum will be discussed over dinner on Thursday evening but the Portuguese politician will have to leave the room when it comes to his actual candidacy, a condition insisted on by France, Germany, Spain and others.
Financial regulation
Economic issues will also take centre-stage at the two-day gathering, with EU leaders set to agree that there should be a "reliable and credible exit strategy" from their current spending, with several eurozone countries experiencing soaring budget deficits, well above the ceiling set by the single currency rules.
They are also set to agree on a new body to watch over the bloc's macro-economic stability, and three agencies to oversee national regulators in the areas of banking, insurance and securities.
But there is expected to be disagreement over who head the new body - the European Central Bank has been proposed - and whether the EU agencies should have binding powers over national regulators.
Both ideas are fiercely opposed by London, which would be content to leave the as-yet-general draft conclusions as they are. But Belgium and France are keen to go into the details, meaning the talks could drag on.
There will also be discussion on the bloc's approach to the international climate change talks, where agreement is due in Copenhagen in December.
While EU leaders are set to call for global rules on how wealthy nations should help developing countries take pollution-reducing measures, there is not expected to be any concrete talk of actual money from member states themselves. The issue has slid down the political agenda as the scale of the economic crisis developed.