European Union leaders should put off choosing the chief of the executive Commission from June until after an October referendum on the bloc's new treaty in Ireland, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Sunday, according to Reuters. Speaking after an EU summit, Sarkozy reiterated his support for Jose Manuel Barroso, a former Portuguese prime minister widely expected to seek a second five-year term to lead the European Commission, which proposes EU-wide legislation. "It would be better that the Irish vote first before deciding (on the new Commission chief)," Sarkozy told a news conference, adding the move would show respect for Irish voters. EU leaders should normally pick a new Commission president at their regular summit in June. Ireland is to vote, mostly likely in October, on the EU's Lisbon treaty, which overhauls the bloc's institutions, in a repeat referendum after rejecting the charter last year. EU leaders are keen on securing a 'yes' in Ireland this time as another negative vote would leave the bloc with the current treaty, which many consider unwieldy. The overwhelming majority of the EU's 27 countries have ratified the treaty, but Ireland is obliged by law to vote on it in a referendum.
