As the Czech government’s delay in signing the Lisbon Treaty prolongs the appointment of the new European Commission – and with it the nomination of Malta’s own commissioner – a surprise candidate has emerged to be added to the others who have been in the running for months.

The proposition came from the unlikeliest of quarters and the nominee is also an unexpected one – last month, three associations of food producers wrote to Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi to propose Resources and Rural Affairs Minister George Pullicino for the job.

And they did not stop at the nomination – they went one step further by suggesting that Malta should lobby to have him nominated as Commissioner for Agriculture, believing that he is the right man because of his great experience in the field. They believe that the fact that he comes from a small country with no major interests in the sector is an advantage.

Mr Pullicino joins Malta’s current commissioner Joe Borg, who is responsible for fisheries, Social Policy Minister John Dalli and Malta’s permanent representative to the EU Richard Cachia Caruana in the list of potential candidates for the post. Dr Gonzi has said that he will decide only when all countries sign the Lisbon Treaty.

Last week, The Malta Independent on Sunday exclusively reported that the term of office of the current Commission is likely to be extended by at least one month to give the Czech Republic enough time to sign the Lisbon Treaty.

The Czech Constitutional Court is still to pronounce itself on a motion put forward by a number of senators, and eurosceptic President Vaclav Klaus has so far refused to sign the treaty into law.

The European Council that will meet in Brussels this week is expected to take a decision to delay the appointment of the new commission till at least 1 January 2010, one month later than scheduled.

It was in late September that the Prime Minister received a long letter, of which The Malta Independent on Sunday has a copy, from three associations of food producers – the milk producers cooperative, the pork producers cooperative and the association of farmers – urging him to push the candidacy of George Pullicino as Malta’s Commissioner and for Malta to get the agriculture seat in the commission.

With Dr Gonzi on his way to Brussels later this week to take part in the mid-term summit under the Swedish presidency, the three associations think it is the right time that their letter is made public, which could possibly lead the Prime Minister – if the government has an interest in upholding the associations’ suggestion – to discuss the matter in his meetings in the Belgian capital.

A spokesman for the three associations said they know they have set themselves a difficult target to reach. “But we are sure that our reasons are valid. After all, if Malta had to have a Commissioner for Agriculture, it would be of great benefit to the sector all across Europe and in Malta too. And, if the Commissioner for Agriculture had to be Maltese, then George Pullicino is the ideal candidate.”

In their letter, the associations referred to the fact that the current incumbent, Danish Mariann Fischer Boel, has not been persuaded to take on a second term. A number of countries had therefore started to put pressure on the commission to choose a commissioner of their own to replace her.

It is an unwritten rule that the agriculture commissioner is chosen from a small country – certainly not from France, Italy, Spain or Germany. The associations believe that even Poland, Romania and Bulgaria should be excluded because they have a high dependency on agriculture.

With this in mind, the associations called on the Prime Minister to propose that Malta should be the country to take on the agriculture portfolio and to nominate Mr Pullicino to take the seat.

The associations said they did this with a “heavy heart” for two reasons; the first is that they did not want to interfere in the Prime Minister’s work, and secondly because they did not want to lose Mr Pullicino as minister because of his valid contribution to the local agricultural sector. Yet, they felt that his appointment as commissioner for agriculture would be an advantage to Malta.

They said the new agriculture commissioner should have experience as minister responsible for the sector in his country. In this respect, Minister Pullicino is the longest serving minister in the Council of Agriculture Ministers. “His negotiation skills are notable as they always lead to a compromise and at the same time bring about the best solutions for Malta,” the letter said.

This makes Mr Pullicino the best candidate to take over the responsibility of the sector and prepare the way for the reform in the Common Agricultural Policy after 2013, the associations said. Mr Pullicino’s experience in environmental and climate change matters also put him in an ideal position, they added.

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