Ahern defers EU deal decision

IRELAND/EU: The Taoiseach will wait until the eleventh hour before deciding whether to advise his EU colleagues to reconvene…

IRELAND/EU: The Taoiseach will wait until the eleventh hour before deciding whether to advise his EU colleagues to reconvene the formal negotiations on a new constitutional treaty for the Union.

The Taoiseach is to produce a report before the European Council meeting in Brussels on March 25th and 26th on whether he thinks formal treaty talks should be reopened. Last month he said he hoped to have his report ready by St Patrick's Day, but uncertainty over the result of next weekend's Spanish elections and the scheduling of a meeting with the French President just three days before the summit mean that the report will not be ready until just before the summit begins.

The Taoiseach said last night that he was "encouraged by the indications which have emerged of flexibility and of a shared desire to move ahead as quickly as possible". Speaking after meeting Mr Rasmussen he said it was still too early to say if the treaty could be agreed during the Irish Presidency of the EU. "On the outstanding issues, including the voting system, we are as Presidency exploring all potentially productive avenues but have not at this stage tabled any formal proposals", he said in a statement.

The Taoiseach will continue his round of talks on the issue today when he speaks to the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, in Farmleigh, at a meeting designed mainly to discuss Northern Ireland.

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This afternoon the chairman of the Convention on the Future of Europe, which produced the current draft, Mr Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, will call to see Mr Ahern at Government Buildings. Tomorrow morning the Slovak Prime Minister, Mr Mikulas Dzurinda, will have talks with Mr Ahern in Dublin.

However, with a Spanish general election taking place on Sunday next, talks between the Government here and the new Spanish administration will be crucial to Mr Ahern's decision. Polls show that the ruling Popular Party could lose its overall majority. The search for a compromise between Spain and Poland on one side and France and Germany on the other on the relative voting strength of each state in the European Council is central to Mr Ahern's efforts.

Mr Ahern will meet the French President on March 22nd.