Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has insisted it is wrong to suggest the EU constitution is dead, and says the Government is opposed to suggestions it should be implemented in part rather than in full.
Addressing the Forum on Europe in Dublin yesterday, Mr Ahern also said future EU enlargement should only take place if there is "strong and broad public support".
This echoes fears among other member state governments that further enlargement, in particular the possible accession of Turkey, could engender further public hostility to the EU. He said the rejection of the constitution in referendums in France and the Netherlands had focused the EU on dealing with substantive issues that affected citizens' lives.
The union was focusing on growth and jobs, stepping up its fight against crime and terrorism, pushing forward with plans for better regulation and preparing a new energy policy. It has reached broad agreement on the services directive and was dealing with issues such as mobile phone roaming charges within Europe.
"This strong focus on jobs, on crime, on energy and on social protection, will help convince people that the EU is on their side and that it is acting on their behalf."
Reports of the death of the constitution were therefore premature, he went on. "Fifteen countries have ratified it and the Finnish parliament is currently considering Finland's ratification."
The EU was now concentrating on delivering results for the citizen. It was also preparing a report to assess the discussion on the European constitution and possible future developments.
He opposed "legal and administrative manoeuvres" favoured by some member states, designed "to bring elements of the European constitution into force by the back door".
The reforms in the constitution carefully balanced the interests of different member states, and it would be wrong to select just some to be implemented.
There would be no referendum in Ireland while the final form and content of that treaty remained open to question. "We have, however, made it crystal clear that we will have a referendum at the appropriate time."
The accession of 10 member states had made enlargement "a very visible reality on our streets and in our workplaces". Proportionally, Ireland had taken in far more workers from the new states than any other EU country.
There was now a prospective EU membership of at least 35 countries, with considerable differences in economic and social development.
In the European Council discussion on enlargement next December, the Government "will stress that further enlargement has to be built on the foundation of strong and broad public support".
He recognised the "need for the union, which has already expanded dramatically, not to become over-extended and over-burdened with the challenges of managing its diverse membership. "The EU must forge ahead with enlargement at a speed which is compatible with the maintenance of our fundamental principles."