The Taoiseach has ruled himself out of the running for the post of President of the European Commission when the current president, Mr Romano Prodi, steps down later this year.
Mr Ahern was speaking in Madrid this afternoon after a meeting with the Spanish prime minister, Mr José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero. The meeting marked the completion of the Taoiseach's tour of European capitals prior to the final summit meeting of the EU presidency next month.
Mr Ahern's name is among a number that have been mentioned as possible successors to Mr Prodi. EU Commissioner Mr Chris Patten and the outgoing President of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox, are also seen as contenders for the job.
Asked whether he would allow his own name to be put forward, Mr Ahern said: "I am honoured and flattered that my name has been mentioned by prime ministers and other government representatives, however there it ends. I am going to stay at home."
On the appointment of a new President of the European Commission, Mr Ahern said he was conducting the process on a "one-to-one" basis with his colleagues.
"I am going through with each of them all the names that have been proposed publicly or that have been the subject of speculation and I am getting their views on a private basis. I will then present my conclusions to the Council in June."
Following his meeting with the Spanish prime minister, Mr Ahern said that while all countries had conceded the principle of a double majority voting system, he was still searching for a final compromise on the "precise figures" which would allow for the most efficient decision-making system for the EU into the future.
The issue of whether each EU state will retain the right to appoint an EU commissioner has still to be ironed out in the talks. Under a compromise proposal put forward by the Irish presidency last night, Ireland would lose its automatic right to appoint a commissioner. Each member state would nominate one commissioner until 2014, when the number of commissioners would be reduced to 18.
In relation to the acceptance of the Irish formula, the Taoiseach said: "People and parliamentarians in Europe voted for this formula under the Nice Treaty. We have suggested one Commissioner per Member State for the next ten years followed by a process of rotation on the basis of strict equality."
Today was the final meeting in the second phase of Mr Ahern's pre-summit visit to EU capitals. He has visited Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Italy, Portugal and Spain over the past two weeks. He has held discussions with 12 of the 24 heads of state and Government with whom he is required to meet before the European Council meeting in June.
Next week, Mr Ahern will visit Vienna, Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic and Slovenia before travelling to the EU-Russia summit in Moscow.