The Taoiseach has said he knows with "absolute certainty" Ireland would remain a fully engaged EU member.
Mr Ahern, who was in Iceland yesterday, said the No vote was not against the EU or enlargement. Ireland would work with its EU partners in finding a way forward. Speaking to the Iceland Chamber of Commerce in Reykjavik, he said the result was "a profound disappointment" for the Government and all of those who wished to see enlargement proceed smoothly.
Mr Ahern said Ireland had benefited enormously from EU membership and membership was no less vital as the economy developed.
Reuters adds: It would be a "serious mistake" to think EU enlargement could go ahead without ratification of the Nice Treaty, the President of the European Commission, Mr Romano Prodi said yesterday. In an article for Italy's Corriere della Sera newspaper, he quoted lawyers as saying the EU could still open its doors to new states even if not all current members ratified the treaty.
"The real problem is a political one," he wrote, "and, as a politician, I have to warn against the temptation of thinking enlargement can go ahead as planned if Nice fails. That would be a serious mistake."
It was his clearest statement to date that without ratification from all 15 EU members, the treaty was doomed.