The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, yesterday strongly reiterated Ireland's commitment to enter European Monetary Union from day one, despite the problems the pound has been facing in the markets in the last couple of months.
Mr Ahern, who was in Luxembourg for a meeting with the Prime Minister and Finance Minister, Mr JeanClaude Juncker, on the Luxembourg EU presidency's priorities, acknowledged the difficulties in market perceptions of the pound. But he said Ireland qualified for participation and the Government was determined to be in the first group.
The decision on which currencies will be part of the euro from the start will be taken next April. But there has been considerable speculation, fuelled by Mr Juncker, that Luxembourg wants agreement by the end of the year on the mechanism for fixing the currencies' point of entry.
Diplomatic sources say the issue did not arise directly yesterday, suggesting that it will not be one for the informal Finance Ministers' meeting in a fortnight. They suggest that Luxembourg may be unsure of how to deal with handing the baton on to the Eurosceptical British, next in line for the EU presidency.
The two prime ministers also discussed proposals to be put before the special November employment summit. Mr Ahern promised to elaborate on an Irish submission on measures for dealing with structural problems in the labour market. It cites community employment schemes, properly targeted back-to-work allowances, and local employment services as particularly effective tools.
Mr Ahern welcomed Mr Juncker's acceptance that any reduction in Cohesion and Structural funding arising from enlargement and the Commission's Agenda 2000 proposals would have to be phased gradually.
One of the key challenges of the Luxembourg presidency is the need to reach agreement on Agenda 2000 by December - particularly agreement on which of the 11 applicant countries to begin accession talks with.
Speaking to journalists later, Mr Juncker said he was determined to ensure that "countries who have a determined vocation to become members are not cold-shouldered". Both he and Mr Ahern favour setting up a new European Conference to include all EU members and applicants, whether or not they are on the fast track to full membership.
The Taoiseach also raised concerns about the effect of ending duty-free allowances for travel between EU member-states in 1999.
