European Union leaders are likely to agree this week to revive stalled talks on a constitution and could set June 30th as a deadline for an agreement.
Prospects for a deal during Ireland's presidency have improved greatly with the election of a new, more pro-European government in Spain and signals of compromise from Poland and Germany on the core issue of member states' voting power.
"The European constitution can be approved in the short term if we regain political cohesion. The sharing of power and money, to speak in very concrete terms, will be much easier to achieve," incoming Spanish Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said in an interview with El Paistoday.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern will make a recommendation to an EU summit on Thursday after three months of intensive soundings. He will meet the leaders of France, Britain and Spain over three days next week as efforts intensify before Ireland hands over the EU presidency to the Netherlands on July 1st.
Mr Ahern is acutely aware the EU cannot afford a second failure as it enlarges from 15 to 25 states on May 1st.
"I read Ahern as signalling he wants a June 30 deadline," one EU ambassador said. "It's likely he can get that."
Spain and Poland blocked a deal in December to defend the disproportionate weighted votes they won in the 2000 Nice treaty, which gave them almost as much power as the four most populous states - Germany, France, Britain and Italy.