FEARS that the French elections in May would upset the extremely tight timetable for the EU's Inter-Governmental Conference were dismissed yesterday by French diplomatic sources, writes Patrick Smyth, European Correspondent.
There is no reason why the poll should affect the Amsterdam June summit, they claimed, arguing that both the major political groups share broadly similar approaches to the treaty reform.
"This is not the British election," one diplomat said pointedly.
The decision to call an election is seen in Brussels as a bold statement by the French President of his commitment to the single currency launch. It follows the announcement only three weeks ago by the German Chancellor Dr Helmut Kohl, that he would stand again.
That two key figures on the European stage should almost simultaneously stake personal reputations on the euro can only give a strong boost to the currency's chances.
Diplomats here hope that economic projections published today by the Commission will do likewise, although there are fears that Italy's deficit is likely to leave too much ground to be made up for Rome to be in the first group.
There are some concerns that Mr Chirac's gamble may backfire: while a Socialist government would have as strong Europhile credentials as the current administration, there are some fears that the Socialists might be unwilling to implement further cuts if these were necessary to meet the target.
Meanwhile, the IGC's work continues with ministers' personal representatives broaching the EU's external representation, its legal personality, the status of overseas territories and island regions, suhsidiarity, public health and political asylum.
For many the issue of external representation - who negotiates for the EU at the WTO - is one of the key tests of whether the IGC improves the effectiveness of the Union. The old treaty gave the Commission the right to negotiate on traditional aspects of trade, subject to a mandate and final approval by ministers in a qualified majority vote. But this did not cover the burgeoning areas of services, intellectual property and foreign direct investment.
Attempts to include these in the Commission's remit, to end the fragmentation of representation, are still being resisted by France, among others, and even a Presidency dilution of a suggested Irish text is facing opposition.
Joe Carroll adds from Washington:
The proposed merger of the European Union with the military alliance, Western European Union (WEU), was causing "great uneasiness on both sides of the Atlantic", the EU Commissioner for External Relations, Mr Hans van den Broek, said here yesterday.
This was because the relationships between the EU and WEU and between WEU and NATO has not yet been settled. They "badly needed to be put into a more solid framework".
He was speaking at a press briefing following his first meeting with the new US Secretary of State, Ms Madeleine Albright.
Mr van den Broek deplored the recent divisions in the EU over the human rights resolution concerning China. These divisions "diminished our influence and clout" in foreign policy and made some EU members more vulnerable to Chinese reaction.