HAVING played a crucial brokering role in the agreement on furthering monetary union, ministers and officials from Luxembourg left Dublin yesterday satisfied with a weekend's work well done.
The government of the EU's smallest member-state believes the achievements of the Irish presidency will help pave the way for its own presidency in the second half of 1997.
Mr Jean-Claude Juncker made good use of his unique dual role as prime minister and finance minister to act as a go-between in the talks on Economic and Monetary Union. In the meeting of finance ministers, he was instrumental in preventing the collapse of Stability Pact talks. The prime ministers would find the failure of negotiations difficult to explain to the public, he warned.
The finance ministers heeded him and Mr Juncker then went to his fellow heads of state to explain - in fluent English, French and German - what the deal meant. His colleagues were convinced and the deal was secured.
