EU: Ireland and the EU's three other neutral member-states have failed to persuade EU foreign ministers to accept an amendment to a proposed mutual defence clause in Europe's new constitutional treaty.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said that there was some support for the neutrals' proposal to make the clause voluntary but that the issue was unlikely to be resolved until EU leaders meet to agree the final treaty text this weekend.
"It got some support. It doesn't have unanimous support clearly and we now wait for the Italian Presidency to come back with its proposals based on that discussion. It's obviously not going to be resolved before going to the European Council," he said.
The deadlock came as Ireland's EU Commissioner, Mr David Byrne, described the State's attitude to mutual defence as squeamish.
Speaking in Brussels at a meeting organised by the Institute for European Affairs, Mr Byrne said that recent divisions over Iraq had spurred interest and acceptance of a greater European role in defence and security.
"This is as it should be, even if some member states, including Ireland, are more squeamish than others about assuming collective defence or security roles - modern day neutrality is not about sitting on ones hands, relying on others to help out," he said.
Mr Cowen rejected the Commissioner's characterisation of Ireland's defence policy, which he said was within an honourable tradition.
"I wouldn't characterise it as such at all. I think there's a very honourable tradition as a basis for our policy which I defend," he said.
The latest draft of the constitutional treaty states that "if a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power".
Ireland, Austria, Finland and Sweden want to amend the clause to state that "if a Member State is the victim of armed aggression, it may request that the other Member States give it aid and assistance by all the means in their power, military or other".
Mr Cowen said that the proposed amendment was designed to ensure that the EU's security and defence policy remained inclusive by acknowledging the different policy traditions within the Union.
"Ireland is trying to find a solution here where we are part of the evolution of a policy which is consistent with the way policy developments in this area have been dealt with before," he said.
"We don't see why we should end up in a situation where the specific character of one group of countries' security and defence policy is the only one reflected in the text."
Italy, which holds the EU Presidency, will today present foreign ministers with a new draft of the constitutional treaty but there is little expectation of progress on the biggest issues before EU leaders arrive in Brussels on Friday.