PORTUGAL:The EU's new reform treaty is on course for endorsement this year, Portugal's secretary of state for European affairs told a gathering in Dublin yesterday.
The Portuguese government, which has declared approval of the treaty its "priority of priorities" during the country's presidency of the EU, wants to secure agreement on the charter at a summit next month in Lisbon. EU foreign ministers met in Portugal at the weekend for two days of informal talks on the draft treaty, amid ongoing political and legal wrangling over the text.
"We want a political agreement and we think it is possible," Dr Manuel Lobo Antunes told an audience at Dublin's Institute of European Affairs.
The charter would be a "product of European compromise and European realism", Dr Antunes said, adding that it was time to resolve the issue of institutional reform for good.
Poland and Britain are still pressing for changes to the treaty, which will streamline EU decision-making and replace the EU constitution rejected by French and Dutch voters two years ago.
Dr Antunes described his country's current position at the helm of the EU as "one of the most overcharged presidencies we have had".
He spoke about EU concerns over the future of Kosovo, an issue also discussed by foreign ministers from member states at the weekend.
"It is extremely important that whatever solution we are presented with, the EU remains united," he said, echoing Portuguese foreign minister Luis Amado, who warned at the weekend that lack of unity on the issue could undermine EU credibility.
Dr Antunes also discussed French president Nicolas Sarkozy's recent proposal for the EU to establish a committee of "wise men" to discuss the future shape of Europe.
The Portuguese secretary of state said such a debate was less about geographical boundaries than the EU's "objectives, aims and goals".
Asked for his assessment of Turkey's bid for EU membership, Dr Antunes talked about Turkey's strategic importance and said the country was a "key element of our relationship with that part of the world and its way of thinking".
He said the question of Turkey joining the EU was "more important than ever".
But he added that Turkey has some way to go yet before fulfilling membership criteria.
"It has to make further effort and that requires a different Turkey . . . It is very demanding for every membership candidate and it will be very demanding for Turkey."