Denis Staunton in Brussels
The Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, has warned that a "two-speed Europe" could become inevitable if EU leaders fail to agree a new constitutional treaty in 2004. In an interview with the Italian daily La Repubblica yesterday, Mr Prodi said that reviving the constitutional talks should be the highest priority during Ireland's EU Presidency.
"It is clear that if the situation does not unblock in 2004 then some could, and perhaps should take the initiative to go forwards. They might be the founder members or even, and this is more likely and more desirable, a mixed group of old and new states that share the same view of Europe," he said.
France and Germany have suggested that a "pioneer group" of EU member-states could press ahead with closer integration on a number of policy areas. A number of other countries including Hungary and the Czech Republic, which will join the EU in May, have expressed an interest in joining such a group. The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, warned this week that such a move could create disadvantages for those that did not take part, especially smaller countries that might never catch up with the pioneer group.
The commissioner responsible for enlargement, Mr Guenther Verheugen, said yesterday, however, that a "two-speed Europe" could represent the best way to advance European integration. He told the German television channel NDR that any pioneer group would be open to all member-states that wished to join. "We have this already with the euro and in immigration and border policy with the Schengen agreement. It's not as if we haven't got it already," he said.
A number of EU leaders said after the collapse of last month's summit in Brussels that the treaty negotiations should not resume until late this year or in early 2005. Many now fear, however, that a long delay risks making agreement more difficult as the negotiations could become entangled with other sensitive political issues.
Such issues include negotiations to draw up a new seven-year budget for the EU which will begin later this month when the Commission publishes a preliminary proposal. EU leaders must decide in December whether to begin accession negotiations with Turkey, a question which excites strong feelings. The Taoiseach must report to other EU leaders by March on the prospects for an early agreement on the constitutional treaty.
Mr Ahern will hold a series of bilateral meetings with other leaders during the coming weeks to ascertain the level of willingness to compromise on outstanding issues.
The most important disagreement concerns how countries should vote in the Council of Ministers, where national governments meet. Spain and Poland oppose a proposal to replace the present system of weighted votes with a "double majority" defined as a majority of member-states representing 60 per cent of the EU's population.
France and Germany are the strongest proponents of the new system and the Brussels summit collapsed when the Italian presidency failed to produce a compromise that satisfied all four countries.