EU CONSTITUTION: The German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schröder, has said he doubts whether the Government can broker an agreement on an EU constitution during the Irish presidency of the union.
Mr Schröder's remarks in Dublin came less than a fortnight after the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said he was heartened by the willingness of EU leaders to reach a compromise on the constitution.
The Irish presidency faced a tough job, he said, adding that it would be highly unfair to say that the presidency had "failed" if no agreement was reached.
"I personally have to say that I do feel a degree of doubt whether it would be possible to get the constitutional package signed and sealed and rubber-stamped in this one presidency," he said.
He was speaking after meeting last evening with Mr Ahern in Government Buildings. Despite Mr Ahern's positive assessment at the end of January, he said the German leader was "saying what I say every day".
"There are several issues and what we have to try to do is try to get the compromises on all of those to try and bring everybody with us. The Chancellor's point is whether it is possible to do that in six months. It's going to to be difficult." Mr Schröder said the Irish presidency was "threading very carefully but at the same time decisively".
He favours a system of double-majority voting among EU governments, with decisions being carried if they are endorsed by a majority of EU members representing more than half the union's population.
This option is rejected by Spain and Poland, who have almost as many votes as Germany under the existing system despite having less than half its population. The German leader said there were positive signs of an "economic impulse" arising from the EU's Lisbon competitiveness process.
"I'm not just talking about the global economy but also about the economic vibes now coming from within Europe," he said.
Asked what advice he would offer Mr Ahern on efforts to improve EU-US relations, Mr Schröder said he would never offer such advice in public.
