EU:The Government has teamed up with Austria and Germany to try to amend EU rules that it believes give an unwelcome boost to the nuclear industry.
It has also told EU officials that it will decide by October 12th whether to join Britain's "opt-out" of EU judicial decision-making contained in the new EU reform treaty.
Irish diplomats made the announcement yesterday following the completion of technical work on the draft treaty by EU states' lawyers.
Under a protocol negotiated by Britain to the draft reform treaty, Britain would be able to opt out of taking part in EU legislation proposed in the field of judicial and police co-operation. It also enables Britain to opt out of previous EU decisions in the justice field in order to prevent the European Court of Justice from having jurisdiction over the areas.
Britain will also retain its current opt-out from the Schengen border control system but be able to opt in to take part in some measures.
Minister for justice Brian Lenihan will bring to next week's Cabinet meeting a draft decision on whether to "opt out". He has to decide whether to join the British protocol and remain outside the European mainstream or follow the other 25 EU states, which plan to sign up to the treaty provisions on justice.
Europe minister Dick Roche has argued that Ireland should remain within the European mainstream and co-operate fully in the justice area. But officials at the Department of Justice have indicated that an "opt-out" may be needed to protect the Irish common law system.
Meanwhile, a declaration attached to the reform treaty signed by Ireland, Austria and Germany urges other EU states to agree to reform the Euratom Treaty. Signed in 1957, this accord set up the European nuclear energy community, which is composed of all 27 EU states and works to encourage the development of civilian nuclear power.
Ireland, Austria and Germany are all key opponents of the nuclear power industry and believe the Euratom Treaty gives an unwelcome boost to the nuclear lobby.
"Since its entry into force, the Euratom Treaty has not been substantially modified and does not fully reflect the emergence of concerns over public health and environmental impacts in relation to the nuclear industry," said an Irish spokesman.
But the non-binding declaration is unlikely to have much impact on other EU states, many of which are promoting nuclear power as the answer to climate change.
Earlier this week the European Commission also promoted the use of nuclear energy.