Denis Staunton,
European Correspondent, and
Mark Brennock, Chief
Political Correspondent
The Government has injected new urgency into the attempt to agree a new EU constitutional treaty this year amid growing concern that prolonged stalemate could lead to a two-speed Europe.
The Taoiseach will contact a number of EU leaders in the next few days as the Government seeks to create momentum behind the efforts to reach a deal. He will meet the Belgian Prime Minister, Mr Guy Verhofstadt, in Dublin tomorrow, the German Chancellor, Mr Gerhard Schröder, in Berlin on Friday, and will have telephone conversations with several others before the weekend.
At the weekend, Ireland's senior negotiator will meet his Italian counterpart to establish the nature of compromise proposals discussed in private meetings on the margins of the failed Brussels summit last month under the chairmanship of the Italian EU presidency.
Mr Ahern hopes to meet the Italian Prime Minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, shortly for detailed discussions on his attempts to reach agreement last month.
Speaking in Dublin Castle yesterday after a meeting between the Cabinet and the European Commission, the Taoiseach said this consultation process was "now urgent" and that he would try to resume full negotiations in the Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) very quickly. "Just to be very clear: we want the IGC to succeed as soon as possible," he said.
The leaders of France and Germany and the Commission President have spoken in recent weeks about the possibility of a group of member-states forming a closely integrated "core group" within the EU if the constitutional treaty is not agreed this year.
The Taoiseach has consistently opposed this idea which he said on Sunday would disadvantage smaller member-states.
Mr Ahern acknowledged yesterday that there was no guarantee of a successful conclusion of the constitutional talks. "Whether this happens under the Irish presidency of course ultimately depends on sufficient collective political will existing, and we will form that judgment as time goes on. But we will make every effort to build consensus and we believe it is in all our interests to reach agreement as soon as possible so we will do our utmost on it."
The Government's determination to seek rapid progress on the constitutional treaty is informed by an anxiety that failure to restore momentum to the talks quickly could lead to political drift within Europe and fuel the demands for a core group of member-states to press ahead with closer union.
Yesterday the Taoiseach and the Commission President, Mr Romano Prodi, minimised their differences over the prospect of a "two-speed Europe" emerging if the constitutional talks fail.
However, Mr Prodi repeated his view that if there is no deal in 2004, a group of countries could press ahead with closer integration, while Mr Ahern said it was wrong "to speculate about failure. . .We don't want to look at what might happen in a few years' time."
Mr Prodi maintained he had no disagreement with the Taoiseach about the urgency of reviving talks on the treaty.
"We have to make the effort for one year together in order [to reach] a joint, common decision. If we are unable to do that we can't wait forever. It is clear. We can't stop Europe and there will come some day the moment in which somebody. . .must give example to go on, because Europe cannot always go at the speed of a very slow wagon."
Mr Prodi said that Ireland's EU presidency was well placed to advance plans to make the EU the most competitive economic region in the world by 2010. He promised that the Commission's proposals for the EU's 2007-2013 budget, which will be published later this month, would promote competitiveness and investment in human capital.
Ahern, Prodi play down differences; Ahern suspects there's a way but only if there's a will: page 9; Simmering Balkans challenge EU: page 14; Editorial comment: page 15