In a crisp, well-rounded address to the European Movement yesterday the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, clearly laid out Ireland's negotiating position for the final stages of the Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC), which concludes at Nice in four weeks' time. His speech reaffirmed that Ireland's EU membership is fundamental to its prosperity and economic success and will continue to be so, based on preserving the Union's basic values and balances. It offered a very positive perspective on EU enlargement, saying "it is profoundly in Europe's interest, and it is in our national interest too. Not to support it wholeheartedly would be hypocritical, shortsighted and ungenerous."
Precious little time remains to forge compromises capable of delivering an acceptably ambitious treaty at Nice. Its main task is to prepare the EU's institutions and decision-making procedures for enlargement. Mr Ahern clearly set out Ireland's case that all states should retain the right to nominate a European Commissioner, in order to guarantee its legitimacy. Ireland values the Commission as initiator of legislation and guardian of the common interest and would find it disadvantageous were its key and central role to change. He supported the case for giving the Commission president greater and more flexible power over its organisation and management.
On that basis an agreement on re-weighting votes to recognise population should be easier to achieve. So would an extension of qualified majority voting, but not to taxation, where Ireland asserts a key national interest. Mr Ahern also felt it possible to reach agreement on making it easier to use reinforced co-operation, whereby smaller groups of states are entitled to move ahead together on a given issue. But he was very cautious on using such methods in the foreign policy and security areas. He believes the European Charter of Fundamental Freedoms to be adopted at Nice should remain a political not a legal document.
This speech not only set out the Government's views on these technical/legal issues but put them in a wider political context. Two aspects of that merit comment. Mr Ahern's remarks should be read against the background of recent speeches on Europe made by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms Sile de Valera and the Tanaiste, Ms Mary Harney. They had raised the question of whether enlargement and closer integration are in Ireland's interest, whether Brussels endangers Irish identity and whether Ireland needs to choose between US or European socio-economic models. Mr Ahern's strong affirmation that "the enlargement of the EU is fundamentally about the further consolidation of freedom, democracy and human rights across our once-divided continent" puts Government policy firmly in the integrationist camp, by resisting such suggestions.
Mr Ahern also welcomed the emerging debate on the future of Europe sparked off by the IGC. Although he resisted any rapid movement to a more federal Europe, on the grounds that it would go well beyond what most Europeans currently wish for or are prepared to accept, he favoured associating national parliament more fully with the EU's work and distinguishing national and EU competences more clearly. But here too there is a strong preference for maintaining the existing balance between supranational and inter-governmental methods, which have served Ireland well.