The odds must remain firmly on the side of a deal next month, writes Denis Staunton in Brussels
After months of unalloyed praise for its handling of negotiations towards a constitutional treaty, Ireland's EU Presidency faced a barrage of criticism this week for the slow pace of talks among EU foreign ministers. France's Mr Michel Barnier urged the Presidency to "take a risk" by presenting a full new draft of the treaty next week.
"We have gone as far as we can go in discussion. Now we need a moment of truth. To provoke an agreement, it's time for the Presidency to take a risk and put a global package deal on the table," he said.
Even the mild-mannered Justice and Home Affairs Commissioner, Mr Antonio Vitorino, expressed frustration at the talks, as newspapers throughout Europe warned that the prospect of a deal at next month's summit was receding fast.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, remained upbeat, although he scolded his fellow ministers for briefing negatively about one another.
Despite Mr Barnier's demand, foreign ministers will not receive a new draft of the treaty in Brussels next Monday, and Presidency officials suggest that no new draft will be made available until a few days before next month's summit.
The Presidency remains confident of success, claiming that the negotiations are on schedule and that none of the outstanding issues is incapable of resolution.
"If a few delegations had a different attitude going into last December's summit, we could have agreed this in a few days. It shouldn't be impossible to do it in a few weeks," said one official.
Britain's Mr Jack Straw was responsible for much of the ill-humour in Brussels this week, as he insisted that London would not compromise on any of its "red lines" and introducing a new demand concerning the Charter of Fundamental Rights. The charter forms the second part of the three-part constitution, but the Convention on the Future of Europe agreed to insert an article into the constitution guaranteeing that the charter would not affect national laws.
Under pressure from the Confederation of British Industry, which fears that the charter's guarantee of the right to strike could conflict with anti-union laws introduced by Mrs Margaret Thatcher, Mr Straw demanded this week that the limitation on the charter's scope should be written into the text of the charter itself.
Integrationist countries, led by France, complain that almost all proposed changes to the constitution are aimed at making it less effective. They fear that Mr Tony Blair will use the prospect of a British referendum to secure further compromises.
The Presidency maintains that the shape of a compromise on most outstanding issues is already emerging and remains confident that next month's summit will last for no longer than the two days already scheduled.
The most sensitive issues will be decided by heads of state and government alone and are the subject of bilateral talks between the Taoiseach and other leaders on his tour of EU capitals, which is now more than halfway through.
Irish officials point out that EU leaders committed themselves in March to reach a deal on the constitution in June and that a second failure would almost certainly spell the end of the constitutional project.
The odds must remain firmly on the side of a deal next month. As for the treaty's chances of being ratified in all 25 member-states, it's anyone's guess.