The Government is committed to seeking agreement on the EU's constitutional treaty during the Irish presidency, despite predictions from some European leaders that no progress will be possible during the next six months.
Government sources said last night that although the Taoiseach is not certain that a deal can be reached following the collapse of talks in Brussels on Saturday, he is determined to "have a go" at finding agreement.
The Brussels summit ended on Saturday afternoon after Italy's Prime Minister, Mr Silvio Berlusconi, failed to resolve a dispute over how member-states should vote in the Council of Ministers, the EU's most powerful decision-making body. France and Germany wanted to replace the system of weighted votes agreed at Nice with a "double majority" system reflecting population size. Spain and Poland, which enjoy almost as many votes as the EU's four biggest states under the Nice system, were resisting change.
Following the failure of the talks, EU leaders asked the Irish presidency to present a report to a summit next March on prospects for finding agreement but no deadline was set for the conclusion of negotiations. The leaders of Sweden and Luxembourg said there was little hope of any progress until the Netherlands takes over the EU presidency from Ireland in July 2004.
Britain's Foreign Secretary, Mr Jack Straw, expressed a similar view in a television interview yesterday. "It could be during the Irish presidency although I frankly doubt it," he said. The Taoiseach said it would take time, debate and consideration to revive the talks, adding he did not expect to call a formal negotiating session during the opening months of the Irish presidency.
"If I at any time over the next six months believe the atmosphere would present the occasion to finalise it, I would move to it. The answer today is that that atmosphere is not there. The agreement will come when people have reflected on it and when people can see they can resolve the outstanding areas," he said.
He said that while agreement during the Irish presidency was "not impossible", March elections in Spain and European Parliament elections in June would make it difficult.