Ahern, Prodi bury hatchet to stress need for EU deal

The Taoiseach and the European Commission President have put their apparent differences behind them to unite in stressing the importance of reaching an agreement on a draft European Union constitution as soon as possible.

Speaking after the first major meeting of Ireland's six-month EU presidency in Dublin Castle this afternoon, Mr Bertie Ahern and Mr Romano Prodi insisted a resolution to the ongoing divisive debate over the constitution must be reached to avoid smaller countries being left behind.

Talks on the draft constitution broke down last month in Brussels. The onus now rests on Ireland to attempt to broker a resolution to the various issues during its presidency. However, Mr Ahern sounded a cautious note on the possibility of a deal being struck. "Whether this agreement is reached during the Irish Presidency depends on whether or not sufficient political will exists," he said.

"We have to make an effort for one year together to have joint common decision," Mr Prodi added. "If we are unable to do that, we can't wait forever...One country has to give the example to go on...Europe can't always go at the speed of a very small slow wagon."

Prior to today's meeting, Mr Ahern and Mr Prodi had publicly clashed over their views on the future of the EU. Mr Prodi said last weekend he saw the emergence of a two-tier union, with larger countries moving into the "fast lane" of development if agreement cannot be reached. In contrast, Mr Ahern has repeatedly said his Government believes the way forward is through a unified Europe and has urged unity among all member states, regardless of size. "We firmly believe that moving together is the right way," he said today.

But Mr Prodi and Mr Ahern both insisted there was "no disagreement" between them on the issue. "The truth is I am perfectly in line with the Irish Prime Minister," the President said. "We had a difference, but we are working in the same direction."

The Taoiseach said the Government "understands completely" what Mr Prodi was warning against, and said he would drive the Irish presidency towards avoiding this situation. He did not want to approach the task "from the point of view of failure".

Mr Ahern said the Government will consult with all the other member states and report at the next European Council in March. "But if we can't make progress this year, we're going to start looking at other avenues."

Despite the fact that the 25 states involved agree on the majority of points in the draft constitution debate, there remain significant differences in a number of policy areas, including Ireland's desire to retain the national veto on taxation policy. There is also a major gap between over the voting strengths of various member states in the new enlarged Council of Ministers.

Dublin Castle is under very tight security following the explosion of two letter bombs at the EU's Brussels headquarters yesterday.

Following a plenary session of the Commission this morning, the EC and the Irish Presidency said they reiterated their commitment to integrate the ten new member states into European Union policies and structures prior to their formal accession on May 1st. They also discussed the membership applications of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.

Various separate bilateral meetings between individual ministers were also held, including talks between the European Commission president, Mr Romano Prodi, and the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, who was accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affrars, Mr Cowen, and the Minister of State for European Affairs, Mr Dick Roche.

Mr Cowen also met the EC Vice-President, Mr Neil Kinnock, while the Tánaiste, Ms Harney, held talks with the Commissioner for Competition, Mr Mario Monti.  A series of discussions between other Government ministers and their Commisssion counterparts also took place.