Constitutional treaty needs 'political will'

EU: At the Paris stop on his marathon tour of European capitals prior to the June 17th-18th European Council, the Taoiseach told a press conference that a constitutional treaty was within reach "if there is the political will".

Mr Ahern spent two hours discussing unresolved issues with French President Jacques Chirac.

Though all 25 heads of state and government now agree that there will be a 'double majority' system, taking account of the number of countries and their aggregate population, the exact numbers are proving difficult to agree on. The lowest figures put forward are 50 per cent of governments representing at least 60 per cent of Europe's population. The highest are 55 per cent of governments and 65 per cent of population.

Mr Ahern's task has been complicated by a last minute offensive by the Austrian Chancellor, Wolfgang Schussel, who is leading a group of states demanding that the 10 percentage point gap between the two measures be narrowed.

The second most hotly debated question has nothing to do with the constitutional treaty, but concerns the selection of the next president of the European Commission.

"It was discussed in all my meetings, confidentially and privately," Mr Ahern said. Even top aides leave the room when the subject comes up. With only two weeks left before the summit and no front-runner, the French have suggested it might be necessary to postpone a decision until July.

Asked whether it was true that France supports the Belgian Prime Minister, Guy Verhofstadt, Mr Chirac said he has "great esteem and friendship for Mr Verhofstadt" but was not aware he was a candidate. "That said," Mr Chirac added, "I believe he would be a good president of the Commission." Britain opposes Mr Verhosfstadt, who is considered anti-American.

Mr Chirac ended speculation that a reference to the historic importance of Christianity might find its way into the preamble of the constitution. "After long debates, France achieved peace after affirming the principle of secularism," he said.

"There is no reference to religion in any official text and I don't intend to change that. France has a system ... which does not allow her to go beyond what was proposed in the convention."

French officials have suggested that voter turnout in the European parliamentary election on June 13th would increase if the Irish presidency made an announcement about the constitutional treaty before then.

"The people know, except for a small number of issues, what is in the constitution," Mr Ahern said. "It's a constitution that sets out the rights, the objectives, the competencies in a very coherent way, far better than how the treaties worked in the past. It is a powerful document in the interest of the people, and it plays a fundamental part in showing the interest the people should have in a European election. Over 90 per cent of what was in the convention report will be in the constitution."

On Iraq, Mr Chirac said that if the government established on Tuesday was to succeed, "It is essential that it inspires confidence and trust among Iraqis. That means that the Iraqis themselves must be convinced they have recovered their sovereignty, independence and control of their own fate."

A new draft resolution tabled by the US and Britain fulfils one of Mr Chirac's demands - it includes a departure date in 2006 for the multinational force.

"But it still needs to be improved," Mr Chirac said, "particularly regarding the full sovereignty of the Iraqi government, including military aspects."