EU leaders yesterday finally worked out a compromise on ways to advance a controversial measure on mutual co-operation against tax evasion.
Ireland has supported the measure, which will see it handing over details of the savings accounts of non-residents in exchange for those of Irish depositors abroad. As it stands, the directive does not affect the International Financial Services Centre in Dublin.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, described the agreement at the EU summit on the savings directive as "a substantive move on", although it would be "very difficult to implement".
There is now a 14-1 alliance against Austria, following Luxembourg's signalling last weekend that it is prepared to end its famous banking secrecy.
But implementation is a long way off. Not only will Austria have to change its position, the EU will have to be satisfied that talks with third countries on similar information exchanges are making progress.
The EU leaders saved the initiative against tax evasion from collapse with a classic compromise that begged many questions.
The last-minute promise by Austria that it would merely "look again" at its banking secrecy laws allowed all 15 leaders to sign off here on a joint declaration. It sets a nine-year target for the full establishment of a system of mutual exchange of information on non-resident savings accounts.
Mr Ahern also welcomed signs that other member-states were willing to begin to contemplate withdrawing the bilateral sanctions against Vienna. The sanctions, a series of diplomatic snubs by the other EU capitals, were an expression of disapproval at the inclusion of the far-right Freedom Party in the Austrian government.
The Portuguese presidency will write to the Austrians within a week to outline some form of what has been termed "a road map out of their pariah status".
Meanwhile, speaking to journalists yesterday about the Dover tragedy, Mr Ahern called on the EU to move swiftly to develop its common policies on the trafficking in human beings agreed at the Tampere summit last year.
"It could happen in Rosslare, in the North, it could happen anywhere as long as people are prepared to traffic in people."
