EU PRESIDENCY: The Government has identified the search for agreement on Europe's constitutional treaty as the highest priority of Ireland's six-month EU presidency, which begins on January 1st.
Presenting the presidency priorities in Brussels yesterday, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said it was impossible to predict whether a resolution could be found during the next six months. However, the Government would move to strike a deal as soon as possible if it saw a prospect of success.
"If it emerges that people recognise how close we may be to agreement, if the atmosphere is right, we'll take up that challenge," he said.
Mr Cowen said that all EU governments agreed that the treaty negotiations should be concluded as soon as possible and suggested that the Government's neutral stance on the difficult issue of voting weights in the Council of Ministers put Ireland in a good position to broker an agreement.
"We are not part of the disagreement, so we hope that puts us in a good position with everybody," he said.
Apart from the treaty negotiations, Ireland's presidency will focus on four main objectives: making a success of enlargement by integrating 10 new member-states and developing a stable network for relations with the EU's new neighbours; promoting economic growth, innovation and employment; improving co-operation in fighting crime and developing common policies on asylum and immigration; and developing an EU foreign policy based on stronger ties with the United Nations, a better transatlantic relationship and an improved EU capacity for crisis management and conflict prevention.
The Government will mark the accession of 10 new member-states on May 1st with a "Day of Welcomes" in Dublin to which the leaders of all 25 EU states and those of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey will be invited. Mr Cowen said the presidency would use the EU's Wider Europe/New Neighbours Initiative to work more closely with neighbouring countries to the east and south.
He said the Lisbon strategy, which aims to make the EU more competitive, had already brought benefits to citizens in terms of cheaper air travel, cheaper gas and electricity and more jobs.
In promoting economic growth and job creation in Europe, the Government would draw on Ireland's experience of social partnership.
"Our national experience of the benefits of social partnership has convinced us that social dialogue with employers and trade unions can offer a useful tool for promoting effective adaptation to change by workers and companies," Mr Cowen said.
Among the specific presidency initiatives will be measures to ensure that workers can access social protection benefits and healthcare throughout the EU.
Ireland's will be the seventh successive EU presidency to seek agreement on common rules for asylum and immigration, and the Government will also try to make progress on improving police and judicial co-operation.
The adoption by EU leaders last week of a European Security Strategy offers the Irish presidency a set of guidelines in the field of foreign policy. Mr Cowen stressed the EU's commitment to a multilateral system with the United Nations at its centre.
"The United Nations is the pivotal actor in the maintenance of global peace and security, and we are committed to working ever more closely with the UN to progress our shared interests and values," he said.
"The European Union and the United Nations are natural partners in carrying out peacekeeping operations and we have already signed a declaration with the UN on co-operation in crisis management.
"The challenge for our presidency is to move towards practical implementation of this declaration," he said.
Ireland will use summits with the US and Canada to "reaffirm the vitality of the transatlantic relationship", and Mr Cowen said the presidency would seek to push African issues up the EU agenda.
"There are 291 million people living below the poverty line in sub-Saharan Africa. An estimated 28 million are infected with HIV/Aids," he said.
"Over a dozen conflict situations exacerbate this humanitarian crisis. We must engage seriously, coherently and consistently with African partners to find comprehensive solutions to these problems," the Minister said.