Towards a constitutional treaty: The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, left Brussels yesterday on a wave of good will from his fellow leaders, many of whom were pleasantly surprised that the summit finished more than an hour earlier than planned.
Last December's summit also ended ahead of schedule but the mood this week could not have been more different. Politicians and diplomats were loud in their praise of the Irish presidency's achievement in persuading all 25 governments to seek agreement on the constitutional treaty by the next summit in June. "I do not normally praise the EU presidency but the determined, unobtrusive work of the Irish was quite remarkable," said one EU leader.
The decision to set a June deadline for agreement reflects a shared confidence among EU leaders that they can now resolve their remaining differences on the treaty.
"Nobody wants to risk another failure so the fact that they agreed to go ahead means they are ready to compromise," said a senior EU diplomat.
The Taoiseach said that he had extracted a commitment from all leaders that they would be willing to move from current negotiating positions and he stressed that everyone would have to compromise, including himself. Mr Ahern signalled earlier that the Government was close to dropping its opposition to the introduction of qualified majority voting in some areas of justice and home affairs. Britain has indicated that it is also willing to compromise on criminal law matters in the wake of the bomb attacks in Madrid on March 11th.
Many leaders referred to the effect of the Madrid bombings in adding a sense of urgency to the search for compromise on the constitutional treaty. The imminent change of government in Spain helped too, with the stubborn right-winger, Mr José María Aznar, set to be replaced by a more conciliatory socialist, Mr José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero.
The leaders have promised to reach agreement on the constitutional treaty "no later" than the summit on June 17-18th.
Officials acknowledge, however, that the deal will almost certainly not be done any earlier than the summit either. The Taoiseach is understood to have been surprised by the lack of pressure from other leaders to set a deadline in advance of the European Parliament elections on June 11th.
Some countries indicated that they would prefer an early deal but all were happy to accept the June deadline.
Mr Ahern said that the presidency would pursue the negotiations without delay - in bilateral and multi-lateral meetings with member-states, in meetings of foreign ministers and in other official contacts.
He hopes that the shape of the final deal will be evident in advance of the European elections. Spain's change of government is almost certainly good news for the Irish presidency but Poland's political turbulence, and the impending resignation of the Prime Minister, Mr Leszek Miller, on May 2nd, could hamper Warsaw's capacity for compromise. The Taoiseach said that the issue of voting in the Council of Ministers remained the most difficult to resolve, not least because it is so important. June's summit will also determine who should succeed Mr Romano Prodi as Commission President. Luxembourg's Prime Minister, Mr Jean-Claude Juncker, said yesterday that he had rejected calls from a number of EU leaders to take the job and promised to continue as prime minister if he wins an election in June.
"If I had said yes, it would have been a done deal. But I explained to my colleagues and friends that universal suffrage, even in a small democracy, had its demands. I informed my colleagues that I was not available," he said.
