IRELAND has delivered on its Florence summit promise to produce an outline draft treaty for the EU, the Taoiseach said yesterday. He rejected pessimistic suggestions that talks on treaty reform were likely to be stalled by the British veto.
"There is, I believe a will to negotiate because there is a recognition that if we are to have enlargement we need to have reform," Mr Bruton said. One of those most enthusiastic about enlargement was Britain, he said which had supported the mandate to produce the draft outline treaty.
Mr Bruton, who is on a presummit tour of European capitals, met the EU Commission president, Mr Jacques Santer, and the Belgian Prime Minister, Mr Jean Luc Dehaene yesterday. He said believed the other member state leaders shared the Irish sense of ambition for the Dublin summit.
Mr Santer praised the Irish work on the IGC and said its draft outline was a good and appropriate basis for the final discussions on treaty changes under the Dutch presidency. He believed the Dublin summit would provide a strong and clear signal that Europe is on the move.
Mr Bruton set out the agenda for the Dublin meeting at the end of next week. The leaders will open their session on Friday with the usual presentation from the President of the European Parliament of its position. This would be followed by a discussion on the preparatory work for monetary union.
He was hopeful, he said, that finance ministers' meeting ahead of the summit on Thursday could wrap up the final details of the post single currency Stability Pact 90 per cent of which was now agreed. The leaders were already in a position to give their seal of approval to proposals on the legal status of the euro and the new exchange rate mechanism.
The morning debate will conclude with discussions on a joint employment report from the ministers of finance and social affairs.
After lunch the summit will debate the IGC, followed by a major report on collaboration in the fight against crime, specifically drugs and trafficking in human beings. The latter, Mr Bruton said, was a priority for the Irish Presidency in showing that the Union was addressing the central concerns of its citizens.
Saturday's meeting will be largely devoted to finalising the conclusions of the summit and discussions with the applicant countries.
