MR JOHN Major arrived here last night determined to put the issue of Britain's, and now Europe's, beef crisis on the agenda of the EU summit called to launch the treaty changing Inter Governmental Conference.
British spokesmen were vague about what the prime minister was hoping to get out of today's meeting beyond some general expression of solidarity.
But fears that the conference would he dominated by the beef issue were eased by the announcement from Brussels that an emergency Farm Ministers' meeting has been called for Monday.
The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, and the Tanaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs. Mr Spring, arrived here last night for the day long talks in the converted Lingotto Fiat car factory. The roof is the famous race track where all of the company's new models were tested.
Today the complex, now a huge conference centre, will provide a servicing pit stop for the Treaty of the European Union, steered by the eccentric hand of the Italian Foreign Minister, Ms Susanna Agnelli. Her brother, Gianni, has just retired as head of the family firm Fiat, no less.
Mr Bruton will stress the need to bring the Union back to issues of real concern to citizens such as jobs and drugs, and for real improvements in the functioning of all three EU pillars. He will argue that the IGC should seek to preserve the institutional balance in the Union, while preparing for enlargement by deepening integration.
The heads of government will agree to a mandate for the negotiations of the Foreign Ministers and their representatives during the next year.
Ireland's preoccupation with jobs is shared by most of the leaders, who will insist on the need for the Union to be seen to be doing something about unemployment. The diplomat preparing the IGC for the Italian presidency, Mr Renato Fagioli, reflects the views of many: "There is a feeling that the treaty is unbalanced. Monetary union has pride of place while the social dimension has been left behind."
But the German European Affairs Minister, Mr Werner Hoyer is quick to put down a marker, warning that there is a considerable difference between extending co operation on jobs and shifting the responsibility to Brussels.
This is code for a message to the President of the Commission, Mr Jacques Santer, that Bonn, like France, Britain and Spain, is unlikely to back his plans to use hoped for savings in the farm budget for subsidies to TransEuropean Networks. In any case, since the beef crisis officials area beginning to ask "what savings?"
Mr Santer is due to present his plans for a "Confidence Pact for Jobs" today.
In the streets of Turin last night, however, tens of thousands of young people joined a rally/rock concert organised by the European Trade Union Congress and local unions for "Jobs. Solidarity and Democracy in Europe.
