The Taoiseach has said that the forthcoming review of the European Union treaties is unlikely to produce an outcome requiring a constitutional referendum in Ireland. Mr Ahern told reporters at the conclusion of the EU summit in Helsinki on Saturday that the Government had no objection to a "debate on the EU institutions".
However, he said it would be necessary to have the agenda set out early. "I don't think we should go around looking for treaty changes, but ultimately they are going to arise," he said.
The Inter-Governmental Conference, which will oversee the treaty review, will be officially convened in early February. It will examine the size and composition of the EU Commission; the voting system for EU Council meetings and other institutional issues.
It is expected to report by the end of next year so that the necessary amendments to the treaties can be approved by the European summit next December during the conclusion of the French presidency of the EU.
Mr Ahern confirmed that he would prefer to see the discussions at the conference clearly defined, although he expected the agenda of items to be discussed to increase over the coming months.
On the question of whether the people would have to be consulted on the proposed changes, the Taoiseach said he had "no fear" over a referendum.
The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, said the Government did not want a referendum, as the positive majorities in polls on European matters had been declining.
The enlargement process would fuel further EU institutional development, the Taoiseach said. "Change will be required. You could not do the kind of business we did here in 48 hours if you had practically 30 countries seated around the table."
Mr Ahern said Ireland had "nothing to fear" from the expansion of the EU to include up to 13 new member-states. The Helsinki summit agreed a significant step forward on the enlargement of the EU from its present 15 member-states. Bilateral conferences will start in February 2000 with several countries, including Romania, Bulgaria and Slovakia.
He said it was his view that it would be "2003 at the earliest" before any of these countries would be admitted to full EU membership and that date could even be as late as the "second half of the next decade".
The diplomatic services were likely to have to respond to the enlarged EU by taking on additional responsibilities in relation to trade and business development. While the Taoiseach spoke of the limits on the expansion of Ireland's diplomatic services, he said there was room for development in Asia and South America to take advantage of further economic opportunities.
There was also satisfaction that the outcome of the Helsinki summit on defence matters was in line with Government policy. Mr Ahern said there was no prospect of the Irish Defence Forces becoming involved in any operation unless it had a "clear mandate" from the United Nations.
The Government welcomed the further progress made at the summit towards eventual EU membership for Turkey and joined in the condemnation of Russia for its military campaign in Chechyna.
The Taoiseach also welcomed the acknowledgment from the EU Council meeting of recent progress in the North, including the formation of the Executive.
The leader of Fine Gael, Mr John Bruton, in Helsinki for a meeting of the European People's Party, said it was important to tell people in Ireland why the EU was getting involved in military matters. Europe, he said, wanted to be able to look after its own business and was not happy to depend so completely on the US.