This week sees the culmination of Ireland's European Union Presidency, as the Government prepares the summit meeting in Dublin Castle and endeavours to complete an ambitious agenda to present to it. It has a number of significant achievements to its credit facing into the summit, the success of which will, as always, determine the overall assessment of its six month term of office.
It now looks as if the crucial rule making for the single currency can be completed in time to be endorsed in Dublin Castle, assuming German and French leaders iron out their differences at their meeting in Nuremberg today and finance ministers meeting in Dublin on Thursday reach agreement on the Stability Pact. This would represent a major step forward in political and economic terms and would set the scene for decisions over the next 15 months on which states will participate in the single currency from January 1st, 1999.
The Government has completed another major task with the publication last week of its general outline for a draft revision of the EU treaties. This fulfils the mandate it was given at the Florence Council in June. It is, all told, an excellent document, not least for the clarity of its presentation and prose. It manages to balance a forward perspective with the existing state of play in the Inter Governmental Conference to revise the Maastricht treaties, pitched, suggestively, at the "upper end of realism". It is most ambitious on justice and home affairs, proposing an area of freedom, security and justice in Europe, with greatly enhanced ability to tackle international crime and drug trafficking. This reflects close co operation with the German government during the presidency and a comprehensive package of such measures expected to be included in the summit conclusions.
Not as much agreement is registered on employment or social policy, largely because EU governments are reluctant or unable to agree on stimulatory measures while they are busy preparing their economies for participation in the single currency. The draft treaty clarifies much of the ground for concluding negotiations on the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy. But it has not offered treaty language on two central matters, representation in its institutions and calls for greater flexibility so as to allow more enthusiastic and capable member states to proceed on a fast track integration. There is general agreement that these issues will be decided only at the end game of the negotiations.
It seems perverse to criticise the document, as has the French foreign minister, Mr de Charette, for its lack of political ambition, when it is so scrupulously pitched at the current level of political engagement. The Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, will be in a better position to gauge that level of ambition after his meetings today with Mr Major in London and tomorrow with Mr Chirac in Paris.