Behind every successful EU presidency are a lot of hard-working civil servants. Deaglán de Bréadún salutes the backroom officials who helped steer Irish diplomacy
Everyone sat bolt upright. What did the Taoiseach just say? It was early January and Bertie Ahern was back after his Christmas break, chairing a small meeting of ministers and civil servants in Government Buildings.
The subject was the EU Constitutional Treaty, which had come a cropper the previous month in the dying days of Italy's stewardship. Even the dear, departed Dodo looked comparatively vibrant compared with the Grand Design for Europe. No hope, no sign of life, leave it for the Dutch to sort out, said the hurlers on the ditch.
"Listen, lads," said Bertie Ahern. You need to pay attention when the man from Drumcondra says, "Listen, lads." The Taoiseach continued: "Whatever we may have thought before Christmas, we're going for this thing."
The treaty had been the one unpredictable element in the process of planning and preparation for the Irish presidency which began in late 2002, two years ahead of the formal start in Dublin Castle on New Year's Day. Two interdepartmental groups were set up under Iveagh House officials Kathleen White and Liam Mac Gabhann, the first on policy issues, the second to deal with logistical preparations.
The presidency is a huge organisational challenge. Calendar-juggling is a major act in this circus, so as to ensure that everyone who should be in Moscow, Brussels or Tullamore on a particular day can and does actually make it. While Enlargement Day on May 1st was essentially a ceremonial event, it was politically important that the formal accession of new member-states should go smoothly.
At the policy level, there were scores of issues to be dealt with, but none more pressing nor with such major implications as the treaty itself. The Taoiseach assembled a small group, including Minister for Foreign Affairs, Brian Cowen, Minister of State for European Affairs, Dick Roche and civil servants from his own and other departments, specifically to deal with the treaty. There were different tributaries feeding into this river, principally from the EU Division in Iveagh House headed by Bobby McDonagh, who was assisted in this area by Rory Montgomery and Helen Blake, whose drafting skills attracted particular praise.
In addition, there was constant interaction with the Irish representatives to the EU, such as Ambassadors Anne Anderson and Declan Kelleher, as well as other senior officials on the ground such as Peter Gunning.
Embassies around Europe filed regular reports on media coverage and other issues arising in their respective member-states. A total of 140 extra personnel were drafted into Foreign Affairs for the duration, some on loan from other sectors. Others were interns or people who came back from retirement.
Much of the groundwork was done between January and March. "The Taoiseach had to get a feel for whether people were ready to go for it or not," said one senior source. Officials in his own Department, such as Michael Collins, Eoin O'Leary, Anne Barrington and John Kennedy were heavily engaged in the preparations for the March summit.
Two categories of issues were identified. Those which were already agreed or virtually concluded were assigned to the "Closed Document". More contentious matters were filed in the "Open Document". The whole thrust of the endeavour was to narrow down the number of open issues as much as possible so that there would be a nice fat file of closed issues in time for the final summit in June.
It helped that several key players, including the Taoiseach himself and the Secretary-General at Foreign Affairs, Dermot Gallagher, had been through the agonies and ecstasies of the Good Friday agreement. The psychology of negotiation developed in those days transferred successfully to the European stage. One observer describes it as follows: "Have infinite patience; don't let your ego get in the way; abide by the rule that 'nothing is agreed until everything is agreed'."
The Taoiseach revived the traditional Tour of Capitals, which had fallen into abeyance in recent years. He does not hang about and thinks nothing of popping in for a chat with Italy's Silvio Berlusconi in Rome in the morning and calling on Austria's Wolfgang Schussel in Vienna the same afternoon.
Meanwhile, back home, officials were working the phones to the 25 member-states as well as the permanent Secretariat in Brussels to sort out difficult issues. The fact that English is the mother-tongue of most Irish officials was seen as an advantage: in linguistic terms Ireland was "playing at home".
One of the reasons the Taoiseach and his party suffered in the recent local and European elections may be the sheer amount of time Bertie Ahern was obliged to devote to the presidency.
The biggest crisis which erupted during the presidency was the Madrid bombing. The EU had to respond to this and be seen to give leadership.
The Irish presidency was already updating EU strategy in the war against al-Qaeda and its counterparts. One insider says it was "the only crisis where things went a bit wobbly". There were some problems co-ordinating political and administrative efforts to respond to Madrid but nevertheless, two weeks after the bombing, European heads of state and government were able to adopt a detailed plan of action.
It would be impossible to name all the backroom officials who played a significant role in the presidency but names which keep cropping up include the Political Director at Foreign Affairs, David Cooney, and his deputy, Paul Kavanagh; Ambassadors abroad such as Daithí Ó Ceallaigh in London and Seán Ó hUiginn in Berlin; Marie Cross, Kevin Conmy and Brian Nason back at Iveagh House, not to mention the industrious people in the Press Office under Dermot Brangan. There were significant contributions from the Departments of Finance, including the Office of Public Works, Justice, Enterprise, Arts and Agriculture.
The treaty still has to go before the people of Ireland for ratification, not to mention being subject to popular or parliamentary vote in the other member-states. When that day comes, the work of the Irish presidency in this regard will be carefully sifted and subject to yet more rigorous scrutiny. But for now, the ship of Government is a happy one, because, in the view of a top official, the system really did work.
There was no shortage of drama behind the scenes: one official's apartment in Brussels went on fire during the presidency but the work continued. Another was typing a document on her laptop when Jacques Chirac leaned over her shoulder for a look. "I'll be finished in a minute," she told the President of France politely.