Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is in Lisbon today as the European Union prepares to agree a new treaty to reform EU institutions.
Shortly before chairing the summit of the 27-nation bloc, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates said: "I think we are getting very, very close to a new treaty and this will be called the Lisbon Treaty."
The council will also discuss the EU response to globalisation, the recent instability in the financial markets and the international response to climate change.
EC president Jose Manuel Barroso
A separate Inter-Governmental Conference will aim to broker agreement on the Reform Treaty, paving the way for its signature in December.
A new treaty, containing 90 per cent of the substance of the constitution that was rejected by Dutch and French voters, is expected to be accepted.
However, several issues remain to be resolved, including Polish demands that states have the right to delay European laws on which they are narrowly defeated in a vote, and the right to a permanent advocate general at the European Court of Justice.
The Irish Government has decided to opt out of new structures in the pact relating to judicial co-operation, criminal matters and police co-operation. However the Taoiseach has promised to co-operate with the rest of the EU on these issues.
Speaking in Brussels yesterday, European Commission president Jose Manuel Barroso said there is "no reason" for EU leaders not to reach agreement on the treaty.
The Taoiseach is accompanied by Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern and Minister of State for European Affairs Dick Roche.