Ireland's national interests will be best served by a Yes vote in the Nice Treaty referendum, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said following the agreement yesterday by European Union leaders on two declarations on Irish military neutrality.
Describing the texts as "clear and unambiguous", Mr Ahern, accompanied by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said he hoped that they would help to remove the neutrality issue from the forthcoming campaign.
A second defeat would damage Ireland's EU standing, he said.
"It would cause a major problem to our relations with the European Union. It is not in our interests. It is not in the European Union's interests. The European Union has provided the framework for our prosperity and will continue to do so if we remain engaged and committed partners. Ireland's interests are best served by being in there, arguing the case for all our people."
Promising a "vigorous and robust campaign" in search of a Yes vote, the Taoiseach said that the referendum had dominated discussions at meetings of the new Cabinet. "We are absolutely seized of the importance of this," he added.
"The texts speak for themselves. They confirm in clear and unambiguous language that the treaty poses no threat to our traditional policy of military neutrality," the Taoiseach told a crowded press conference.
In the accompanying declaration, his fellow EU leaders had clearly stated that the Irish statement was in "full conformity" with the Treaty of Nice and all previous EU agreements, the Taoiseach insisted. But he urged his fellow EU leaders and the European Commission to stay out of the Irish debate because comments made by some figures during the previous referendum campaign had only served to create confusion.
In particular, Mr Ahern said that a press conference held to publicise the Convention on the Future of Europe - which is dealing with issues that are years away from decision - had damaged the Government's efforts.
"We are asking people to keep things in a proper context. We believe that the two declarations are highly significant. And that is shared by our colleagues here," he told The Irish Times.
The Cabinet aims to finalise the wording of the constitutional amendment on Tuesday so that the Referendum Bill can be published on Thursday - before the Dáil goes into its summer recess.
Brussels hopes to be close to signing agreements with countries wishing to join the EU by next October. "By then, everything will be ready to go. There will be only one thing in the way - Irish ratification of the treaty," Mr Ahern said.
Last night, Government sources said it was vital that the pre-summer timetable was kept, because this would enable the establishment of the Referendum Commission, which will launch information campaigns on the issue. A two-week debate is to be held on the Bill in early September. Following its passage through the Oireachtas, the referendum will then be held in late October, the sources said.
"There is one message that I would like to convey to the people of Ireland. It isn't in our interests to block enlargement, or to be seen to block enlargement. And the net effect of a failure to ratify Nice would be to block it," Mr Ahern said.
"It is a voluntary union. Nobody is forcing us to remain at the heart of Europe. I passionately believe that the European Union is vital to my country's future prosperity and that this view is shared by the vast majority of people."
Questioned about the conduct of the last referendum, Mr Ahern said he acknowledged that it could be argued that the Government had not done enough to persuade people to vote Yes.
He added: "It is obvious that we have to put in a big effort. It isn't that we did nothing the last time. It is that we did not do enough. The real issue was not neutrality. It was confusion."
