The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, has triggered the restart of negotiations on a European constitutional treaty by seeking "constructive compromises" from the EU and accession-state leaders.
Mr Ahern told European leaders in a letter this week that a timetable for the resumed Inter-Governmental Conference (IGC), which is aiming for agreement by June, would be disclosed at a meeting of foreign ministers on April 26th.
In an indication that the Government will be entering the intensive discussions on the basis of information already gleaned from EU governments, the Taoiseach said in his letter that he assumed and expected "that no concerns not already signalled will be raised".
Mr Ahern went on: "I ask you to ensure that your IGC team takes a positive and focused approach, concentrating on those questions which are of real significance to you and aiming to reach constructive compromises."
The prospects for agreement increased greatly after the Madrid train bombings last month, which were swiftly followed by a change of government in Spain.
The decision to restart the negotiations was taken at an EU summit in Brussels a fortnight after the bomb attacks.
Mr Ahern is hoping that the new Spanish government will support the complex "double majority" system of voting at the European Council.
With France and Germany strongly in favour of the proposal, the previous Spanish government under Mr José Maria Aznar resisted the concept.
In recent weeks, Poland has also signalled willingness to revise its previous opposition to the double-majority system. The proposed voting system would see a proposal passed by the EU if it was supported by a majority of states comprising more than half the EU's population.
Mr Ahern said he had asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, to arrange for a ministerial-level IGC to carry forward the necessary work in advance of a summit of heads of state or government.
It was essential to make the "maximum possible progress" in advance of that point, he said. "The principle that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed must be respected."
Mr Ahern added: "In particular, I want as many issues as possible to be effectively resolved before the final session of the IGC, to ensure that only a small number of highly sensitive points remain open for discussion and decision at our level."
