European Union foreign ministers will resume talks on a proposed constitution for the bloc next week, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, said today.
EU leaders left a summit in Brussels in December unable to agree the text of the constitution, which was drafted to enable the bloc to function smoothly when it expands on May 1st to from 15 countries to 25, with 450 million citizens.
Mr Cowen told the European Parliament he would host an informal lunch on Monday for foreign ministers of the 25 current and future EU state, as well as representatives from the Commission, the European Parliament and aspirant states Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey.
Until Mr Cowen's announcement today, the constitution had not been expected to be on the agenda of next week's monthly meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels.
Mr Cowen warned that unless governments were prepared to shift from last month's entrenched positions, there would be little possibility of success. "The fact of the matter is that if everyone retains their positions as things stand, we don't get a result," he said.
Last Wednesday the Taoiseach told the European Parliament that any excessive delay in agreeing on the constitution would damage the credibility of the EU
Mr Ahern said Ireland, as EU president, would "spare no effort to make progress and to facilitate consensus during our term in office."
"This issue will command the highest priority under our Presidency," Mr Ahern added. "I do passionately believe making progress in the short term will be better and safer".
Additional reporting Reuters