French socialist MP Dominique Strauss-Kahn said in Dublin yesterday that the EU constitution would lead to a more social and democratic Europe.
Mr Strauss-Kahn met the Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, at Farmleigh House, and later met Minister for Finance Brian Cowen.
The visit is part of a tour of European capitals to publicise the wide-ranging report drawn up by Mr Strauss-Kahn on Europe's future which was presented to commission president Romano Prodi in May 2004.
In an interview with The Irish Times yesterday, Mr Strauss-Kahn, a former minister for finance, said there was lack of support for the constitution in France ahead of its referendum in six weeks.
It was a difficult campaign but he said he was still confident that it was possible to win. "Yes, it's anti-government. The government has a very low score in the polls. Most people say forget about the treaty. Chirac asks me to vote yes so I vote no," he said.
It was not rational. It was emotional and it was very difficult to argue, he said.
He explained his reasons for voting in favour of the constitution. "Until now we built an economic Europe, agreeing tariffs, the Cap, the euro. Now we need to do something which is more appealing, a more democratic Europe, more social, with parliamentary progress. It is the first step to a different Europe."
Asked about fears of a federal superstate, he replied: "It is very far from a superstate. In fact, some people in France are voting no because they think it does not go far enough towards a federal dream.
"This treaty is one step forward in trying to build something more political in Europe, but it's very far from organising some sort of superstate. Nobody wants it in Europe."
Mr Strauss-Kahn said the treaty made it possible to build a European defence.
"It's obvious that, for instance, when we had the Kosovo question, it would have been much more useful for Europe to be able to solve the questions alone without being obliged to ask Americans to help us.
"It's nothing to do with being neutral or not - nobody in Europe wants to fight in Europe. But the capacity of the European Union to send troops to maintain peace is something which we certainly have to do," he said.