EU CONSTITUTION: President Chirac of France and Chancellor Schröder of Germany hope the EU constitution can be agreed under the Irish presidency, "but not at any price".
Mr Chirac told journalists after an informal meeting near Berlin yesterday that he had entrusted Mr Schröder to represent France's interests at yesterday evening's meeting with the Taoiseach in Dublin.
"We believe the constitutional process must draw to a close and we hope it will come under the Irish presidency, but not at any price," said Mr Schröder before leaving for Ireland.
Mr Chirac said he also "wished for an accord" under the Irish presidency. "If this does not happen then in any case we must try to find an accord by the end of the Dutch presidency at the end of 2004," he said.
The French President said that, after representing Germany at EU talks in Brussels before Christmas, he had asked Mr Schröder to return the favour yesterday evening in Dublin. "Our positions on European Union themes are identical," said Mr Chirac, calling their "unanimity" an illustration of the quality of Franco-German relations.
The two leaders reiterated their determination to press for the adopting of the double majority voting system. Poland and Spain are anxious to retain the voting system agreed at Nice which gives them greater voting influence.
Mr Chirac will return to Berlin later this month for tripartite talks with Mr Schröder and the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, on February 18th.
News of the planned talks has provoked irritation among their European counterparts who weren't invited.
"Europe must have many voices and a board of directors would only lead to tensions," said Ms Ana Palacio, the Spanish Foreign Minister. Her Italian counterpart, Mr Franco Frattini, said: "This hypothesis of a European board of directors causes us concern," adding that Europe needed a mechanism for power sharing and not concentration of power among a hard core of states.
Meanwhile, Mr Blair will arrive in Berlin later this week for talks with Mr Schröder, according to a German government spokesman yesterday. Mr Blair and Mr Schröder are expected to discuss the EU summit next month, the situation in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as broader Middle East issues.
German analysts have suggested that, having been drawn closer to Paris over the Iraq war, Mr Schröder is now eager to improve relations with London as a counterweight.
Greeks and Greek Cypriots yesterday backed UN plans to restart talks on a Cyprus settlement but said decisions on security issues like troop withdrawals would have to wait until after Greece's March 7th elections.
"We welcome the announcement of the United Nations secretary general (Kofi Annan) and Greece and Cyprus are ready for the immediate start of negotiations," the outgoing Greek prime minister, Mr Costas Simitis, said after meeting Greek Cypriot President, Mr Tassos Papadopoulos.