EU:Ireland is to receive an invitation to an informal private gathering of EU member states in Madrid later this month aimed at promoting the ratification of the European constitutional treaty, The Irish Times has learned. Deaglán de Bréadún, Foreign Affairs Correspondent, reports.
It is likely that Ireland will be the only member state in attendance that has not yet ratified the treaty. So far, 18 member states have approved the document either at parliamentary level or through a referendum, and the Madrid meeting, organised by the Spanish and Luxembourg governments, was originally confined to that group.
However, the Government approached Spain and Luxembourg to express a desire to attend the "friends of the constitution" talks in Madrid on the basis that Ireland was a strong supporter of the treaty which was finalised and agreed under our European presidency, led by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
Diplomatic sources said Ireland argued that the spectrum of support for proceeding with the treaty without major modification or amendment should be widened. "We made the point that it would be good to broaden the base."
Following these representations, Ireland is now being invited. The meeting will be at junior ministerial level and the Government will be represented by Minister of State for European Affairs Noel Treacy.
Spain and Luxembourg are the only two member states so far to have ratified the treaty by referendum. A further meeting is planned for Luxembourg on February 27th, with all member states being invited, including those that have rejected or have still not ratified the treaty.
These informal meetings are intended to boost the campaign by the incoming German presidency to revive the process of ratification, despite the fact that Czech prime minister Mirek Topolanek has described the treaty as "a non-issue" (before he took office, he said the document was "shit").
The Czech Republic, Denmark, Poland and the UK are seen as the countries where the constitution will have the most difficult passage. Ireland, Portugal and Sweden have not yet ratified either, while France and the Netherlands have previously rejected the document in referendums.
Nicolas Sarkozy, one of the two main candidates in the forthcoming presidential election in France, has suggested a pared-down "mini-constitution" that could perhaps be ratified at parliamentary level, without the need for a new referendum.
The German presidency plans to issue a Berlin declaration in March with a view to creating a more favourable atmosphere for implementation of the constitution.
Opposing the Madrid meeting, British Liberal MEP Andrew Duff said: "The initiative of Spain and Luxembourg carries the serious risk of dividing the union."