Senior officials from the European Union's 25 member-states will meet in Dublin tomorrow for the first time in an enlarged Union to start six weeks of intense negotiations on a new constitutional treaty. Denis Staunton, European Correspondent, reports.
The meeting at Croke Park, which follows Saturday's gathering of EU leaders in Dublin to welcome 10 new member-states, will discuss a new draft text for the treaty, which is due to be agreed at a summit in Brussels next month.
The Taoiseach yesterday began a series of individual meetings with EU leaders when he discussed the treaty with the Slovenian prime minister, Mr Anton Rop. Mr Ahern said afterwards that all governments would have to be flexible if agreement is to be found next month.
The Taoiseach suggested that religious leaders, including Pope John Paul II, who wanted the constitution to make an explicit reference to God and Christianity, were likely to be disappointed.
"There is a reference to religious values. I do not think we will get a reference to God. I think the wording that is there now will probably stay the same. There might be some change, but I do not think it is going to change substantially. I know some countries are continuing to keep the issue open but it is not something that has been raised much with me in recent weeks," he said.
Irish presidency officials said yesterday that the race to succeed Mr Romano Prodi as Commission president would begin in earnest this week. They said that the Taoiseach was starting the search for a successor with "a blank sheet" and that no frontrunner had yet emerged.
Diplomatic sources said that the Belgian prime minister, Mr Guy Verhofstadt, indicated to other leaders over dinner in Farmleigh House on Saturday that he would be available for the job. The External Affairs Commissioner, Mr Chris Patten, also emerged as a possible candidate over the weekend, although he told the BBC that he would need "a great deal of persuading" to accept the post.
The president of the European Parliament, Mr Pat Cox, will announce in Strasbourg on Wednesday if he intends to seek re-election at next month's European elections. He is widely expected to step down and he has made no secret of his ambition to join the Commission, either as president or as Ireland's next commissioner.
Saturday's flag-raising ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin was the climax of a weekend of celebrations throughout Europe to mark the EU's biggest ever expansion. The President, Mrs McAleese, told EU leaders that they were witnessing "a landmark day" for the people of Europe.
On Saturday, protesters marched from Dublin city centre to the Phoenix Park during the official events taking place at Farmleigh and the Áras. Gardaí said about 1,500 people marched. In clashes at the park's Ashtown Gate gardaí deployed water cannon and made a series of arrests. Some 23 people appeared in court in the early hours of yesterday morning. Most were Irish students in their 20s.
Mr Ahern said yesterday: "Yesterday was a great and historic day for 450 million Europeans. We had reports yesterday, I think in all of the marches there were under 2,000 people participated in those. Of course I fully accept that in any democracy people have a right to protest, but protest peacefully. What happened last night on the Navan Road at the Ashtown Gate of the Phoenix Park was unfortunate. It was a small band of deliberate troublemakers who tried to mar a wonderful day, but they didn't succeed in doing that."
He said he "would like to congratulate the professionalism of the gardaí". He said they were "very calm" and "handled it wonderfully".