The new European Union treaty provides the bloc with a opportunity to come out of its "torpor" and reactivate the reform process, Minister of State for European Affairs Dick Roche has said.
In an address to the National Forum on Europe in Dublin today, Mr Roche insisted the essence of the failed constitution has been preserved in the new "reform" treaty.
"The reforms will be delivered in a different and in my view a less elegant form - but the essential elements, including the Charter of Fundamental Rights, can now be delivered," he said.
Looking forward to the referendum on the Treaty which will be held in 2008, Mr Roche said: "Among the many lessons to be learned from the Nice Treaty debate is that we must keep language about the EU accurate and clear.
"Above all else we must deal openly with fears and apprehensions about the impact of change at the EU level," he warned.
Mr Roche said he believed that the reforms in the treaty in relation to the principle of subsidiarity and the new enhanced role for national parliaments would go a long way to easing concerns.