Bertie bullish on constitution, Lisbon and Bush

Date: 22/01/04

As the incoming presidency, Ireland was asked to consult, to assess and to report back to the European Council meeting in March. This is what we are now in the process of doing.

DC: YOU have made clear that you consider it urgent that talks on the draft EU constitution resume. From the discussions you have had with fellow EU leaders since the Irish presidency began, have you been able to pinpoint any areas where you think a compromise could be brokered in order to break the logjam that led to the collapse of last month's Brussels summit?

BA: During its term in office, the Italian presidency made genuine and significant progress across a wide range of issues. It made commendable efforts to reach agreement and we have thanked it for its work.

Despite this progress, however, a number of deeply sensitive issues remained to be resolved at the December meeting of the IGC [intergovernmental conference], including the question of voting weights in the Council of Ministers. It quickly became clear that the mood was not right, and that full agreement would not be achieved at this time.

I have had initial contacts with many of my European Council colleagues in recent weeks. All have indicated to me their commitment to helping us find a way forward. I will continue to explore with them how and when we can do this. I intend to make the fullest possible report to the European Council in March.

The Irish presidency will spare no effort to make progress and to facilitate consensus during our term. If a real prospect of agreement emerges, I will immediately seize the opportunity.

I understand you will be meeting with the Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller later this month. Given that his stance on voting rights has been widely regarded as a key factor behind the collapse of the Brussels summit, will you be making any specific requests of him to modify his position? If so, what will those requests be and, given that Spain has expressed similar concerns to Poland, will you be making the same requests to José María Aznar?

I will travel to Madrid to meet Prime Minister Aznar on 26 January and I will be meeting Prime Minister Miller in Dublin on 29 January. Following these consultations, we will be in a better position to make an assessment of the way forward. I will then report to the March European Council.

A number of countries have issues that still need to be resolved. We cannot deal with the problems of any one member state in isolation from the rest. What we need is the agreement of all. And, of course, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed. What I will be requesting of all my colleagues is their support and help so that we can move forward to achieve our common objective.

Injecting a fresh impetus into the "Lisbon agenda" of transforming the EU into the world's most competitive economy by 2010 is an important priority for the Irish presidency. If I may play Devil's advocate, is it not time to acknowledge that the Lisbon goal is unattainable, given the vast differences in the economic and social models found in Europe, on one hand, and the US and leading Asian economies, on the other?

We have identified the revitalization of the Lisbon agenda as one of our key presidency tasks. We want to highlight the relevance of the EU achieving its 2010 goals for the future welfare of European businesses and citizens. To achieve our 2010 goals requires effort at Community and member state levels. Our goals will not be achieved without action across the full range of issues and by all the relevant actors.

I have been a former labour minister, social affairs minister and finance minister. I am very committed to trying to make the economy work. When I was minister for labour, I chaired the cabinet committee on unemployment in Ireland when one-fifth of our workforce was unemployed. I am lucky enough now to be taoiseach when we have 4% unemployment. We have seen the economy turn around from six to seven years of negative growth in the 1980s to 8% growth on average for about eight consecutive years. So, I have a huge passion for economic issues and I honestly think that the issues contained in the Lisbon agenda give us the means to drive Europe forward.

We have prepared a focused agenda for the Spring European Council, concentrating on a few key priorities. I have written to my European Council colleagues outlining the approach that I intend to take.

Our twin priorities will be growth and employment. We must foster competitiveness as the key to generating growth and employment; delivering jobs and ensuring sustainable growth. These are the bread-and-butter issues of the European Union. Our success in achieving these goals will mean real benefits for our people.

Among the most interesting comments made about the Italian presidency were Ariel Sharon's remarks about Italy effectively being Israel's best friend in Europe. The Economist recently claimed that Ireland, by contrast, is "traditionally pro-Palestinian". How do you respond to that claim and have you any specific ideas about how the EU can contribute to efforts to resolve the Middle East conflict during the Irish presidency?

Relations between Ireland and Israel are well-established and friendly and I would expect that, as presidency, we would have the opportunity to build on those relations.

Our approach to the Middle East conflict is both balanced and even-handed between the parties. We wish to see two states living together within secure, internationally recognized borders. This is the vision set out in the speech of US President Bush on 24 June 2002, which was enthusiastically accepted by both parties, including Israel. As presidency, we will work with the international quartet [the EU, UN, US and Russia] to advance the "road-map" and achieve a two-state solution. The road-map has all the elements which must form part of any comprehensive settlement.

Do you think there is any realistic chance that transatlantic relations can be improved without a fundamental change in policy by the Bush administration? Or do you think that such matters as the recent US move to block several European countries from bidding for contracts in Iraq augurs badly for the future of EU-US ties?

Politically and economically, the EU and the US have never been more interdependent than we are today. It is not possible to be in full agreement on all issues all the time. Nonetheless, it is important that we manage any differences in a way that avoids damaging the overall relationship.

The EU-US relationship has been through a demanding period recently. However, we cannot let the recent divisions over policy in Iraq overshadow our traditionally close ties. And we should not lose sight of the fact that the international community came together last October in support of [UN] Security Council resolution 1511 on the reconstruction of Iraq.

It is important to remind ourselves that the EU-US relationship is stronger than any one issue, and that divisions over Iraq have overshadowed numerous areas of productive cooperation, including the Balkans where we have worked closely together to bring peace to the region.

The transatlantic relationship will be a significant part of our presidency agenda. As presidency we will work to reaffirm the strength, depth and significance of our relations and will focus on what unites us.

Interview with Irish Prime Minister (Taoiseach) Bertie Ahern on the challenges facing the Irish EU Presidency, January-June 2004.