Votes Crisis Hangs Over Ireland's Eu Presidency

Ireland's prime minister, Bertie Ahern, played down expectations for a speedy end to the EU's constitutional crisis as he took over the union's presidency yesterday.

Dublin is also promising to improve relations with the US and a "snappier" approach to EU business as it will be in charge when the union enlarges to 25 members, from its current 15, on May 1.

Mr Ahern's six-month stint in the presidency, launched during a brief ceremony at Dublin Castle, may be quieter than that of the outgoing incumbent, Italy's gaffe-prone Silvio Berlusconi, but possibly just as difficult.

The taoiseach is to take "soundings" about the constitutional talks, which collapsed at a summit in Brussels in mid-December.

"After the breakdown it is a time for reflection," he told the BBC's Today programme. Achieving a result would take "some time," he said.

Negotiations foundered over the question of voting rights which pitted France and Germany against Spain and Poland, who were resisting changes that would reduce their influence.

Mr Ahern is to report on prospects to the next EU summit in March, but elections in Spain the same month mean Madrid is unlikely to change its position.

"Our tactic will be to try and first of all to make sure that the issues involving compromises will hold, and then start testing the ground with the other countries to see how much progress we can make," he said.

If negotiations run into 2005 they risk coinciding with a general election in the UK, something which Tony Blair is keen to avoid.

One of the less controversial proposals in the draft constitution is to end the system of six-monthly presidencies and replace them with longer team efforts involving three or four member states.

Ireland, the EU's second smallest country, has a reputation of being a good European which recognises how it has prospered since joining the EEC in 1973.

But that may not be enough to guarantee success between now and July 1, when it hands over to the Netherlands.

With a successful enlargement its main priority, the government is planning a street party and "day of welcome" in Dublin and across the country on May 1 when the 10 new members - eight former communist countries plus Cyprus and Malta - join the EU.

The Irish will also have to deal with the messy politics of choosing a president of the European commission to replace Romano Prodi, as well as overseeing the start of potentially explosive negotiations on the union's six-year budget.

Advancing the slow-moving "Lisbon" agenda for a more dynamic and competitive EU economy will also not be easy.

Other Irish goals, said Mr Ahern, include patching up EU relations with the US after recent bitter disagreements over Iraq, trade and global warming. President George Bush is expected to visit Dublin for the EU-US summit in Dublin in June.

Brian Cowen, Ireland's foreign minister, said the enlargement meant it was important bad habits were not allowed to form and that the way in which the expanded union did business was established from the very start.

"At the end of the day, when people look back, it will be the presidency when the union formally went from 15 to 25," he told the Irish Independent.

"One of the legacies we would like to leave is a snappier, business-like approach on how we do business. Once you move into 25 if you don't get it right it becomes the norm and it is very hard to undo it. We need to address how we do our business on practical issues."