Brussels, 25/03/2004 (Agence Europe) - The report by the Irish Presidency on constitutional negotiation is very positive. As foreseen, it confirms that the Constitution may be rapidly adopted if there is the political will to do so. As Bertie Ahern was to confirm on Thursday evening before the Heads of State or Government during the working dinner, the report states the Presidency's willingness to move forward at a pace that suits them best. The document sets out solutions that may rapidly be found to all issues but does not give a date for addressing these issues - either the June summit or before. The dinner on Thursday evening should therefore provide the last opportunity for the 25 to chose between a short time period allowing the campaign on the European Constitution to be opened, or a longer period deferring adoption of the Constitution till after the European elections.
In its report, the Irish Presidency notes there is a "strong shared sense of the desirability of concluding negotiations as soon as possible" and that most issues still pending "could be resolved without undue difficulty". The IGC should work on the basis of the principle, reiterated since last December, that nothing is attained until everything is approved. The Presidency reaffirms that the large number of provisions set out in the draft constitutional treaty prepared by the Convention are not being brought into question. It also confirms that many of the proposals put forward by the Italian Presidency and taken up in the document presented to the European Council in December (IGC 60 ADD 1 and ADD 2) would benefit from "broad positive consensus in the context of an overall agreement".