Snelle hervatting van besprekingen onder Iers voorzitteschap (en)

EUOBSERVER / DUBLIN - Following a meeting with the European Commission, the recently-started Irish EU Presidency has stressed the need to move quickly on the stalled talks on the Constitution.

Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern said it is "urgent that we take stock [and] that we move forward as soon as possible".

He admitted that a number of key issues have yet to be resolved but said that consultations "will intensify over the days ahead".

But he was pragmatic about the direction of the talks, saying that success "ultimately depends on [whether] collective political will exists".

This political will was missing during the December EU Summit when talks collapsed in acrimony over the contested new voting system.

Reporting in March to EU leaders

Ireland means to consult on a behind-the-scenes basis to see if it is possible to make a public commitment to try and progress on the talks - it will report to all EU leaders at a Summit meeting in March.

Just before the March Summit, France, Germany and the UK will meet to discuss how they think the Constitution talks will proceed - but Mr Ahern denied that his presidency's efforts would be undermined by this meeting.

Prodi and Ahern play down differences

Both the Irish Prime Minister and European Commission President Romano Prodi played down their recent differences over a two-speed Europe.

Mr Prodi recently said in an interview that a two-speed EU was inevitable if European leaders failed to agree on the text of a proposed EU constitution.

Answering journalists questions on Tuesday (6 January), he said the idea of a two-speed Europe was "becoming a bit of an obsession" adding that "if you are really a believer in Europe, your mission is to go ahead all together".

"I think I am perfectly in line with the Irish Prime Minister".

His remarks come after Mr Ahern said the Commission President's statements on a two-speed Europe were "not helpful".

Aside from the talks on the Constitution Ireland's other priorities are ensuring a successful transition from 15 to 25 member states on 1 May, progressing in the area of justice and home affairs and making headway on the EU's stalled plans to turn itself into the world's most dynamic economy by 2010 - known as the Lisbon agenda.