Ierland krijgt lof voor hervatting Grondwet-besprekingen (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - Revived talks on the EU Constitution today took place in a "friendly" atmosphere and with a renewed urgency to get a deal this side of the June European elections.

An hour-long informal discussion between EU foreign ministers - the first since negotiations failed last month - saw the majority of member states stress that an agreement must be reached on the treaty blueprint as soon as possible.

Irish Foreign Minister and current head of the Council, Brian Cowen, said there was "considerable common ground" and that the feeling was that "there was a need to proceed with a real sense of urgency".

"We can't continue to devote all our energy to soul-searching on the European Constitution", said Mr Cowen pragmatically.

Several member states stressed that the problems will only grow the longer the process takes particularly as the EU faces other challenges this year including the ending of the current Commission's mandate.

French Foreign Minister Dominique de Villepin said it would be a "fantastic signal" if negotiations were finalised before the June elections.

Joschka Fischer German Foreign Minister said that "everybody is asked to reach a compromise" before this date.

"If there is no agreement in the coming months ... then the issue will become less urgent", said Polish Foreign Minister Wlodzimierz Cimoszewicz.

Praise for the Irish approach

Overall, there was praise for the step-by-step approach taken by the Irish Presidency towards the Constitution.

Mr de Villepin praised it as "determined and realistic".

"There is a lot of goodwill towards the Presidency", said Mr Cowen. Ireland has been following a very low-key approach with a series of bilateral meetings and has been playing down the possibility of agreement on the Constitution.

"They appreciate that we don't talk up the prospects without a sound basis", an Irish diplomat said.

The next step for the Irish is to prepare the "fullest possible" report on the general state of affairs regarding the Constitution. This will be presented to EU leaders in March.

Assuming all goes to plan, the Irish are likely to suggest that EU leaders hold an informal meeting on the EU Constitution before the enlargement ceremony in Dublin on 1 May.

Talks on the Constitution collapsed last December in Brussels after a row over voting weights. Poland and Spain wanted to keep the current system - in which Poland has nearly as much power as Germany. But Germany and France wanted to move to a "double majority" system where laws being passed would need to have the support of 50 percent of countries representing 60 percent of the EU's population.