Iers voorzitterschap stelt een officiële doorstart van de IGC voor (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The Irish EU Presidency is expected to recommend to EU leaders tomorrow in Brussels that talks on the Constitution be revived.

Following substantial moves in recent days by France, Germany, Spain and Poland, Irish prime minister and current head of the EU Bertie Ahern is set to push for an early deal on the Constitution.

In a letter sent to his fellow EU leaders yesterday, (23 March) reference is made to the importance of an early agreement on the Constitution.

Mr Ahern's decision follows months of behind-the-scenes work since talks collapsed on the treaty at the end of last year which saw him meet or speak to leaders from the 24 other member states of the enlarged EU.

Crunch time

However, the decision has to be taken by all. If leaders back the Irish Presidency and give the go-ahead for talks to be revived - and there are strong signs that they will do so - then it will be crunch time for the EU.

"There cannnot be another failure", a diplomat from a large country told the EUobserver; "otherwise the EU risks going into a period of stagnation".

After the talks collapsed in acrimony in December, Europe went through a period of bitter self-reflection about whether there should be a core Europe, a two-speed Europe or a multi-speed Europe.

In recent weeks however these terms have no longer been aired and the mood has shifted towards optimism.

The real breakthrough came after the Spanish general elections on 14 March when the prime minister-elect José Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said his country was ready to find a solution on the Constitution.

This week both France and Poland, the other big players in negotiations on the treaty, have also made conciliatory moves.

Balance of power

However, the big institutional questions still remain - as they involve the balance of power in a future EU.

These include a new decision-making system, the number of Commissioners and seats in the European Parliament - the latter are set to be used as bargaining chips on the voting issue.

Other difficult topics include the remaining vetoes in the draft Constitution which are mainly in the areas of foreign policy and justice and home affairs.

EU leaders will discuss the Constitution as well as anti-terror and economic issues when they meet in Brussels for the European Summit tomorrow.