Dermot Ahern (Louth, Fianna Fail)

It is fair to say some countries are not particularly enamoured with the position. Some countries have indicated they would require a referendum at the end of the process. This causes some difficulty and clearly demonstrates they are saying to the rest of the European Union that no matter what the Union agrees, they plan to have a popular vote on the issue.

Much of the concern relates to general uneasiness in the European Union about further enlargement. It is felt the Union has enlarged too rapidly over a short period and that given we cannot reform the structures, as per the draft constitution, any further enlargement must wait until we have those structures in place. We have a commitment with regard to Turkey and Croatia and further commitments with regard to the Balkans in general.

We are conscious there is within the Union a feeling that we should pause and reflect on the issues. This feeling comes via the political systems in member states which hear the message from their people, as exemplified by the votes in the referenda in France and Holland with regard to the constitution. There is no doubt, however, that some countries are using the Turkish issue to slow the process.

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