EU capitals divided over 'two speed' Europe

Ireland’s prime minister has warned against the emergence of a ‘two speed’ Europe as Dublin takes over the EU’s rotating presidency.

Bertie Ahern has hit back at a hard-core of EU players seeking to push ahead with greater integration.

Berlin, Paris and European Commission President Romano Prodi have raised the prospect of a group of strongly pro-European countries, led by France and Germany, ‘going it alone’.

But the Irish premier claims this a move that would “create a lot of difficulties, a lot of division”.

Europe’s leaders have entered 2004 deeply divided over the future of the EU.

A December summit’s failure to agree a European constitution has generated calls for a ‘two-speed’ Europe.

Speaking on Friday Prodi insisted that the EU could no longer move at the speed of “the slowest wagon” and backed moves by some to forge ahead.

But Ahern has dismissed Prodi’s comment as “a quick one-liner” and highlighted, as he assumes the EU leadership role, the need for Europe to pull together.

“A two-speed Europe - with one group going ahead and others being left behind - would create a lot of division and a lot of difficulties,” he told the BBC on Sunday.

“There are integrationists in Europe that want to move at an enormously fast pace, there are others who want to move at a more moderate pace, and it is the challenge for Europe to be able to deal with those issues in a sensible way.”

The Irish EU presidency is launching a round of talks in a bid to re-launch constitutional talks as soon as possible.

Dublin must report to EU leaders in March on the future of treaty negotiations which stalled last month after a bitter row on voting strengths.

A deal to clinch an EU constitution is unlikely in a year of European parliament and Spanish elections, a new European commission and spending talks, pushing discussion into 2005.

Ahern faces an uphill struggle in the meantime to convince pro-European countries not to push on without the rest.

German leader Gerhard Schröder has warned that a European vanguard may be inevitable – and ruled out any compromise on the voting issue which scuppered constitution talks.

“I don't want it but I have to be prepared that developments could move in that direction,” he said in a Der Spiegel interview published on Monday.

“Naturally we will have to see if there are areas where we can come closer. But there will be no concessions on the weighting of votes in the council.”

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