TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern is expected to hold the first of a series of face-to-face meetings with European leaders to discuss last month’s Intergovernmental Conference (IGC) and the failure to agree on the proposed Constitutional Treaty.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs has announced a joint Irish, Finnish, Swedish and Austrian proposal on defence.

ANY EUROPEAN moves towards harmonising tax rates across the EU would prevent Ireland from properly managing its own economic conditions, the Department of Finance has warned.

Gay Mitchell TD was today elected chairman of the new Dail Select Committee on European Affairs.