Ahern fêted at €13m constitution bash

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern’s role in securing the EU constitution was recognised at the lavish, €13 million signing of the agreement yesterday in Rome.

As the person who master-minded getting the leaders of all 25 EU member states to agree the final document in June, Mr Ahern was one of just three prime ministers to speak in the splendid Michaelangelo designed Palazzo dei Conservatori in Rome.

But he warned that the signing ceremony was just the beginning of a process, to ratify the constitution in each state, which is expected to take two years.

There will be a referendum in at least nine, including Ireland, France, Britain and Spain and if any one country rejects it, the fruit of two years work by elected representatives from all of Europe’s governments will not come into force.

“The process of ratification will not be easy, but with energy and determination, it can and will be successful”, he told them.

Outside there were 7,000 army and police on special security duty, F16 jet fighters patrolled the skies over the Eternal City and traffic in the streets was disrupted.

But using specially designed pens that would not scratch the paper on which the constitution was printed, each of the prime ministers and foreign ministers put their names to the 300 page document that replaces an estimated 80,000 pages of previous treaties.

The signing was done in the same blue and gilt room where the six founding countries of the EU signed the first Rome Treaty in 1957 under the gaze of the giant sculpture of Pope Urban VIII and with the voice of Irish singer Enya in the background.

The Taoiseach was one of just two cithóg’s (left handers) to sign the document. Unlike in Athens last year, when he signed his name in Irish, he joked afterwards that he had used the English version this time to confuse future generations when they would note two Aherns - himself and Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern, who also signed.

He was upbeat about the constitution being ratified and said the leaders were much more positive about having it passed than they were last June when he horse traded on the final details of the document aimed at fixing and clarifying the powers of the EU for the future.

He described the British Prime Minister, Tony Blair as being “up for it”, referring to the decision by the British government to put the Constitution to a vote despite a widespread belief that it will be almost impossible to get a yes vote in the deeply Eurosceptic country.

There result of the votes in several other countries is also likely to be uncertain.

Appearing tense and glum, many remarked that Mr Blair looked as though he was signing his political death warrant.