Ahern to meet heads of state to resolve EU row

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.

On Tuesday night, the Taoiseach spoke by telephone to the leaders of the four countries whose disagreement led to the breakdown of the Treaty negotiations in December.

Mr Ahern’s spokesman said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, French President Jacques Chirac and Polish Prime Minister Leszek Miller had all pledged their support in the Taoiseach’s efforts to bring a resolution to the problem.