Ahern downbeat on agreeing EU Constitution

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday warned that a resolution of the EU Constitution impasse would become much more difficult after this summer's European elections.

Speaking in Rome after meeting with his predecessor as EU president, Silvio Berlusconi, Mr Ahern was downbeat about agreeing a new constitution once elections changed the European political landscape.

In addition, negotiations are further hampered by the fact that two of the countries at the centre of the current disagreement, Spain and Poland, are facing their own internal elections.