A lot done, very little left to do at EU level

Political Editor Harry McGee says after our successful presidency, thoughts now turn to domestic affairs.

IT has all been played out. In two days time, Ireland’s six-month presidency will have come to an end. At Dromoland Castle this weekend, the Taoiseach was tying up the loose strings, namely a tricky EU-US summit and reaching agreement on a new President of the Commission.

Both challenges have now been all but done. George Bush has come and gone. The unassuming Portugese prime minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso now looks certain to be ratified as Romano Prodi’s successor tomorrow night. Bertie Ahern’s problems from here on in will be domestic ones.