Hats off to Bertie at handover of EU presidency

Normal business resumes for the Government today after a gruelling six months holding the European Union presidency.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has received plaudits for rescuing an EU constitution deal which, in January, seemed out of reach.

His turn at the EU helm also saw the successful completion of the largest EU expansion, and agreement – just – on a new European Commission president.

Overshadowing it all was the run-up to the European elections last month, which gave most parties in power across Europe a bloody nose at the polls, and proved that even a populist communicator such as Mr Ahern could not make a dent in growing EU apathy.

Today the Government reinforcements drafted into Brussels to help run the presidency were packing their bags and heading for home.

The EU presidency involves steering the Union’s agenda, brokering deals, building political bridges, and advancing policy.

Ireland took control just as a clutch of “big picture” European political events came to the boil.

Mr Ahern inherited a proposed European constitution crisis. Talks had collapsed in December under Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi’s EU presidency and no one held out much of hope of kick-starting them in the near future.

Mr Ahern took the stage insisting he would not risk another failure, but making clear he was not consigning the historic plans to the back burner. He embarked upon a schedule of visits across Europe to sound out his EU counterparts about the chances of mending fences and getting a deal.

He worked for months behind the scenes, promising nothing, but finally gambling on securing a crucial, historic constitution accord before Ireland handed on the EU baton.

Even when the constitution deal looked like turning sour, EU diplomats made it clear no one could have tried harder.

“Whatever the outcome of the constitution, you won’t hear anyone criticise Bertie’s efforts. He’s been magnificent,” said one senior British diplomat.

Those plaudits were reinforced when a deal emerged from the bitter feuding of the June summit in Brussels. Mr Ahern received a rare standing ovation from a group of political leaders who hours earlier had barely been on speaking terms.

There was more on the Irish Government’s EU plate during the last six months: Mr Ahern presided successfully over the final stages of the largest-ever EU expansion, and, in the final days of his EU reign, resolved deep national disputes over who should be the next president of the European Commission.

The chosen one, Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barosso, summed up the Irish presidency minutes after accepting the Commission job on Tuesday night in Brussels.

He said: “We have reached the end of an Irish presidency that will live in our memories as a great presidency. What a great job Bertie has done.”

And outgoing Commission President Romano Prodi said: “Hats off to Bertie. He has been a leader in another real success story for Europe.”

The only dampener – out of the Irish presidency’s control – has been the growing hostility in many parts of Europe towards the Union.

The June euro-poll saw the lowest-ever turnout across the member states, and Dutch premier Jan-Peter Balkenende takes over the EU presidency on a mission to improve the Union’s public relations if possible.