Ahern and Blair to discuss North impasse at Brussels summit
The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair are due to discuss the stalled Irish peace process during an EU summit in Brussels over the next two days.
The two leaders will hold private talks on the fringe of the summit tomorrow as attempts continue to secure an agreement to restore devolved government in the North.
The IRA has apparently signalled its willingness to decommission all its weapons and end all paramilitary activity, but negotiations have stalled due to the DUP's demands for changes to the workings of the Northern Assembly.
Both Sinn Féin and the SDLP believe the changes would undermine the principle of the Good Friday Agreement by effectively leading to a return to unionist majority rule.
