EU leaders bid to put expansion back on track
Europe's leaders are having to rebuild confidence in the EU after Ireland's shock rejection of the Nice Treaty on enlargement.
A summit in Gothenburg will sift the debris of last week's Irish referendum which has thrown future expansion into doubt.
The Government has already issued reassurances that the country is fully committed to the EU and to the enlargement programme.
But the "no" has raised fears of a wider backlash unless the member states do a better job explaining Europe to its citizens.
The setback at the polls has become the focus of a two-day meeting in Sweden which is due to discuss progress towards welcoming in a dozen central and eastern European countries in the next few years.
The Nice Treaty was agreed by EU leaders at a summit last December, introducing major changes in the running of the EU.
But unless it is ratified by all 15 member state parliaments, the whole project could be scuppered.
Now the front runners for membership - Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic - are demanding clear signals from EU leaders that there is no change of heart on expansion and that the timetable will not slip.
The deadline for ratifying the Treaty is the end of next year, leaving the Government and the Commission plenty of time to get the process back on track.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern will be told that there can be no changes to the Treaty and that it is up to his Government to win round the voters in time to stage another referendum which can overturn last week's "no".
