Taoiseach Enda Kenny and British prime minister David Cameron meet in Downing Street on Monday to discuss Britain's negotiations on remaining in the European Union, with London's ambassador to Dublin warning that support for remaining in is "wafer thin".
Government sources expect Mr Cameron to provide Mr Kenny with an update on his negotiations to date.
European Council president Donald Tusk and his officials are working on a detailed legal document that they expect to present to officials from the EU's remaining 27 member states at meetings provisionally scheduled for February 5th and February 12th in Brussels.
The hope is to then reach an agreement at leaders’ level at the EU summit on February 18th and 19th.
Central member
"We are supportive of Britain staying a central member of the European Union," the Taoiseach told RTÉ Radio yesterday. "I think it would be very much weaker without Britain and clearly, consequences here potentially would be very serious."
However, Mr Cameron has said he is prepared to defer agreement on a package until after February. Some sources suggest that while substantial progress will be made at the February summit, they do not expect a deal to be finalised then.
Mr Kenny said he hoped agreement could be reached, adding that any changes should benefit all member states.
On the British demand to opt out of the EU commitment towards “ever closer union”, the Government is said to see it as “eccentric” but nevertheless to understand the political necessity of it to Mr Cameron.
Irish officials are also said to be sceptical that another of Mr Cameron’s objectives, ensuring those outside the euro zone are not materially disadvantaged and do not lose influence in shaping the common market, could be technically achieved.
A well-placed source said other European countries often canvassed the opinion of Irish officials to discern the intentions of Britain in negotiations, because of the close ties between the two countries.
Wafer thin
British support for remaining was "wafer thin" but a successful renegotiation of its membership could persuade voters to stay, Britain's ambassador to Ireland told the Fine Gael ardfheis at the weekend.
Dominick Chilcott also said it was important that Irish people in the UK who were entitled to vote, as well as the millions of British people of Irish descent, exercised their right to vote in the referendum.
He also asked delegates to ask any British citizens living in Ireland whom they may meet while canvassing for the general election to exercise their right to vote in the referendum. They could do so if they had been registered to vote in Britain during the past 15 years, he said.
