THE Taoiseach, Mr Bruton, predicted yesterday that Britain would not seek a confrontation at next week's European Union summit in Dublin over European Monetary Union or German proposals to introduce more flexibility into EU decision making.
Mr Bruton said that Ireland's draft European Union treaty had been well received and that finance ministers were near to agreement on a stability pact for the single currency.
Speaking from Bonn, after a 45 minute meeting with the German Chancellor, Dr Helmut Kohl, the Taoiseach said he would be surprised if the summit produced any such conflict.
"I don't think there will be a confrontation on any of these issues with Britain", he said.
Mr Bruton's remarks came amid evidence of deadlock between Paris and Bonn over a Franco German initiative to be launched in Nuremburg on Monday.
The Irish Times has learned that the two sides are struggling to find agreement on Franco German military co operation, the role of a possible European foreign and security policy supremo, and the "stability pact Germany wants linked to membership of EMU.
France wants to build a joint spy satellite with Germany, but although Dr Kohl supports the project, the German Defence Ministry insists that it is too expensive.
German officials believe that until such a policy becomes a reality, there is no role for such a figure.
The deadlock over the EMU Stability Pact is understood to centre on the penalties to be imposed on member states who stray from the strict economic criteria.
Paris also resists Bonn's rigid interpretation of the nature of a recession, which would allow member states to bend the rules.
Mr Bruton said that Britain's single currency opt out meant that an decision London makes about joining EMU would have little effect on the future of the project as a whole. But he warned that Britain could forfeit influence on EMU negotiations if it ruled out joining the currency in advance.
"It's obvious that people who intend to participate in something will pay more attention to the views of others who intend to participate than to non participants."
The Taoiseach praised the progress made during the Irish Presidency, on such issues as the fight against crime, drugs, and child sex abuse.
British sources suggest that the radical proposal for open borders within Europe could provoke even greater controversy at next week's summit than disagreement over the single currency.
Mr Bruton, who will visit Paris and London next week before hosting the summit on December 13th-14th, said the Dublin summit would give the final formal approval to the decision to launch EMU on January 1st, 1999.
A plan for multi speed integration, the so called "flexibility clause" that Germany and France say is essential for any real reform of the EU, may not need to be written into the new treaty, he said.
"We already have flexibility in the sense that we have opt outs for two countries in certain matters,"
There were strong arguments for, and against including a "flexibility clause"
The Taoiseach said he and Dr Kohl had also agreed the Dublin summit should make a strong statement on the goal of fighting unemployment in the EU.
The summit would also focus on preparing an action plan for fighting organised crime which should be ready for approval in Amsterdam. The issue of the sexual abuse of children, "a problem of particular concern in several European countries", would also be addressed.
