Taoiseach Brian Cowen has said that he hoped to break the deadlock sparked by the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty at a summit of EU leaders next week.
'I remain hopeful and optimistic,' Mr Cowen said following talks with French President Nicolas Sarkozy, whose country holds the EU presidency.
'We had a very good discussion with President Sarkozy ... we are happy with the progress that we are making.'
'My hopes are that we can progress in the discussions during the course of next week and come up with conclusions to which all member states will sign up to and agree,' he added following the talks in Paris, the last stop in a European tour.
Ireland's rejection of the Lisbon Treaty in a referendum in June forced the 27-member bloc to put its plans for structural reform on hold.
'My job is to assess the national interests of our country and to discharge our obligations as full members of the European Union,' Mr Cowen said.
'My duty is to make sure that the concerns expressed during the last referendum are understood and then find a solution that would make us able to allay those concerns.'
Mr Cowen is also travelling to Brussels for talks with the EU Commission President, José Manuel Barroso.
Today's talks are focusing on the Lisbon Treaty, environmental issues and the international financial crisis.
Ireland's No must be respected: McCreevy
Ireland's referendum vote to reject the EU's reform treaty has to be respected, Charlie McCreevy has said in a magazine interview.
The former finance minister told Hot Press magazine that he did not know whether the Government would re-run run the Lisbon Treaty vote which plunged the 27-nation bloc into institutional limbo.
Questioned about whether Ireland might become isolated if it did not ratify the treaty, Mr McCreevy said that if the only answer to Lisbon was Yes, then there was 'no point in putting the question to any of the other 26 countries'.
'The Irish people said No. And that decision has to be respected by our European partners as well. There is no provision in the existing treaties to isolate anybody,' Mr McCreevy said.
