The Taoiseach has said the EU Treaty could be simplified and it may be possible for certain protocols to be written into it in order to satisfy the concerns of the Netherlands and France.
Bertie Ahern told the Dáil that when EU membership increases to 27 at the end of the year, the realisation that not every State will have a Commissioner will 'concentrate minds considerably' on sorting out the Treaty.
He was responding to a question from Labour leader Pat Rabbitte on whether a referendum might take place on the issue next year.
Mr Ahern also spoke about tensions between the EU and the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
The Taoiseach said that at October's European Council meeting in Finland, there were considerable tensions between EU members and President Putin.
He said that since then, these tensions had increased.
He was speaking in answer to questions from Socialist Party leader Joe Higgins and Green Party leader Trevor Sargent, both of whom expressed concerns about human rights in Russia.
