Midway through his major visit to Europe this week, President George Bush yesterday met most of the continent's political leaders at summit meetings of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation and the European Union.
In his speech in Brussels on Monday, he expressed US support for democratic unity in Europe as part of a wider relationship between freedom and peace, underlining that America needs a "strong Europe" as a partner in this endeavour and in its own political and economic interests. In listening mode, he has heard several forthright pleas for a more equal transatlantic partnership. He has had detailed discussions on Iraq, Iran, China, the Middle East, climate change and other crucial issues in world politics.
These are important encounters with potentially lasting effects. They represent a real change of mood compared to the last four years. As the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, said yesterday in Brussels after the summit meeting, the level of US engagement, preparation and respect for the European side means that the transatlantic relationship is now very different. The president of the European Commission, Mr Barroso, said he believes it has turned the corner on the hostility and suspicion which arose from the US-led invasion of Iraq.
Such psychological shifts of mood definitely matter at the highest levels of politics; but they are, of course, not sufficient to ensure action, and deeds go in the same direction as rhetoric. The obstacles to improved relations over the longer term have been clearly identified during the last two days. While the US and the EU are to co-host an international conference on rebuilding Iraq, NATO allies yesterday gave minimal commitments to help out the US-led coalition there. How to tackle Iran's nuclear ambitions remains a central point of disagreement. Progress on an Israeli-Palestinian agreement will depend on co-ordinated action from both sides of the Atlantic, as will regulating arms sales to China. Mr Bush's references to closer co-operation in tackling climate change are a long way from the urgency pointed up by the latest scientific research on the world's oceans, which shows how far global warming has gone.
If transatlantic relations are genuinely to be transformed they must become more equal, with the development of new frameworks for political, foreign policy and security dialogue. This imperative was stated clearly at yesterday's summits and is now firmly on the US-EU agenda. That is the most important thing to emerge from these events. It could be a historic change.