The European Union's instinct to find a political consensus in the face of its evident disunity over Iraq made a success of last evening's summit meeting in Brussels. The binding conclusions adopted by all those attending puts Iraqi compliance with United Nations demands that it disarm its weapons of mass destruction at the top of the EU's agenda.
The threat of force is acknowledged to be essential in securing Iraq's compliance. War is not seen as inevitable, although it is viewed as a last resort. A peaceful solution to the crisis would express the will of the European people after the huge peace demonstrations all over the continent and the world last weekend.
Although the summit laid down no timetable for Iraqi disarmament, the primary emphasis on Iraq's responsibility to avoid a war makes it clear that European leaders will not tolerate any prolonged delay in co-operating with the arms inspectors or meeting the terms laid down in Security Council Resolution 1441 passed unanimously last November. The UN Secretary General, Mr Kofi Annan, spelled out the implications of Iraqi non-compliance to the assembled EU leaders. They in turn saw the importance of preserving the Security Council's control over the unfolding events.
In their various ways they have modified positions adopted in their confrontations and disagreements over the last fortnight. President Chirac of France acknowledged that the build-up of US forces has been a crucial factor in forcing Iraq to co-operate with the arms inspectors. The German Foreign Minister, Mr Fischer, agreed that force cannot be ruled out if Iraq fails to comply. The British Prime Minister, Mr Blair, has not been able to win support for a deadline for Iraq's response, nor for another UN resolution authorising force in the short term. But the overall tenor of the text agreed last night is sufficiently favourable to his strong position on Iraqi disarmament to balance that.
Judged by the political need to overcome the disarray and disunity that flatly contradicted the EU's search for a more coherent common foreign and security policy, the summit has proved a success. Whether this is shortlived depends on how much real unity of purpose was forged behind the need to present a unified approach in response to a much more alert public opinion throughout the EU. That purpose will be tested above all at the Security Council in coming days. Given the political compromises that went into last night's agreement and the great moral force for a peaceful solution to the crisis flowing from public debate, President Bush will need to take careful account of what was said. So too will President Saddam Hussein.