Prospective settlement of the Kosovo crisis certainly boosted the European Council at Cologne, after the dramatic and positive report back from Belgrade by the EU's mediator, Mr Martti Ahtissari, president of Finland. The initiative coincided nicely with the Council's declaration on security and defence, laying out a programme to develop the EU's capabilities in these areas. The appointment of Mr Javier Solana as the new secretary general in charge of the EU's Common Foreign and Security Policy is decisive evidence of a determination to advance that agenda rapidly, given that he moves over from the same function in NATO. US policy-makers will now have less of a problem wondering who to ring for political consultations with Europe. The formula arrived at on security and defence is a happy one from the Government's point of view. Policy is to be developed in and around the so-called Petersberg Tasks of peacekeeping, peacemaking and humanitarian aid and support already defined in EU treaties. There is reference to the need for this to be in line with the United Nations Charter - not altogether satisfactory but tilting very much in the right direction. While several military and operational functions are to be absorbed into the EU from the Western European Union, this will not include the commitment in that organisation's treaty to collective defence.
That leaves Ireland and other neutral states with their policies intact. They will have the right to participate fully in political decisions on these matters, and to opt in to them operationally on a case by case basis. NATO members similarly keep their existing allegiances. This can be seen as an evolutionary change or a qualitative one depending on one's perspective; but there is no mistaking its significance in the light of the Balkan crisis and the strengthened commitment to EU enlargement to which it gives rise. This will be further renewed by the forthcoming Inter-Governmental Conference on institutional reform decided on by the summit.
Another landmark in the EU's development, is the strong position statement put forward at the summit by Mr Romano Prodi, the incoming Commission president. It was a clear marker to Commission staff and the European Parliament that he intends to stamp his own authority on the institution - and to the member-governments that the Commission's role and independence will be preserved. The Government will have to decide rapidly who to nominate as the next Irish commissioner now that Mr Prodi's own priorities have been made so clear.
On economic affairs, the Cologne Council firmed up existing employment policy, without changing the basic approach. It resisted suggestions for setting growth targets in response to arguments about the continuing need for structural reforms. There is a growing realisation that more needs to be done to boost the European economy, but little consensus on new initiatives about how to do it. There was similar resistance to the idea that an elaborate statement is required to shore up the euro, the value of which has been falling in relation to the dollar. Wisely, the leaders restricted themselves to a single sentence and vowed to leave it to the European Central Bank to do the talking.