Several building blocks for a new European security and defence system were put in place yesterday by EU leaders in Brussels. Their importance should not be overlooked as the spotlight concentrates understandably on whether the summit will agree the new constitutional treaty this weekend, or leave it to the incoming Irish presidency - as seems to be increasingly possible.
Structured co-operation, bringing together EU states which are willing to work together on defence, will operate within a system of rules overseen by all member-states. The final draft of a new EU security strategy was approved. And it was confirmed that the EU is ready to take over a military role in Bosnia-Herzegovina from NATO.
Government leaders have expressed their satisfaction with these developments, which they say are compatible with Ireland's interests and neutrality policy. The agreed draft of the treaty articles on defence co-operation recognises the specific character of neutral and non-aligned states, as well as those which are members of NATO. It will be up to the non-NATO members to do as much as they can voluntarily, within an overall commitment of loyalty to fellow member-states which are threatened. A statement on transatlantic relations affirms their central importance for the EU; but the reference to a more balanced relationship is a coded demand for a more equal one, which respects diverse and diverging values.
The values and interests involved have now been spelled out in some detail in the security strategy paper for the EU adopted yesterday. Remarkably, it combines a clear analysis of the threats facing EU states - including terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, regional conflicts, state failure and organised crime - with a firm commitment to effective multilateralism and "early, rapid, and when necessary, robust intervention" to tackle them. The commitment to international law, the United Nations and "preventive engagement" draws together civil and military crisis management in a way that is quite compatible with Ireland's security and foreign policy - and quite distinct from the Bush administration's foreign policy.
The differences are underlined in the latest row about contracts for Iraqi reconstruction, which cut across US efforts to reach agreement on its external indebtedness with France, Germany and Russia.
These developments may help explain the Taoiseach's assertion of his alleged opposition to the war in Iraq over the last couple of days. It is no harm to put it on the record as the Irish presidency of the EU looms. Mr Ahern is right in legal terms, in that Ireland's policy has been to support only actions that have express UN Security Council approval. Nevertheless, the Government's robust support for continued use of Shannon by US troop carriers convinced many that this implied support for the war - not least most of the 100,000 people who demonstrated against it in Dublin last March.