If we can't read, and if there's no pictures, there's no sense opening a book. Fortunately, most of us have learned how to read. But, when it comes to understanding the EU beast, it takes more than just knowing how to read. Some can understand the strange, 25-headed, 10-horned creature because they're smart. We students of prophecy understand it because we cheat -- we use the Bible.

Not wanting to go over old ground, I'll focus instead on what may have just happened. As you know, with 2007 only weeks away, I was especially eager to see what the EU heads decided at their December summit. Well, the summit is over. And, what happened is exactly what we should have expected.

Two issues were on the EU's agenda about which I was interested. The first was whether any of the elements in the EU's failed constitution would somehow be squeezed through the back door. I was aware that the EU heads wanted to give their High Representative, Javier Solana, his presence within the Commission with, or without, the constitution. The second issue was the Spain/France/Italy Middle East peace plan. Would it be endorsed? I found out yesterday that the peace plan was endorsed. But, I had to wait for today to find out about the first issue regarding Solana.

My first clue came from the UK's Guardian. The report started by saying:

A threat to Britain's national veto over European decisions on police and judicial co-operation has been lifted at the EU summit in Brussels. But the final wording of a summit declaration made clear that, even if EU decisions affecting criminal law cannot be pushed through by majority, other ways of strengthening EU-wide counter-terrorism efforts will have to be found.

A little further I read:

The summit conclusions drop a reference to the fact that the Constitution offers "solutions" to the necessary intensification of operational co-operation in the EU on justice and security policy. But the wording still says: "The European Council (summit) is convinced that the framework for pursuing the Union's policies aimed at enhancing the area of freedom, security and justice will need to be genuinely strengthened in order to meet present challenges" Read about it here.

The way I read the above words, even though the EU's constitution is still dead in the water, the EU heads decided that ways must still be found to strengthen Solana's Office using existing treaties. And, sure enough, when I read the Summit Conclusions, that's exactly what it said.

19. It was against this background, and in the context of the review of the Hague Programme, that the European Council, in its conclusions of June 2006, called upon the Presidency to explore, in close collaboration with the Commission, the possibilities of improving decision-making and action in the area of Freedom, Security and Justice on the basis of existing treaties.

20. Drawing upon the analysis and reflection carried out, notably in the Justice and Home Affairs ministers' meeting at Tampere in September, the European Council considers first of all that practical progress could be achieved by intensifying operational cooperation between competent authorities of the Member States. The European Council invites the Council to make progress in the light of the options that have been presented. At the same time, the European Council is convinced that the framework for pursuing the Union's policies aimed at enhancing the area of Freedom, Security and Justice will need to be genuinely strengthened in order to meet present challenges Conclusions.

Earlier, if you recall, I said that they wanted to give Solana his presence within the Commission with, or without, the constitution. I knew that from reading a House of Lord's report titled, Europe in the World House of Lords pdf. In fact, the report starts by mentioning the same European Council conclusions of June 2006, that I highlighted in paragraph number 19 above. It says:

3. The Communication was published in June 2006 and welcomed by the June European Council which invited the Presidency, the Council, the High Representative and the Commission to examine the measures contained in the paper “with a view to improving inter alia strategic planning and coherence between the EU institutions and between the latter and the Member States.”2 The European Council also agreed that a first stocktaking in relation to the implementation of the measures would be made at the end of the Finnish European Council.

Later the report gives more detail. It says:

34. We welcome and endorse the Commission's desire to improve the coherence of the EU's external relations by strengthening cooperation between the Presidency, the High Representative and Council secretariat, the Commission and the Member States through action within the existing Treaty provisions. We do not regard these proposals as either cherry-picking from the Constitutional Treaty nor as requiring Treaty change.

35. The present Communication may well not exhaust the EU's scope for such action within the existing Treaties. We hope that both the EU institutions and Member States will continue to search for pragmatic ways to strengthen cooperation and that lessons learnt where cooperation has been successful will continue to be applied in other areas.

And, here the EU heads discuss why Solana's presence is needed so badly within the Commission -- to oversee his European Neighbourhood Policy!

51. However, the Commission only has the competence to strengthen its own internal groupings in relation to the Commission as a whole; the Commission has no power to usurp Council functions relating to CFSP. The institutional concern ought to be that by attending such meetings the High Representative will interfere in areas in which the Commission has competence, such as the European Neighbourhood Policy. This concern should not be overplayed, however, since one of the main purposes of increased coordination is to ensure greater coherence between the external relations policies of the
Council of Ministers and those of the Commission.

Although the report says, under the EU's existing treaties, that Solana can not have decision making powers within the Commission, it's also clear that the EU heads want Solana -- as called for in the EU's failed constitution -- to have his seat there anyway. And, at their December summit, the EU heads gave Solana and the coming German EU Presidency their green light.

Staying tuned?